Speech #910170591

Speaker. I rise in support of this conference report. Since this legislation was passed into law in 1962. hundreds of thousands of migrant workers in almost all parts of this Nation have received medical help. Each year of the program has seen additional migrant workers helped. This years extension of that legislation. however. is to date the broadest and most effective since its original passage. For the first time we are enlarging the target area to those persons who work with and whose health conditions also affect the migrants in the fields. We estimate that there are approximately 1 million migrants. but there are at least a million additional seasonal workers and maybe as many as 2 million who do not leave their home base. Yet these people who work side by side with the migrants have not had the benefit of the program. but they should. The health problems of the farmworkers are not limited to traveling workers. Domestic and migrant workers are together in the fields. and we cannot continue to overlook the fact that disease and illness can spread without regard to classification of the worker. This bill calls for appropriation of $20 million in fiscal 1971. $25 million in fiscal 1972. and $30 million for fiscal 1973. This represents an encouraging increase over this years $15 million. But based on a million migrant population figure. it allows for an average of only $20 per person for medical care compared to the national average of more than $300 for each man. woman. and child in the nonmigrant population. So it is evident that we can do still more in this area. For my colleagues who are not completely familiar with the migrant health program. I would like to point out that migrant use of medical care is about oneseventh the national average. Their dental care is about onetwentieth. and their use of hospital care is about onefourth that of the general population. The mortality of migrants from TB. influenza. pneumonia. and other infectious diseases is more than twice the national average. These also exist and are similar in the seasonal agricultural workers and their families. Although there are three main migrant streams. the area covered by these wandering workers is national in scope and indeed is a national problem. So far. we have estimated that only onethird of the migrant population has been reached by the program. We must do better. I am encouraged at the work being done in Florida. In the Palm Beach County area there is a peak migrant population of approximately 38.000. The county health officer there has reported that all 38.000 have received some benefits from the Migrant Health Act. In addition. more than 11.000 have received medical assistance. either through aid in clinics or hospitals. To give an idea of the scope of the program on the national level. it is estimated that 120.000 received medical care last year. 21.000 received dental care and there were 210.000 medical visits and 28.000 dental visits. In Broward County. approximately 3.000 have received direct medical treatment. Almost 1.000 have received dental treatment. 1.000 have been helped in nursing clinics and 1.400 have participated in the immunization program. During the past year. migrants have registered almost 3.900 visits to clinics and have been treated in hospitals for 1.161 days. Mr. Speaker. presently there are 116 single or multicounty projects operating with Migrant Health Act assistance in 36 States and Puerto Rico. Yet. there are 900 of the Nations 3.000 counties that are annually temporary homes to migrants ranging in number from 100 to 40.000. These 116 projects reach 300 counties. but in the other 600 counties health care is sporadic and often crisis oriented. We have made progress. But we still must do more. We must reach those remaining twothirds of the target areas. I think that H.R. 14733 will help us in assuring that the migrant and seasonal farmworkers in this Nation are assured of decent health service. I urge passage of this legislation and commend those who have worked on this very important program.