[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 15620]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              HEALTH CARE REFORM AND THE ROLE OF CONGRESS

  (Mr. TIM MURPHY of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. TIM MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, think if the government 
runs all health care it will be easy for your doctor to make decisions 
to get you the right care at the best price? Well, Congress doesn't 
think so.
  In the 110th Congress, 452 separate bills were introduced to fix 
problems of Medicaid and Medicare.
  What if your doctor prescribes home care rather than send you to a 
nursing home at three times the cost? It takes an act of Congress to 
change the rules.
  Screening for glaucoma? Well, it depends on who you are. Otherwise, 
ask Congress to change the law.
  Maybe you have multiple sclerosis that prevents you from working and 
you cannot afford the medication. You have to wait 2 years to qualify 
for help, unless Congress changes the law.
  When less than one in four Americans think Congress is doing a great 
job, should Congress really be in charge of your health insurance?
  Let's fix the problems. Focus on value not volume, quality not 
quantity, and stop wasting hundreds of billions of health care dollars.
  There should be no bureaucracy between you and your doctor. Reform, 
yes. Oversight, yes. Accountability, transparency, absolutely. But 
becoming an insurance company, let's think about it.

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