[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 42 (Tuesday, March 10, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H3109]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 SOLVING AMERICA'S HEALTH CARE PROBLEM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Washington (Mr. McDermott) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, for the first time in 15 years we have a 
real chance to solve America's health care crisis. The stars are 
aligning as has never been seen before. The American people want a 
solution, American business needs a solution to stay competitive and 
retain their best employees, segments of the health care industry, such 
as doctors, want a solution, and the President and the Congress have 
started a dialogue. Yet despite all those positive signs, we must not 
make the mistake of believing a solution is at hand or that it will 
come easily.
  As a nation we stand at a crossroads, either sweeping reform or 
sweeping this crisis under the rug with another Band-Aid. We have to 
translate the national dialogue into legislation that makes access to 
affordable health care coverage what it must be in a free and 
Democratic society, a right and not a privilege.
  There are lot of pieces to that puzzle and some are more readily 
solved more than others. In fact, I think some early victories might 
help instill confidence in the American people. Let me give you an 
example.
  When I graduated from medical school, I was $500 in debt after my 
entire medical education. Today, the average medical student is well 
over $100,000 in debt. When you are underwater by that much money, you 
are forced to make decisions based on debt service, not on public 
service. Across America, from inner-cities to rural communities, we are 
woefully short of primary doctors. And as long as new doctors have to 
chase high paying jobs to pay off their debt, we are going to remain 
short staffed in these underserved areas in our country.
  Today I am introducing legislation that would offer scholarships that 
would pay for most all of tuition for medical students in public 
colleges if they will apply their medical training in underserved areas 
when they graduate; an even exchange, one year of tuition for one year 
of service.
  The American Medical Association says there were 45,000 students 
enrolled last year in public medical colleges and the mean cost of 
tuition was $20,000. For a total investment of less than $1 billion per 
year, my legislation would provide a workforce so that every American 
can have access to affordable health care wherever they live. The 
scholarships would be accessible to a medical student enrolled full 
time and in good academic standing at a public institution.
  Imagine the positive impact that we would have if we empowered new 
doctors to serve their country and the highest ideals of their 
profession instead of serving their debt load. It is important to make 
the financial commitment at the beginning of medical school so that 
students can study areas that are related to primary care.
  Anyone who knows me knows I have long advocated a universal health 
care system, providing a minimum set of benefits for everyone. But we 
cannot get universal coverage or any interim step on the way to 
universal coverage without addressing, and reducing, the cost of health 
care education for our doctors.
  We could make a significant impact by lowering the cost of the health 
care workforce if my bill were accepted. But we would do something 
else. There are a lot of talented young people who don't have the 
financial means to go to medical school and fear a crushing debt burden 
even if they qualify. By removing that mountain of debt, we could use 
that rock to build a foundation for a permanent solution.
  We can solve America's health care problem and we can do it before 
the end of this year, but this is a first step that must happen. We 
must think about the workforce that will provide that universal access 
to everyone in the country. We cannot continue with the present funding 
of health care education and expect that we are going to have the 
people to provide the primary care, to do the wellness care, to do the 
prevention. They will all go into high-paid specialties to pay off 
their debt.
  This bill is a step that we must take, and it is one where we can 
make a step forward for all the people in this country.

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