Affordable Health Care For America Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Mr. Andrews, the committee staff, and Chairman Miller for their hard work on this bill.

Where are we today? Our country spends more and gets less from health care. We spend more and get less. Many small businesses and individuals are unable to afford insurance. Americans are fed up with 15 to 20 percent increases in costs every year, and that is for those of us lucky enough to have insurance. People with preexisting conditions often can't get coverage, or the very condition they need coverage for is excluded.

Where does this bill take us? It encourages competition among insurance companies, giving us more choices and more stability so we can choose from hundreds of different policies, including shopping across State lines.

It covers most of the uninsured by empowering them to choose the provider of their choice. It prevents pricing discrimination based on preexisting conditions. It allows small businesses to have the same purchasing power as large corporations and saves them money. It reforms our legal system to reduce the cost of frivolous lawsuits. It supports doctor and nurse training, reduces the deficit by over $10 billion, and applies free market principles to establish a playing field for health care that is good for practitioners and consumers.

I encourage my colleagues to support health care.

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