[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 38 (Tuesday, March 16, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H1453]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           HEALTH CARE REFORM

  (Ms. HIRONO asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. HIRONO. Your health or your home? Americans should not have to 
make this choice, but all too often they have to because of the high 
cost of health care. Lesley Czechowicz of Kihei, Maui, called my office 
yesterday to tell me about her 20-year-old niece. Last year, her niece 
collapsed and fell into a seizure. Medics rushed her to the hospital; 
and, ultimately, she was diagnosed with epilepsy.
  Her niece had a part-time retail job that did not offer health 
insurance to their employees. Because of the emergency care and 
subsequent follow-up visits to the doctor, her niece was recently 
forced to sell her house so that she could pay her medical bills. 
Lesley called me because she wanted to make sure I would support health 
care reform. She told me that while it's too late for her niece, it's 
not too late for our country. I couldn't agree more.
  Private health insurance companies run a business. Their goal is to 
make money for their shareholders. They pay their CEOs millions of 
dollars a year while raising health care costs for the rest of us. 
Whose side are you on?

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