[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 91 (Wednesday, June 19, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H6513-H6514]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       CONSUMERS UNION WEIGHS IN AGAINST MEDICAL SAVINGS ACCOUNTS

  (Ms. DeLAURO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, in fact, we do want to have portable and 
secure health insurance for people, and we

[[Page H6514]]

want to have insurance companies prohibited from not insuring folks for 
their preexisting conditions. But let me tell the Members, under the 
banner of reform, what the congressional majority has done to the 
health care bill.
  Do not take my word for it, take the word of Consumers Union. 
Consumers Union produces the Consumer Reports that advise us on buying 
an automobile, an appliance, and not to buy a lemon. Let me tell the 
Members what they say about medical savings accounts, which is holding 
up the health care reform bill:

       The inclusion of the Republican MSA proposal in the 
     Kassebaum-Kennedy bill makes the legislation worse than a 
     wash for consumers. It takes us backward in our efforts to 
     make health insurance accessible and affordable.
       MSA's are a time bomb. They turn the very principle of 
     insurance on its head. Instead of pooling resources, they 
     help healthy people accumulate wealth.

  I ask Members to be on their guard and oppose the MSA's.

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