Date: 2010-02-26
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Speaker. besides the question and the need for jobs. I think it is important for America and for my colleagues to know that the meeting yesterday at the White House at Blair House was a vitally important meeting. I know that many Americans were able to see it in its purity. meaning that you were able to watch it live. The President intended that we have the opportunity to hear real discussion. And I would beg to differ whether this was an opportunity for just show and tell. I have listened to the Presidents commitment to health care reform. I have listened to the Democratic leaderships commitment to health care reform. And I have spent hours listening to constituents through town hall meetings in August and traveling throughout the district. As they speak about jobs. I want us to be very clear. Every time I am in the district. someone says. are you going to get health care reform passed? This is real meat and potatoes. This is about premiums that go up about $1.400 to $2.500 a year on a family of four. This is about 36 million to 40 million who are now uninsured. This is about working people who are uninsured. This is about families whose children have asthma or respiratory illnesses or preexisting conditions and are not able to get insurance because of birth defects or other illnesses that their children are born with. a preexisting disease. And presently. you cannot get insurance if you have a preexisting disease. This is. likewise. about the noncompetitive atmosphere that health carriers live in and that we suffer under. And you know what? Before we began discussing this health care reform. we accepted it as the norm. We didnt think anything of it. In Alabama. one insurance company in the entire State. In a State like Texas. only three insurance companies. That is not competition. That is. you take me the way I want you to take me. and if you dont like it. move on. Thats the kind of atmosphere that health care insurance companies live in. They tell us. move on. Preexisting disease. move on. You cant pay your premiums. move on. Youre in the hospital and we dont want to pay it. get out. Thats what atmosphere Americans are living in. And I realize that those who have insurance that they like. they dont see these horror stories of people dying because they dont have insurance. And I want the people who have insurance to keep their insurance. But 45.000 people die every year because they dont have health insurance. So yesterdays meeting was a serious meeting. because the bottom line of it was. were listening and were open. but we have to move on because were losing peoples lives. And so this preexisting disease will be eliminated. Premiums will go down. Well save billions of dollars because of the health care reform process. At the same time. I want us to do good. I want to make sure that we save physicianowned hospitals. Many of you probably have been patients in physicianowned hospitals. where doctors have come back in and purchased failing hospitals by a small percentage of ownership. where their name is on the line. where they want high quality hospitals like the 40plus that are in the State of Texas. like Doctors Hospital. like St. Josephs Hospital. like the hospitals down in the Valley. where individuals who are paying the amount of money can count on doctors being there who care. And so I want this health insurance reform not to close down those hospitals and eliminate those employees who are there. We can do a lot of good. and we must pass health care reform. We have to already recognize that weve passed the antitrust exemption so that you can have more competition in these States. We did that this past week. Thats a good thing. But weve got to make sure that we increase CHIPS for our children. Childrens Health Insurance Program. protect Medicare and Medicaid. and open the floodgates for Americans who work and have dignity to have dignity when they are sick. The last thing you want to do is to be on your sickbed and to lose your house. your car. your ability to support yourself while youre losing your job because youre sick. So I simply say that it is time now for the wakeup call to go out amongst all of those who care. America needs to wake up. When America demands. this legislative body. this Peoples House acts. And so I thank the President for transparency yesterday. I thank the Democratic leadership for transparency. I thank my friends on the other side of the aisle for attending and engaging. But after all is said and done. there will still be 45.000 people that are dying every year because they dont have insurance. Mr. Speaker. the call is being made. The question is. will we answer. I will. for one. answer for health care reform for America.