Is he claiming that those 11 million children have NO access to medical treatment, or just that they don't have an insurance card?
I thought all children had access to medical treatment paid for by the government. Am I wrong?
"I thought all children had access to medical treatment paid for by the government. Am I wrong?"
I don't think you're wrong. Here is a snippet from an article I refer to often when debating the "Healthcare CRISIS" in America:
"And the uninsured aren't the same people from year to year or even month to month. Three-quarters of the uninsured remain so for less than a year. That doesn't mean they're going without care. Americans without health insurance actually spend roughly the same amount of their own money on health care ($242) as do the fully insured ($211).
The uninsured who do land in a hospital pay on average a mere 9% of the costs of their treatment after factoring in the average three hours a week doctors treat patients for free and the $21 billion in costs hospitals write off annually."
http://www.pacificresearch.org/press/clip/2004/04-09-14sp.html
No child would ever be turned down for medical treatment in this country, the gov pays for it through medicade.
Carolyn
According to the US census of 2000, there were 80 million people 19 and under. So 11 million uninsured in 2000 would mean an uninsured rate of 13.75% which is pretty good.
Or 86.25% of kids are insured.
If the 11 million is more recent, the percentage is likely smaller due to population growth. Further, I think the census numbers includes illegals in the population numbers. Not totally sure, but illegals are people. The census enumerates people, not just citizens I think.
Further, you are right that the 14% uninsured have access to health care.
And by the way, US health care is the best in the world. Just ask the numerous Canadians who drive to the US to avoid waiting in line for treatment.