[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 24 (Wednesday, February 24, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H759]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             ANTHEM BLUE CROSS SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF ITSELF

  (Ms. SPEIER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, Anthem Blue Cross should be ashamed of 
itself for raising premiums in California by 39 percent. People in my 
district have complained of increases as much as $2,400 a year. How can 
anyone afford that kind of an increase? This at a time when the 
insurance lobby has spent millions of dollars to defeat health care 
reform in America. This at a time when Anthem passed $4.2 billion to 
the parent company, WellPoint, in profits alone. It's beyond my 
comprehension how any Members of the people's House can continue to 
defend this behavior.
  It's time to demand an answer to a question asked many years ago by 
Pete Seeger, ``Whose side are you on?'' You're either with the American 
people or you're with the insurance lobby. You either stand up for 
those who want affordable health insurance, or you lay down with the 
corporate titans who continue to care less about the American people.
  Whose side are you on?

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