[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 24 (Wednesday, February 24, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H758]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1015
                           HEALTH CARE REFORM

  (Mr. BACA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. BACA. Mr. Speaker, American families in my district are 
struggling to make ends meet and pay for health care services. 
Unemployment is 16 percent. Foreclosure is the fourth in the Nation.
  The proposal released by President Obama this week is a step towards 
a healthier future for families and small businesses. Health cost 
coverage should be a right, not a privilege for the few. That means no 
loss of coverage when you get sick; coverage for as many people as 
possible that is affordable; do away with unfair practices like 
discrimination of preexisting conditions and caps on coverage; lower 
drug costs for seniors and lower premiums for early retirement; and 
better access and stronger protection for women. Health care reform 
will create jobs and bring down the deficit.
  In my State of California, Anthem Blue Cross proposed to raise their 
premiums with double-digit percentages. This must stop.
  I urge my colleagues to work to achieve health care reform. Let's not 
work with piecemeal solutions that will go nowhere, but solve the 
problems once and for all.

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