[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 87 (Thursday, June 13, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H6289-H6290]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            HEALTH INSURANCE

  (Mr. GINGRICH asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GINGRICH. Mr. Speaker, I simply wanted to rise to note that we 
are on the verge of a historic achievement. We have a bill which will 
extend guaranteed portability of health insurance to every American in 
the health insurance system. That is, you will never again have to 
worry about changing jobs. You will never again have job lock because 
of a precondition. You will never again have to worry about a 
precondition stopping you from getting health insurance once you are in 
the system. You can change jobs; you can

[[Page H6290]]

move around; you can do what you need to do.
  This is a vital, vital improvement for the people of America. It is 
the No. 1 concern of working Americans in health care.
  In addition, this bill includes lower cost insurance for family 
farms, for small businesses, and for the self-employed; that is, the 
groups that have the lowest level of insurance participation, those who 
are the least covered by insurance.
  We have developed a medical savings account plan which allows them to 
buy lower cost health insurance to cover any kind of major illness they 
might have. So this is a win/win. It is better health coverage for 
families already in the insurance system because it eliminates 
preconditions, and it is lower cost health insurance for the self-
employed family farms and small businesses.
  I simply hope that the liberals in the Senate who are blocking it 
will get out of the way and allow the American people to have better 
health insurance with better coverage at lower cost.

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