[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 101 (Wednesday, July 8, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S7218]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                              HEALTH CARE

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, last month, I stood here and told everyone 
about a young woman from Nevada named Alysia. She was born with a 
kidney disease, one she fought bravely her entire life. But lately 
things have gotten worse. Similar to far too many Americans in recent 
months, Alysia lost her job. That has happened to far too many 
Americans. When you lose your job, as we have learned, your health care 
often disappears also.
  Alysia did what any of us would do in the same situation, she tried 
to get independent coverage so she could afford the surgery she needs 
to get better. Her doctors say surgery is imperative, but insurance 
companies say: No, you can't get insurance. They refused to cover her. 
They call her kidney disease a preexisting condition--everyone else, 
including Alysia, calls it a tragedy.
  She is not the only Nevadan who has written me about injustice. Caleb 
Wolz is a high school student from Sparks, NV. Similar to so many kids, 
he used to play, when he was younger, all kinds of games. But now he 
just sticks to skiing and rock climbing. You can forgive him for not 
playing some of the games he doesn't play anymore. He was born without 
any legs. Caleb was born without legs.
  As kids grow, they grow out of their shoes. A lot of kids probably 
get a new pair every year. But Caleb, who is now 17, has needed a new 
pair of prosthetic legs every year since he was 5 years old.
  You can probably guess what the story is now, and you have it right. 
His insurance company has decided it knows better than his physicians 
and has decided that Caleb does not need legs that work and fit. Even 
after looking at pictures of the bruises and abrasions Caleb suffered 
from the prosthetics that didn't fit, his insurance company decided, 
once again, his preexisting condition is too expensive to deal with.

  These stories are hard to hear, but they are not hard to come by. 
They are extraordinary, but they are not unique. This happens to women 
all over southern Nevada just like Alysia and boys across northern 
Nevada just like Caleb. It happens to people on the east coast and the 
west coast. It happens to Americans in small towns and big cities. 
Every day, insurance companies look at a patient's medical history and 
the prescriptions they have filled. Then they deny them coverage or 
charge them exorbitant rates because of the patient's age or a specific 
illness. For every 10 patients who try to get health care, 9 of them 
never buy a plan because insurance companies deny them or make it too 
expensive.
  Most of us were not born with a kidney disease such as Alysia's or, 
unlike Caleb, we are born with both our legs. But unless you are in 
absolutely perfect health, without a history of anything from heart 
disease to high cholesterol or hay fever, in the insurance world you 
are out of luck. Some insurance companies even treat Caesarean sections 
as a preexisting condition, and some accuse women of scheduling 
unnecessary C-sections when they give birth. More than half of all 
Americans live with at least one chronic condition, and those 
conditions cause 70 percent of the deaths in America. Yet right now, 
insurance companies that care more about profits than about people are 
in complete control of their well-being. They are holding Americans 
hostage, and far too many of us cannot afford that ransom.
  Reforming health care is a complex endeavor, but one part of the 
Democrats' vision for health care is simple. We are going to give 
people control over their own health. We are no longer going to let 
greedy insurance companies use a patient's preexisting condition as an 
excuse to deny them the care they need.
  We will lower the high cost of health care. We will lower the cost of 
health care generally. We will make sure every American has access to 
that quality, affordable care, and we will do our very best to make 
sure people still have the power to choose their own doctors, 
hospitals, and health plans.
  If we leave it to private insurance companies that are more 
interested in keeping their profits up than keeping us healthy, that 
will not happen, nor will it happen if our Republican colleagues 
continue to defend the status quo. A few weeks ago, the Republican 
leader in the House of Representatives said the following:

       I think we all understand that we have the best health care 
     system in the world.

  How can one defend a health care system that goes out of its way not 
to care for people's health? And how can anyone celebrate such a system 
with a straight face? That health care system told Alysia she can't get 
the kidney surgery she needs. That health care system told Caleb he 
can't get the legs he needs. I think they would respectfully disagree 
with the Republican leader.
  Insurance companies and most of our Republican colleagues seem to 
share a common philosophy. They both reflexively and recklessly say no 
for no good reason. That is a philosophy we cannot afford in America. 
If you are fortunate enough to have coverage you like, you can keep it. 
But if you don't like the fact that the insurance company can deny you 
coverage when they feel like it, you will agree we need to change the 
way things are.

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