Affordable Health Care For America Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, today our Nation stands at an historic crossroads. We can choose the road that dead-ends in the status quo where the health industry will continue to call the shots and ration our health care or we can pass this bill and take the path that will provide every American citizen access to quality, affordable health care.

What we do in this bill is preserve what is best and fix what is broken. We currently face unsustainable skyrocketing health care costs that are breaking our family's budget, forcing businesses to drop health insurance, and will eventually bankrupt our Nation. We saw health insurance premiums more than double between 2000 and 2008; and during that period of time, health insurance profits soared by 500 percent. How did they do it? Essentially by saying ``no'' to people who had preexisting conditions and using the fine print in insurance policies to deny people promised benefits when they needed help the most.

This bill will end those abuses. It ends the antitrust exemption that shielded the health insurance industry from price-fixing. It establishes a health insurance exchange like a shopping supermarket for health policies that provides more choice, including a public option.

Mr. Speaker, that's why the Consumers Union and Consumer Reports support this legislation. That's why the AARP, the largest organization protecting the rights of seniors, has endorsed this. And that's why the doctors of America have endorsed this.

I understand why the insurance industry opposes this bill, but our job is not to protect the special interests of the insurance industry; our job is to do what's right by the American people.

Let's move this country forward. Let's vote ``yes'' for America.

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Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, we are taking a historic and very important step today to lower health care costs for American families and small businesses, and fix a broken health care system.

In considering the Affordable Health Care for America Act, this has been one of the most open and transparent debates in Congress. There have been countless hours of hearings and mark-ups and more than 3,000 public health care events around the country.

The Affordable Health Care for America Act contains significant protections that will provide health care consumers greater stability, lower costs, and improved quality--while all at the same time paying down the deficit. According to independent analysis conducted by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, the bill reduces the deficit by $109 billion over the first 10 years. And it will continue to reduce the deficit over the second 10 years.

This legislation will help the middle class by providing stable, affordable health insurance that people can count on. It will rein in health care costs for families, businesses and the government. It will ensure that if you lose your job, you won't lose your access to health care. No one should have to worry about whether they can see a doctor when they're sick because they don't have health insurance.

I have heard from countless constituents who have been victims of discrimination by insurance companies, like the family who recently shared their experience with me about their inability to obtain health insurance coverage. The father started his own company and applied for health insurance for his family, but three out of the four family members could not be fully covered due to pre-existing conditions. It turns out that he was rejected for coverage because he had two chest colds in the last 6 years and scar tissue in his lungs. For his daughter, the insurance company would only issue a policy that precludes coverage for any injury to any part of her back at any time in the future because of a previous injury of her back. And the same company refused to cover any injury to his son's knee at any time in the future from any cause due to a previous injury. It is unconscionable that the insurance company's policies precluded everyone in his family from being fully covered.

There are a number of provisions that would help this family, my constituents, and millions of Americans. Among them, the bill would end the practice of discriminating against those with pre-existing conditions, such as diabetes, cancer, a heart condition, or previous injuries. It would prohibit insurance companies from dropping health care coverage because you became sick. The bill eliminates co-pays for preventive and wellness care, and it places annual caps on what Americans pay out-of-pocket for health care services. And there would be no yearly or lifetime cost caps on what insurance companies cover.

A critical piece of this legislation is the creation of a new Health Insurance Exchange that will allow individuals and small business to comparison shop for affordable and quality health insurance coverage. The Exchange will help reduce the growth in health care spending by

encouraging competition on price, quality, and transparency among a number of private health insurance companies and a public health insurance option. The public option will add choice to the health insurance market and participation is completely voluntary. That is why Consumers Union and Consumer Reports endorsed this bill. With this health care reform bill, Americans will have the freedom to keep their doctor or select another one. The choice is theirs. It preserves and strengthens the doctor-patient relationship. That's why the doctors of America under the umbrella of the American Medical Association have endorsed this bill.

The legislation takes steps to preserve and strengthen Medicare for today's seniors and future generations of retirees. For over 40 years, Medicare has been a stable, reliable program for senior citizens and people with disabilities. It provides health care coverage to approximately 45 million Americans. This bill will ensure that seniors can see their doctor of choice or find a doctor by improving Medicare reimbursement to doctors. It lowers drug costs for seniors by closing the Medicare Part D ``doughnut hole'' and allowing the government to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies for lower drug prices. And it takes steps to reduce waste, fraud, abuse, and inefficiency in the Medicare program. For all these reasons, AARP has endorsed this bill.

Thousands of small businesses in America will benefit from this bill because it will provide them greater affordability. Small businesses will gain access to the new Health Insurance Exchange that will allow them to obtain rates normally enjoyed by larger employers, lower administrative costs, greater transparency, and greater choice of plans for their employees. They will benefit from increased competition for better prices as well as tax credits for those who choose to provide health insurance for their employees.

I am pleased that this bill contains several provisions I helped author. The first, the Assessment of Medicare Cost-Intensive Diseases and Conditions, directs the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct an assessment of the diseases and conditions that are the most cost-intensive for the Medicare program. Part of our effort to reform the health care system is to develop cures and treatments for those conditions and diseases that have a high cost, and this will go a long way in that endeavor.

The second, which I worked on with Representative Kathy Dahlkemper and others, requires health insurance plans to allow young people through age 26 to remain on their parents' insurance policy, at the parent's choice. Young adults between the ages of 19 and 29 are one of the largest segments of the American population without health insurance, comprising 29 percent of the total number of uninsured Americans.

I am also pleased that we were able to include a provision that ends the special advantages for health insurance companies. For far too long, the health insurance industry has been exempt from the antitrust laws that govern most other businesses. They have abused that benefit. I believe it is long past time to repeal this exemption. By ending this antitrust exemption, we are increasing competition and preventing unfair business practices that allow health insurers to drive up the cost of health care.

Lastly, I worked with Representatives Himes, Bean, and others to include in the bill a provision that would allow the creation of state health insurance compacts. This would permit states to enter into agreements to allow for the sale of health insurance across state lines. The creation of state health insurance compacts is another element of the health reform bill that will allow consumers to shop for insurance across state lines, promote choice and competition, and ensure strong consumer protections.

On the question of whether any of the insurance plans offered in the Health Insurance Exchange could cover an abortion, I support the provisions in the Rule that created a mechanism for ensuring that no public subsidies would go to pay for abortions. The non-partisan Congressional Research Service analyzed that provision and found that it prevented taxpayer dollars from going to pay for any coverage of abortions. The amendment offered by Representative Stupak goes much further. It would effectively prevent Americans from using their own money to purchase an insurance plan in the Health Insurance Exchange that includes coverage of abortions. That would be a dramatic break with the current practice where most insurance plans provide for such coverage for individuals who choose such plans. Because the Stupak amendment would effectively prohibit individuals from using their own money to purchase such plans in the Exchange, I oppose it.

Mr. Speaker, today we stand at a historic crossroads. We can choose the road that dead-ends in the status quo--where the health insurance industry continues to call the shots and ration our health care--or we can pass this legislation and take the path that leads to a future where every American has access to affordable, quality health care.

Now I understand why the health industry is opposed. But our job is not to protect the profits of the insurance companies. Let's not protect special interests and the status quo. Let's move America forward. Let's vote yes for America.

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