Candidate wants health insurance to all children, regardless of income

Representative Charles Jenkins, District 8, today urged passage of PeachKids, which is a plan to guarantee health insurance to all Georgia's children, regardless of the parent's income.

"We can provide access to quality, affordable health insurance for all of Georgia's children with PeachKids," said Rep. Jenkins. "The cost for the program would be minimal and can be easily done considering the state's current revenue surplus. The high price of health insurance is a burden to families in this district and throughout the state." PeachKids would expand

on the current PeachCare program by providing access to health insurance to all children, regardless of their parent's income. It is estimated to cost $10 million the first year and $20 million every following year. The price would be small considering the present state budget is at $18.6 billion and Georgia currently has a large revenue surplus.

On the subject of new statistics showing the number of Georgians without health insurance has increased, Jenkins continued, "We also recently learned that Georgia saw an increase in the amount of citizens who lack health insurance.

Georgia was one of only 8 states to see this happen and it is simply unacceptable. Our lawmakers must start providing real solutions to solve the healthcare crisis in Georgia, and PeachKids is a great place to start."

According to the latest Census Bureau data, the number of uninsured has increased from 1.5 million in 2004 to 1.7 million in 2005. Georgia was also one of eight states whose two-year rolling average of uninsured rose. The figure leaves Georgia tied for eighth among states with the highest rate of people with no health insurance.