[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 2487]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    STATE OF THE UNION'S HEALTH CARE

  (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, the rapidly rising cost of health care has 
put quality coverage out of the reach of millions of families. Too many 
cannot afford to see their doctor. Too many put off early treatment. 
Too many are overwhelmed by hospital bills. Too many meet a wall of 
bureaucracy that stands between them and their doctor. This system 
costs too many lives and too many dollars.
  Each side of the aisle has offered solutions: national health care on 
one side of the aisle, health savings accounts on the other. But these 
two plans deal with payments. Neither solves the problem of costly 
errors and inefficiency. Cost shifting is not cost savings. They only 
focus on who is paying, when we need to reform what we are paying for.
  Electronic medical records, electronic prescribing, eliminating 
hospital-borne infections, accurate dates on prescription drugs, 
expanding patients' care management, ending defensive medicine and 
allowing doctors to volunteer at community health centers are among the 
reforms our Nation needs.
  Any of us would reach out to save the life of one person. We must 
reform the health care system to save ten of thousands of lives and 
tens of billions of dollars. Members can see more information on this 
at www.murphy.house.gov.

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