[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 104 (Tuesday, July 24, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H4437]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  THE FLETCHER BILL, THE BEST HEALTH CARE PLAN FOR AFFORDABILITY AND 
                             ACCESSIBILITY

  (Mr. KINGSTON asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, one of the goals that I wanted to 
accomplish as a Member of Congress is to help make health care more 
affordable and more accessible.
  This week we have a choice between two bills. One of them is the 
Dingell-Norwood-Ganske bill. That bill seems to be an inner baseball 
game, intramural game between the affluent trial lawyers, the affluent 
medical community and the affluent insurance companies on who can sue 
who. As a result, health care costs, of course, are sure to rise.
  On the other hand, we have the Fletcher bill that, unlike the other 
bill, addresses the issues of affordability and accessibility. It 
offers a Medical Savings Account so that the insured individual will 
become responsible and have an incentive to save money on his or her 
health care. That is one element, a key element, that is missing in our 
health care delivery service today.
  It also helps the uninsured. That brickmason back home who has two or 
three people on his crew, right now he is priced out of health care. 
Under the Fletcher bill, there will be more competition and more 
opportunity for him to buy health care.
  I urge my colleagues to vote for the Fletcher health care bill for 
affordability and accessibility.

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