[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6195]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                  REFORMS NEEDED IN HEALTH CARE SYSTEM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Langevin) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. LANGEVIN. Mr. Speaker, today I have organized my freshman 
Democratic colleagues to speak out on an issue of great importance to 
our country, that is, on the issue of health care. I understand that 
the gentleman from New York (Mr. Israel) has already spoken, and I 
thank my colleague for his participation.
  Mr. Speaker, many of us were elected in large part because we vowed 
to reform our health care system, to make quality medical care and 
prescription drugs affordable for all Americans.
  Today nearly 44 million Americans under the age of 65, 11 million of 
whom are children, do not have health insurance.
  In the State of Rhode Island, my home, 1 out of 10 people lack health 
insurance. As we all know, health insurance is critical to obtaining 
necessary, affordable care. Those without insurance often pay two, even 
three times more for medical care than an insured person pays for that 
very same service. The uninsured are hospitalized at least 50 percent 
more often than the insured for avoidable conditions. They are also 
more likely to be diagnosed with later-stage cancer than those with 
insurance. Even newborn infants born to uninsured mothers have a 31 
percent greater risk for adverse health outcomes. This inequity in 
access to medical care reflects the unfair disparity and health care 
costs the uninsured face on a regular basis.
  Mr. Speaker, that is why I plan to introduce legislation to require 
the Department of Health and Human Services to make substantive 
recommendations on how to eliminate this disparity and report to 
Congress within 1 year on these findings.
  Another facet of today's health insurance quagmire is the high cost 
employees must pay for health insurance premiums, so high, in fact, 
that many opt out of this vital benefit. Over one-third of the 
uninsured are in families where employer-sponsored coverage is 
declined, and Medicaid does not always cover these families, which is 
why I plan to introduce legislation to help States subsidize employees 
and some of the employers' health insurance premium costs. I want to 
make sure employed workers are able to obtain the health care coverage 
that they need and deserve.
  A third aspect of health insurance I am deeply concerned about is the 
lack of prescription drug coverage in Medicare; 13 million Medicare 
recipients lack drug coverage at the present time. In Rhode Island 
alone, almost 200,000 of our seniors have no drug coverage; and drugs 
are not cheap. In 1999, prescription drugs accounted for almost 10 
percent of individual health spending. In many cases these 
prescriptions amount to $500 or more per month. To a senior on a fixed 
income, this represents a greater share of their monthly check. A 
disproportionate share, and this is wrong.
  With 77 million baby boomers soon to retire, we must curb this trend 
before it spirals out of control. By requiring drug companies to sell 
prescription drugs in the United States for the same price they charge 
in underdeveloped countries, I believe we can alleviate the burden on 
people lacking drug coverage. I commend the gentleman from Maine (Mr. 
Allen), who has introduced H.R. 1400, of which I am a proud cosponsor, 
the Prescription Drug Fairness Act for Seniors 2001. This legislation 
ensures drug companies charge fair prices in the U.S., and it is 
estimated to reduce prices for brand-name prescription medications on 
average by 40 percent.

                              {time}  1400

  All of these issues that I have mentioned address healthcare 
affordability, and ensuring and guaranteeing a minimum standard of 
quality is also important. After all, the health care we must pay for 
is essential for everyone, and it must provide the care that people 
need. The Bipartisan Patient Protection Act of 2001, otherwise known as 
the Patients' Bill of Rights, would ensure patients obtain this quality 
care and are granted greater control over their health care.




  If enacted, this bill would provide access to emergency care, 
specialty care, and clinical trials and allow external review for all 
Americans who receive employer-sponsored health care. This bill 
represents a critical step toward improving our health care system and 
placing control of patient care firmly in the hands of patients and 
their doctors.
  Disparity in health care costs, lack of affordable health insurance, 
a prescription drug plan for our seniors, and patients' rights to 
control the quality of their own medical care are some of the most 
pressing health care issues facing America today. I urge my colleagues 
to work together to solve these problems.
  Reforming our health care system is probably one of the most 
complicated endeavors for Congress to undertake. But let us not lose 
sight of it. It is a goal that we can and must achieve together. It 
must happen. I look forward to working with all of my colleagues to 
make this a reality.

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