Health Care

Floor Speech

Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, I rise this afternoon to tell you about a constituent of mine who is waiting on Congress to pass comprehensive health insurance reform.

Karen Rozzell resides in Colonie, New York. She had to quit her job as a cashier because her diabetes got so bad she couldn't stand and she hasn't been able to find other work. When she left her job, she and her husband lost their insurance. They thought they could rely on COBRA, but it cost them too much and they were forced to let their insurance lapse. Her husband, a painter, doesn't have access to health insurance through his employment.

As a diabetic, Karen should be seeing a doctor regularly, but she doesn't. A couple of years ago she was hospitalized for a staph infection; she was only able to stay in the hospital until the infection was cleared up. She signed herself out before her doctors wanted her to because she knew she couldn't afford the cost. It took her years to pay that bill.

After living without insurance, her husband was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, but the cost of his treatment and medication is out of reach for them. She told me she worries every time her husband sneezes.

No one in this country deserves to live in fear like this. We need health care reform.

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