[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 14218]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  COMPETITION LOWERS HEALTH CARE COSTS

  (Mr. MURPHY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. MURPHY. Mr. Speaker, did you know that a 25-year-old male in good 
health can purchase a policy for health insurance for $960 in Kentucky 
and the same policy costs about $5,800 in New Jersey? Did you know that 
a policy priced at $1,600 in Iowa is $2,600 in Washington State? And 
did you know that that same policy costs about $4,000 in Massachusetts?
  One reason for this disparity is that families have little or no 
choice when it comes to selecting health care insurance. Where there is 
no competition, there is very little that drives cost down. Each State 
has its own health insurance mandates, and some of them are good, but 
there are about 1,800 of them all across the Nation, including 
provisions for acupuncturists, massage therapists, and hair 
replacements.
  Many of these mandates may be helpful, but when you add up the cost, 
they can put health care out of the reach of families. Congress should 
establish a trial program allowing consumers and families to purchase 
health insurance policies from other States. Let us give families a 
choice instead of more costs.
  I urge my colleagues to learn more about competition in health 
insurance by looking at my Web site at Murphy.house.gov. America needs 
us to go to work on this.

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