The latest employment numbers are out today. Another 651,000 jobs were lost last month, increasing the nation's unemployment rate from 7.6 percent in January to 8.1 percent in February. Over the past 12 months, the number of unemployed persons has increased by about 5.0 million, bringing the total number of unemployed to 12.5 million in February.

The biggest losses came from employment in business and professional services, where 180,000 jobs were lost last month. Manufacturing (168,000 jobs) and construction (104,000 jobs) continued to see large losses. Health care remained one of the few areas of job growth, adding 27,000 jobs in February.

According to analysis from the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, the 0.5 percent increase in the unemployment rate for February, can be expected to increase the number of uninsured by close to 550,000, while leading another 500,000 to enroll in Medicaid and SCHIP. A recent report from Families USA found that 86.7 million Americans went without insurance over the past two years.

We've said before, that health reform isn't just a moral priority, it's an economic imperative. As President Obama said in closing yesterday's Health Summit:

There's been some talk about the notion that maybe we're taking on too much; that we're in the midst of an economic crisis and that the system is overloaded, and so we should put this off for another day. Well, let's just be clear. When times were good, we didn't get it done. When we had mild recessions, we didn't get it done. When we were in peacetime, we did not get it done. When we were at war, we did not get it done.

There is always a reason not to do it. And it strikes me that now is exactly the time for us to deal with this problem. The American people are looking for solutions. Business is looking for solutions. And government—state, federal, and local—needs solutions to this problem.

So for all of you who've been elected to office or those of you who are heading up major associations, I would just say, what better time than now and what better cause for us to take up? Imagine the pride when we go back to our constituencies next year and say, you know what, we finally got something done on health care. That's something that's worth fighting for, and I hope all of you fight for it.