Increase Access to Affordable Health Care
All Americans should be able to access affordable health care services when needed. We are not advocating for any particular system of coverage but rather that changes must be made to increase the affordability of health care in our country and in our state. Good health is associated with higher rates of employment and employment stability. Inadequate health care coverage for families and children can result in failure to schedule preventative doctor's visits or fill prescriptions in the early stages of an illness, often necessitating costly visits to the emergency room or a hospital admission. Consequently, medical bills can become unaffordable leading employees to be financially stressed, absent from work and forced to deal with serious health care issues.

In 2006, there were 216,000 uninsured Nebraskans, 45,000 of whom were children. Uninsured children are almost five times more likely to delay medical care and four to five times as likely to go without eyeglasses or medicines, and nearly half of all U.S. bankruptcies involve medical bills. Something must be done to assure that all Nebraskans have the opportunity to be healthy.

- Nebraska can cover nearly 32,000 uninsured children by increasing the eligibility level for Nebraska's State Children's Health Insurance Program, called Kids Connection, to at least 200% of Federal Poverty Level, in other words an income of $41,300 for a family of four.

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