[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 109 (Tuesday, August 9, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 9, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                    UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE IN HAWAII

  Mr. INOUYE. Madam President, listening to my friend from Arkansas, he 
inspires me to say a few words myself.
  Madam President, Hawaii became a State 35 years ago. It is the 50th 
and the last State of the Union. We are located very far away from 
Washington, DC. There is an ocean that separates us from the mainland.
  But we knew that health care was very important to Hawaii and to this 
Nation. When we became a State we said to ourselves, ``I am certain 
Congress will pass a national health law.'' And we waited. Finally we 
decided we could not wait any longer, so 22 years ago the legislature 
in Hawaii started the debate on health care. It went on for about a 
year. It was a rather contentious debate, and the words we hear today 
bring back memories of the past: Employer mandate--that was a big term 
in the Hawaii debate--small businesses, taxes, bankruptcies.
  Madam President, being so far away, the cost of living in Hawaii is 
about the highest in the Nation. With everything we purchase there is a 
cost of transport, it is either flown in or shipped in. Our real estate 
is so limited because of our insular situation that it is very 
expensive. I chuckle to myself when I see real estate prices in 
Bethesda, which is considered expensive: $3 a square foot in Bethesda. 
A comparable in location in Hawaii would cost $15 to $20 a square foot. 
The average cost of a new residence, and I am not talking about a 
castle: $235,000. Everything is expensive with one exception: Health 
care. For 20 years we have had universal coverage.
  It has been said that the costs of small business will rise and you 
will see bankruptcies. In Hawaii the insurance premiums for our small 
business is 30 percent less than the national average. We have the 
lowest premiums in the United States. Everything else is expensive. The 
exception, health care.
  We know it works. We know that universal coverage is not a dream, it 
is a reality--in Hawaii it is. Employer mandate is nothing that we 
should be afraid of. Oh, yes, in the early days our business community 
fought it and all these dire predictions were made. But we are 
prospering in Hawaii. We do well. And our people are healthy.
  The most recent report of the Department of Health indicates that 
folks living in Hawaii will live longer than folks living in any of the 
other 49 States. That is the difference. We would like to see our 
brothers and sisters in the other 49 States benefit from a national 
health program. Because in this bill we have insisted that whatever you 
pass--we know that it will not exceed the benefits of Hawaii, and we 
feel sorry for you--but we want to make certain that our program that 
we adopted 20 years ago be the law of Hawaii.
  Someday we hope that you will catch up with us. I hope the time will 
come soon.
  Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. MITCHELL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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