21.   Republicans say the Democratic proposals would lead to escalating medical costs, increased insurance premiums and more uninsured people.

22.   Several recent studies have found that as the number of uninsured people has increased, children have been affected the most.

23.   Some pharmacists suggested that demand was lower in poor neighborhoods because they had higher proportions of uninsured people who could not afford to fill prescriptions.

24.   That has occurred even as the number of uninsured people grows and as many people see their own medical benefits reduced.

25.   The bill would also open the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan to many otherwise uninsured people.

26.   The data show no obvious correlation between the number of uninsured people in a state and the political preferences of its elected officials.

27.   The more uninsured people there are, hospital officials say, the more dependent hospitals become on the state surcharges to pay for their treatment.

28.   The number of uninsured people continues to go up.

29.   --The percentage of uninsured people would skyrocket.

30.   The president used the meeting to announce the availability of federal aid programs to help uninsured people who were displaced by the tornadoes repair or rebuild their homes.