Affordable Health Choices Act

Floor Speech

AFFORDABLE HEALTH CHOICES ACT -- (Senate - July 15, 2009)

Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, today, I proudly cast my vote to pass out of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee landmark legislation that will fundamentally change the direction of our dysfunctional health care system.

The committee approval of the Affordable Health Choices Act is truly a tremendous victory for millions of Americans who struggle with a system that has continually failed to provide quality, affordable health care options for them, their families, their loved ones, and their businesses.

It has been a special privilege to temporarily serve on the HELP Committee, in particular, with my distinguished senior Senator, JACK REED. I do not think there is a formal rule against it, but it is a rarity in the Senate for two Members from the same State of the same party to serve on the same committee. My brief tenure on the HELP Committee gave me the chance to witness firsthand the resolve and caring leadership that is JACK REED's hallmark and that was shown throughout this historic debate.

I also applaud the unwavering commitment and leadership of President Obama, and the tireless efforts of my Senate colleagues, in the pursuit of meaningful, comprehensive reform.

I feel really very privileged to have served with Chairman Dodd and Ranking Member Enzi. Chairman Dodd had this responsibility fall upon him when illness overtook probably his best friend in the Senate, Chairman Kennedy. And he gave me, at least, as a junior Senator, an education in Senate chairmanship.

Ranking Member Enzi presented an unforgettable model of graciousness and civility. And all of the members of the committee worked hard and sincerely.

I particularly thank our esteemed chairman, Senator Kennedy, for his longstanding leadership and dedication. He truly is the champion of health care reform. For decades, Chairman Kennedy has worked passionately on this important cause. And while he could not attend the markup, we felt his presence daily in the hearing room. And it is to his very great credit that we had this success today.

I am pleased that the final legislation reflects the principles outlined by President Obama, who called for a new system to control skyrocketing health costs, expand coverage to the tens of millions left uninsured in our country, and ensure high quality, affordable health care for every American family.

The bill also focuses on the priorities of Americans, from all corners of our country, whose powerful and often heart-wrenching stories underscore the urgent need for reform.

Behind all the statistics and all the numbers and all the projections and all the demographics, as we all know in this Chamber, are a legion of personal and family tragedies and sorrows and frustrations that we have to address.

The Affordable Health Choices Act invests heavily in the delivery system reforms that will drive down costs and bring our current outmoded, broken system into the 21st century. These changes are long past due and are essential if we are to protect our ship of state from the tidal wave of health care costs now bearing down on us.

This legislation also upholds President Obama's promise: If you like the health care you have, you can keep it. But for the many Americans who want different choices or who do not have health insurance at all, we also offer a new public health insurance option that can and must compete in an open market with private insurance.

As I have traveled throughout Rhode Island, at community dinners and senior centers, at coffees and on our main streets, I have heard stories of frustration and heartache at our broken health care system. Earlier this year, I launched a health care storyboard on my Web site where Rhode Islanders can share their experiences and ideas for health reform. In just a few short months, hundreds of Rhode Islanders have written to share their ideas and experiences. These are just a few of them.

Paul and Marcela from Newport told me about the health complications that Paul and his son have endured from type 1 diabetes. The related medical conditions Paul has suffered from the diabetes have left him unable to work.

To compensate for the family's loss of income, Marcela works tirelessly, taking on a full-time and part-time job to pay the bills. Like so many hard-working Americans, they fall just short of income eligibility cutoffs for State assistance programs, forcing them to bear the brunt of expensive medical cos, premiums, and prescription costs. On a stretched budget, balancing their medical expenses is a constant challenge, and Paul and Marcela keep hoping they will catch a break soon.

I heard from Ben, a medical student in Providence, who, even at such an early stage in his medical career, has witnessed the devastating effect of being uninsured on the health and well-being of his patients.

Ben shared the story of one of his patients who delayed treatment because he was unable to afford the medical bills. Only a few days later, this patient was rushed to the emergency room with a life-threatening infection.

The treatment to save this man's life resulted in much higher costs for the patient and the hospital--costs that Ben knows may have easily been prevented if the patient was treated when the condition was in its early stages. Ben writes:

It's these day-to-day decisions to postpone treatment that really hurt the uninsured.

Mike from Riverside shared his experience of surviving cancer that was misdiagnosed and left untreated for several years. When he sought a second opinion, the final diagnosis was delayed for weeks as his paper medical records were shuttled from hospital to hospital.

On top of this frustration, Mike received the devastating news that his leg had to be removed to prevent the cancer from spreading further. After his amputation surgery, Mike is thankful to be cancer free, but now his financial struggles have begun. With medical bills and health care premiums that exceed his monthly mortgage payments, Mike is wondering how he will make ends meet.

I had coffee with Shirley, a Middletown resident who described her relief at turning 65. For the past 20 years, she and her husband did not have insurance. As self-employed business owners in their fifties, finding affordable insurance options was impossible, so they went without. They took their chances.

Now 65 and eligible for Medicare, they finally have peace of mind. Shirley admits she and her husband were lucky to make it through those 20 years without serious health problems. During our meeting, she urged us to pass health care reform for the millions of hard-working Americans--hard-working, middle-class Americans--who are not as fortunate as she and her husband.

For these Rhode Islanders--and for millions more Americans all over the country--there has to be a better way. We have to do better than 47 million uninsured and millions more teetering on the brink. We have to do better than 100,000 people dying each year from avoidable medical errors. We have to do better than health care outcomes for Americans who are at the bottom of all our industrialized competitors. America can do better than this. With this legislation, we believe the process has begun for America to do better than this.

The work accomplished today by the HELP Committee is, of course, a first step in a long journey toward restructuring our health care system. The path to meaningful reform will not be easy. We have many rivers to cross, and our efforts to implement change will still face challenges. Certain stakeholders, invested in the status quo, will fight back against change; they will drag their feet; they will misinform; and they will mobilize--all with the singular purpose of defeating our progress toward comprehensive health care reform.

I know the fight to secure final passage of our reform will be contentious, but I welcome a vigorous debate on the Senate floor because I also know our current system has reached a state of disrepair that is putting us at risk--as patients, as families, as competitive businesses, and as a nation. And failing to change the status quo is both unsustainable and irresponsible.

I thank the Presiding Officer, and I yield the floor.

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