Protecting Health Care for All Patients Act of 2023
Floor Speech
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Mr. STAUBER. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the Protecting Health Care for all Patients Act of 2023 led by Chairwoman Rodgers.
I rise today not only as a Congressman, Mr. Chair, but as a father to a 21-year-old man with Down syndrome, a young man who has never been defined by his disability, but rather, his ability. The use of quality- adjusted life years is disgusting.
Mr. Chair, it is disgusting. Using a cost benefit analysis to determine if someone deserves healthcare, if their life has value, is just plain wrong, Mr. Chair.
This is the result of socialized healthcare medicine, the future that the Democrats want. It is a future where a doctor will turn you away because your treatment just doesn't make economic sense.
This is called rationalized healthcare, Mr. Chair, meaning the government will determine if your life is worth living. The bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., will determine if the lives of senior citizens in northern Minnesota should be saved and healthcare provided to them.
I thank Chairwoman Rodgers for introducing this bill, which prevents the Federal healthcare programs from deciding the future of not only my son but all the children in this country that have a disability--from deciding if their life is valuable in comparison to others.
This bill is a beacon of hope for families like mine and the hundreds of thousands across this great Nation who are blessed to have children living with Down syndrome and other disabilities that enrich our communities. It is a promise that we will not stand idly by while our most vulnerable citizens are viewed as less than in a broken healthcare system.
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Mr. STAUBER. Mr. Chair, this bill ensures that individuals with disabilities, the elderly, our veterans, and the terminally ill are protected from discrimination and have access to affordable, comprehensive healthcare.
Let me tell you something. I am a spouse of an Iraq war veteran, and if you look on the Department of Veterans Affairs' site, Mr. Chair, they have quality-adjusted life years for our veterans. Since when do we determine the life of a veteran who signed up to give his or her life for this Nation, Mr. Chair?
The Democrats want to take it away, quality-adjusted life years. It is sad.
We are fighting for our elderly, the veterans, and our disabled community. For the bureaucrats to tell me or tell any of us whether a life is worth living or not is unconscionable, and we will not stand for it.
Mr. Chair, I thank the gentlewoman for bringing this bill to the floor, and I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
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