Health Care

Floor Speech

Mrs. LUMMIS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to express what is my greatest hope and my greatest concern in 1 minute.

My greatest concern is that, by using Medicare as a means to fund this new program, you will be taking more money away from rural areas that are already inadequately reimbursed by Medicare for their costs. For example, in Casper, Wyoming, the hospital is only reimbursed at 32 cents on the dollar for Medicare actual costs.

We are underreimbursing now and having to subsidize Medicare. The government is not meeting its obligation to Medicare. My greatest hope is that Democrats will read the 40-plus Republican bills to reform health care and choose the best among them and bring those to the floor so we can discuss them and debate them.

We have over 40 bills that you can use for great ideas to reform health care in a way that will make it available to all Americans.

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