Providing For Consideration Of H.R. 3962, Affordable Health Care For America Act, And Providing For Consideration Of H.R. 3961, Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act Of 2009

Floor Speech

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Ms. MATSUI. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me this time.

Mr. Speaker, it is so appropriate that you are sitting in this Chair on this historic bill, considering that you have introduced a health care bill every Congress that you were here, so we really love having you in the Chair.

Mr. Speaker, I stand here on the House floor today, humbled by the fact that in the wealthiest country in the world that we have so many needs. The most pressing of these needs is for a reformed and strengthened health insurance system.

When I listen to my constituents, whether they are doctors, nurses, workers, business owners, or government employees, they are united in their support for health insurance reform. They know that costs are skyrocketing with no end in sight. They know that more people are losing their insurance as they lose their jobs, making the burden of uncompensated care even harder to bear for hospitals and doctors. They know that the doors of our community health centers are in constant motion because of overwhelming demand for their low-cost and high-quality services.

For my constituents, for all of us as Members of Congress, but most importantly, for the American people, the Affordable Health Care for America Act is a major victory. It achieves a long-held goal of reforming our health insurance system so that it works for all American families. In Sacramento, that means 2,000 families who will not have to file bankruptcy due to unaffordable health costs.

This legislation also strengthens Medicare so that our country's seniors can continue to rely on this bedrock program for their health care. In my district alone, this means nearly 8,000 Medicare beneficiaries who will not fall into the doughnut hole.

It makes health insurance affordable again for businesses who want to provide coverage to their employees and for those who are buying coverage for the first time on their own. In Sacramento, this means affordability credits to help pay for coverage for up to 181,000 households.

Finally, the bill invests in prevention and wellness and public health, which are some of my highest priorities. Unless we help people live healthier lives, we can never get health costs under control.

In short, the provisions of this legislation build on all that is good in our current health system to strengthen it for the future. This is why we come to Congress, Mr. Speaker. We come here to improve people's lives, to recognize and address the needs of the people we represent. I know that today's bill does this, which is why I support it so strongly. I look forward to today's debate and to our historic vote.

I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

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