Health Care Reform Urgently Needed

Floor Speech

Health Care Reform Urgently Needed

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, our country urgently needs health care reform. Health insurance premiums have more than doubled in 9 years, growing three times faster than our wages. The average American family pays an extra $1,100 per year in premiums to support a broken system, and we still have 47 million people uninsured. Soaring costs have harmed competitiveness with American businesses in the global economy. I know in my own district, I had one company say they moved part of their production to the Netherlands because health care was cheaper in the Netherlands than it was in the United States.

For six decades America has tried to debate what we can do to fix this broken system. We have had 45 hours of bipartisan debate in three separate House committees and 79 House hearings on health care reform in just over 2 years.

If you have Medicare or employer-based insurance, you shouldn't be affected. You will have real choice. You will have the freedom to choose your insurance. If you don't have employer-based insurance, then we need you to have an option, and today you don't have that option.

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