In the United States, there are more than eight million uninsured children. This issue must be addressed.

Currently, in Minnesota there are more than 68,000 children without health insurance. This means that 68,000 children are not receiving preventative health care, which could result in illnesses and diseases not being diagnosed until the advanced stages.

It also is important to note that eight out of 10 families with uninsured children have at least one full-time worker, according to Kaiser Family Foundation 2007 statistics.

I am pleased that many politicians are in favor of mandating that all children have health insurance. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and President-elect Barak Obama both are in support of universal health care coverage for children.

If you are in support of fighting for our children, contact your local representatives and let them know how important this issue is.

Megan Friend

Mankato