OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

The Cost of Inaction

Date: July 22, 2009
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Health and Health Care


THE COST OF INACTION -- (House of Representatives - July 22, 2009)

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Mr. QUIGLEY. I rise today because we cannot forget one important factor in the health care reform debate, that the cost of inaction far outweighs today's price tag.

We believe that we can live with our health care system as is; yet we forget, until we show up in the emergency room at 1 in the morning with our daughter who is sick, that there is already a bureaucrat in the room: our health insurance company.

We believe that those who are uncovered are costing us nothing; yet they are overwhelming our emergency care facilities and costing you, the taxpayer, overwhelming amounts in fees that they cannot pay out of pocket.

We believe that health care reform is synonymous with rising costs; yet we forget that costs are already on the rise. We're paying more out of pocket, whether covered by an insurance plan or not, and getting less.

If health care costs continue to increase at the rate they have, most American households will be spending 45 percent of their income on health insurance by 2016. Premiums have doubled in 9 years, three times faster than wages.

Yes, Mr. Speaker, the cost of inaction far outweighs today's price tag.

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