[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 118 (Friday, August 19, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 19, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                    FACES OF THE HEALTH CARE CRISIS

 Mr. RIEGLE. Mr. President, I rise today to tell you about a 
young woman from my State. Peggy Musser lives in Trufant, MI, a small 
rural town. At age 22, she has already endured two major open heart 
surgeries and the removal of her gallbladder.
  Peggy's first heart operation occurred when she was 14 years old, to 
repair a congenital problem that prevented her body from circulating 
blood properly. Surgeons used grafts to enlarge her arteries. Her 
father worked for the Wolverine Co., a manufacturer of footwear in 
Grand Rapids that employs 2,000 workers. This large firm provided 
health coverage to its workers and their dependents, so this insurance 
paid for all of Peggy's surgery and other health care expenses.
  Seven years later, at the age of 21, Peggy faced her second open 
heart surgery to repair aneurysms that had developed near her heart. An 
aneurysm is a weakness in a blood vessel wall that can balloon and 
burst, and sometimes causes death. At the time of her operation, Peggy 
was employed by a physician in solo practice. Her employer provided HMO 
coverage that paid for the cost of the procedure as well as for the 
four prescription medications she must take to stabilize her fragile 
condition. Peggy herself was only responsible for minimal copayments.
  But in June of last year, 5 months after the second surgery, Peggy's 
employer moved out of State. Peggy lost her job, and along with it her 
health insurance. She was left to try to pay the $500 per month cost of 
her prescription medications herself.
  Her heart condition and prescription drug costs were not all Peggy 
had to face without coverage. Within months she again needed major 
surgery, this time to remove her gallbladder. She suffered from 
gallstones that caused severe abdominal pain and would have caused 
liver damage if her gallbladder had not been removed. The hospital 
wrote off some of their costs as charity care, but Peggy was liable for 
$5,000 in doctors fees and other expenses.
  Peggy was unemployed for 6 months before she secured another clerical 
position in a medical practice. But the health insurance company that 
provided coverage for the office employees refused to add Peggy to the 
group policy because of her pre-existing heart condition. Earning $6 an 
hour, she was still unable to pay for her drugs and her medical 
treatment, or to pay off her debts.
  Out of necessity, Peggy now lives with her parents and has received 
some assistance from family and friends. The burdens of her medical 
condition and growing debt are overwhelming to her. She has focused on 
paying for her medications, leaving the doctor and hospital bills 
pending for now. Although she lives at home, her parents cannot add her 
to their health policy because she is not a student. Peggy applied to 
the State for Medicaid, hoping for assistance to pay her medication 
costs. But public coverage is not available for single women without 
children with or without employment.
  Peggy is a 22-year-old woman who has already learned that she cannot 
count on employment, private insurance or public aid to ensure that she 
has the medication and treatment she needs to keep her alive. And she 
does not see how she will ever be able to pay her mounting medical 
debts. She cannot feel secure about her future, knowing that no 
insurance company will ever cover her.
  Mr. President, young women like Peggy deserve better from our 
country. We need health reform legislation that eliminates pre-existing 
condition exclusions and allows everyone to purchase coverage they can 
afford. We need a bill that will allow small business owners, like 
Peggy's second employer, to cover all of their workers. Workers in 
small offices deserve the same health care security as workers in large 
factories.
  Senator Mitchell's proposal would permit Peggy to purchase insurance. 
It would also allow Peggy's parents to add her to their own policy. Mr. 
President, I will continue to work with my colleagues in the Senate to 
pass health care reform legislation this session that will provide 
Peggy and all other Americans access to affordable, comprehensive 
health care.

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