[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 14360]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       FIX THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM

  (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute.)
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise to call out the siren 
and the clarion call for fixing America's health care system. We 
urgently need to fix it, and we realize that if you've got it, you like 
it, you can keep it.
  We need to get a system that will allow those that are underinsured 
and without insurance to be able to be cared for in this Nation. We 
need to reduce the serious health disparities. We need to also ensure 
that there is a public option, that there is universal access to health 
care. Make it a good Medicare plan that helps the young, the old, and 
the working Americans.
  In addition, we need to be fair to how we pay for it. We need to 
realize that physician-owned hospitals are not the enemy. In fact, they 
help to, in essence, bring down health disparities. Many physician-
owned hospitals or investor-owned hospitals with doctors involved are 
in the urban and rural areas where no other hospitals would go. Let's 
fix this system in a fair manner that addresses the question of making 
sure the 47 million-plus who are underinsured and those without 
insurance can have a good public option, can as well have a fair system 
of good doctors and have good hospitals and make it work for working 
Americans and others who are in need.

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