[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 184 (Wednesday, December 9, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S12744]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           HEALTH CARE REFORM

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, much of this momentous health care debate 
revolves around numbers, as it should. We read them in reports, see 
them in charts, and hear about them in speeches. The state of health 
care in this country is in such a severe crisis that these numbers are 
often quite overwhelming. Today, I want to talk about 1 number--31. It 
has a special significance, especially today, along the course of this 
long, historic pursuit to make it possible for every American to have 
health insurance and good health.
  First, let's discuss the future.
  The number 31 is a powerful reminder of both the great opportunity 
before us and the great cost of inaction, a tangible illustration of 
what we stand to gain and what we stand to lose. When we pass this 
bill, 31 million Americans who today have no health insurance will have 
health insurance at long last. That means they no longer will have to 
put off the surgery they need and will be able to finally use 
prescriptions as prescribed--not half a pill every day, a whole pill 
every day. It means 31 million Americans will have a decent shot at a 
healthy life.
  If we don't act, if we let misinformation confuse us or let 
distractions divert us or refuse to answer the American people's call 
to action, many more will suffer. In Nevada, like every other State, 
health insurance costs continue to climb. If we don't act, in just 6 
years, the typical Nevada family will spend more than 31 percent of 
their income on health care premiums. Almost a third of every Nevadan's 
paycheck will go right to his or her insurance company. That number is 
even higher on average throughout the country but only if we do 
nothing.
  Second, let's talk for just a little bit about today, the present.
  Right now, every 31 minutes insurance companies terminate insurance 
for 300 Americans. Sometimes it is because you lost your job, because 
you lost your health care when you lost your job. Sometimes it is 
because you change your job but your health care company doesn't come 
along with your job change. And sometimes, at the very time you need it 
the most, the insurance company says: Sorry. We are not going to 
continue the insurance we have given you before. Because they want to 
make more money, a greedy health insurance company looks at your 
medical history and says: I am sorry, but we are going to take it away 
from you. You have no recourse. Maybe you have had high cholesterol 
your whole life or maybe acne as a child or you had a C-section as an 
adult. Health insurance companies have used all these reasons to drop 
someone's coverage. Maybe you had minor surgery 10 years ago or your 
mother had breast cancer or your father had heart disease. That is all 
it takes. We all know that, much like our Republican colleagues, 
insurance companies will use any excuse in the book to say no.
  But that statistic, that every 31 minutes in America more than 300 
people lose their health insurance coverage, what does that really 
mean? Imagine if the Senate gallery--600 people can be seated in our 
galleries--imagine if every single one of these seats was filled by a 
good American citizen who wanted to look over the Senate and they all 
had health care when they came in here. Imagine that each of them came 
this morning to watch their government work, to observe the proceedings 
here on the floor for an hour or so. Then each of them went on their 
way when that hour came to a close, but on their way out the door they 
were told that no longer would they have health care. That is what is 
happening right now in America, the wealthiest and greatest country in 
the world. Every 31 minutes, 300 more people lose their health 
coverage.
  Third and finally, let's talk about the past. Let's put the 
historical moment upon us in the context of history.
  It was 31 years ago this day that Senator Ted Kennedy gave one of the 
most profound and stirring speeches both of his remarkable life and in 
the history of the Senate and certainly in the history of our Nation's 
long health care debate. In that talk, he made an observation that 
rings just as true today as it did more than three decades ago. He 
said:

       One of the most shameful things about modern America is 
     that in our unbelievably rich land, the quality of the health 
     care available to many of our people is unbelievably poor and 
     the cost is unbelievably high.

  Senator Kennedy observed how out of control costs were back in 1978 
and warned how quickly they would rise if we did not act.
  Well, we didn't act. In the past 31 years, health care costs have 
skyrocketed, and that is a gross understatement. The number of 
uninsured Americans has done the same. We have 50 million now uninsured 
and more bankruptcies than ever. Three out of five are because of 
medical expenses. Other countries have no bankruptcies because of 
medical expenses. Germany, France, Great Britain, Japan--they don't 
have bankruptcies because of health expenses. The cost of prescription 
drugs has doubled in just the past decade, and far fewer small 
businesses can afford to cover their workers. One more thing has 
happened: The resistance of the health insurance industry and 
congressional Republicans to change the American people's demand has 
only become more tone deaf and more intense.

  If we don't act at this time, those terrible trends will only 
continue. I can hear Senator Kennedy now. I wasn't here 31 years ago, 
but I can hear him because I listened to him very closely for more than 
31 years. Costs will continue to go up without end. More Americans who 
have health insurance today will lose it. More patients will die of 
diseases we know how to treat. As the crisis spirals, insurance company 
executives will laugh all the way to the bank. One company made $1 
billion last year; the chief executive took home $100 million. How is 
that?
  Much of the health care debate revolves around numbers, but at its 
heart, it is really about people. On December 9, 1978, 31 years ago, 
Senator Ted Kennedy asked us to recognize that health care is ``a basic 
right for all, not just an expensive luxury for the few.'' A generation 
later, good health is still a luxury in this country. We are working 
day and night to see if we can help the generation that is here now and 
generations to come. If we don't, they will have the same memories 31 
years from now as Senator Kennedy prophesied 31 years ago.

                          ____________________