[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 38 (Tuesday, March 16, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H1461]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           HEALTH CARE REFORM

  (Mr. CASSIDY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. CASSIDY. Madam Speaker, I am a physician who has treated the 
uninsured in a teaching hospital for the last 20 years and, indeed, not 
just the uninsured, but oftentimes the people who have Medicaid. So I 
applaud the President and my Democratic colleagues because they want to 
lower costs and expand access to quality care.
  On the other hand, where we greatly differ is, as my colleague just 
said, he is quite content with giving Medicaid to more and more people.
  Now, it ignores the fact that it is bankrupting the States. It 
ignores the fact that right now I treat patients who have Medicaid in a 
public hospital because they can't be seen in a private place. And, it 
ignores an article in The New York Times which points out that, as 
Medicaid payments shrink, patients and doctors lose. In this case, a 
woman with cancer has lost because payments are so low for Medicaid 
that no longer can she find a provider who can afford to treat her.
  So we do differ. I do not want to give Medicaid to everybody. I want 
to strengthen the private insurance market and allow those with 
preexisting conditions to have the same health care we have, not lose 
their health care because of a government program.

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