The budget is a mess. Employment is decreasing. Public funding is down. Tuition is rising. In short, Michigan is in peril and while malaise envelopes its population, one segment remains especially prone to the hardship recession: the uninsured. Today, one million Michiganders are uninsured and evidence suggests that the number is on the rise.

The problem is certainly not new. Within the past two years, the number of Michigan residents without health insurance has been climbing in many ways. To cite a few facts, from 2000 to 2001, the number of uninsured Michigan residents has risen one-half percent. From 2001-2002, over one fourth of the population under 65 has been uninsured at some point. Approximately 15 percent of those uninsured are children - about 161,500 kids.

Even more embittering is health insurance's tragic legislative history, beginning and ending with former President Bill Clinton's push in the early 1990's for healthcare reform. Although today the phrase "universal healthcare" has an almost fantastic connotation, during the early days of the Clinton administration, its existence was, at one point, very imminent. Yet, Republican opposition, founded less on ideology and more on politics, coupled with the Whitewater scandal, doomed the legislation. Democrats, avidly pursuing concessions even with widespread public support, found the opposition to be overly stubborn, evasive and even manipulative of the public.

Here in Michigan, our own U.S. Rep John Dingell (D-Dearborn) has consistently fought for healthcare reform and has attempted to make it a greater priority. Unfortunately, despite these valiant efforts, little real help has materialized

All of this history makes today's situation all the more poignant. However, we can learn from the past. The quest for universal healthcare is an example of what has to be done: The federal government has to take some responsibility. When 41 million citizens are without insurance in one of the richest nations in the world, the problem rises above state action - in nations with the best healthcare, the program is always nationally run.

With budget cuts across the board, the state of Michigan can do little to remedy this apparent crisis. In light of rising unemployment, the falling stock market, and other seemingly more pressing issues, state inaction is explainable, but not excusable. No person in Michigan should tolerate 160,000 children without access to proper medical care. No person can dismiss the one million Michiganders without the promise of medical security.

Though times are tough for both this nation and this state, government cannot overlook this issue. It is time for the states and the federal government to actively seek creative solutions to the abysmal state of healthcare. The health of this state and this nation at the very least deserves immediate consideration.