[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 43 (Wednesday, March 11, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H3320-H3321]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    OUR HEALTH CARE FINANCING SYSTEM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Broun) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BROUN of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, our health care financing system 
in America is broken. We have the best health care system in the world, 
but the financing system is going to degrade, and it's going to wreck 
the quality of health care if we don't do something about it.
  I come before you this evening and talk about this issue that is of 
vital importance to everyone in this body and every American, and that 
is health care.
  The new administration has stated that health care reform is going to 
be their main priority for the rest of the year, and I applaud the 
administration for undertaking this ambitious endeavor to finally 
reform this broken system of health care financing.
  Our current health care system, with a reliance on third-party, or 
employer-provided, insurance, is a relic of World War II. As time 
marches on, we are finding that individual patients, which should be 
the primary concern of any health care system, are being relegated to 
the back seat in the decision-making process, leaving it up to their 
physicians to try to obtain payment from insurance providers, with 
varying degrees of success. In fact, insurance bureaucrats, both 
government and private, are currently making health care decisions and 
are already rationing health care, and these folks are not even 
medically trained.
  Instead, if true health care reform is to be at all successful, we 
must refocus our efforts on putting patients front and center in all 
decisions that relate to their health. The patient and the physician 
should be deciding the best course of action as it relates to the 
patient, just as the patient should be the main arbiter with their 
insurance provider. Once people are finally allowed to assume 
responsibility for their own medical well-being, they will be able to 
demand upfront an explanation of charges for potential tests and 
procedures. Only in a fully patient-centered system can we bring the 
market forces of accountability and transparency into the health care 
system that exists in other areas of our economy.
  I envision a way in which we can build a vibrant health care system 
in our country, where physicians are free to practice medicine without 
the massive government burdens that our current health care system 
weighs them down with. Our new system will still have a vital place for 
a third-party payment structure to cover extraordinary or even 
catastrophic procedures. But the basic tenet must be simple and 
straightforward: The patient must always come first, and the patient 
must ultimately be responsible for their own health care well-being.
  The task set before us is enormous, but it is attainable. Failure is 
not an option, but a fate worse than failure for the future of our 
country and its people is absolutely making the wrong choice.
  I cannot stress this enough. Our country's health care system must 
not follow the ill-advised example of other western countries, 
specifically France, England, and Sweden, with an utter reliance on the 
government to provide health care for every individual. This is 
socialism in its most basic form and is directly responsible for 
burdening these countries with such massive financial obligations that 
the only remedies are radical changes and cuts or bankruptcy. Not to 
mention that the standard of care that these countries provide is an 
inferior one.
  True, our current health care system is rapidly going bankrupt and 
bankrupting every American in the process. But we spend 2\1/2\ times 
more money than any other country in the world right now. Just imagine 
how much we'll spend if we follow Europe's lead and totally socialize 
our health care system.
  So we must not follow their reckless example as we work to change our 
own health care financing. But we must not waver either in the face of 
this enormous task set before us. And make no mistake about its 
enormity.
  I have never encountered a problem, except for national defense, 
where a solution from the government has turned

[[Page H3321]]

out better than a solution from the private sector. That said, we 
should not stand for trading in government bureaucrats for insurance 
company bureaucrats. I cannot stress this enough: The ultimate 
decisions must be in the hands of every individual patient. Physicians 
should be in charge of explaining the benefits and risks of each and 
every test and procedure to the patients, and the patient will decide 
how to proceed. When necessary, the patient will consult with their 
insurance provider, seeking guidance about extraordinary procedures or 
hospital stays or whatever is required.
  We must take steps to change our health care system, but socialism is 
not the answer. Let's work together to find solutions that are patient-
focused and not government-focused.

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