Bob Herbert on America's Uninsured Children

Bob Herbert, columnist for the New York Times, has published a sad but enlightening op-ed about the plight of the "Young, Ill and Uninsured" in America. He tells the tragic stories of a couple children who died while bureaucrats passed the buck for their medical needs. Here's a quote:

"People don't understand the amount of time and stress parents are going through as they try to get their children the coverage they need, in many cases just to stay alive," said Marian Wright Edelman, president of the Children's Defense Fund and a tireless advocate of expanding health coverage to the millions of American children who are uninsured or underinsured.

Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program provide crucially important coverage, but the eligibility requirements can be daunting, budget constraints in many jurisdictions have led to tragic reductions in coverage, and millions of youngsters simply fall through the cracks in the system, receiving no coverage at all.

Marian Wright Edelman will be one of the participants at the New Baptist Covenant celebration in Atlanta Jan.30-Feb. 1, 2008.