[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16061]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1015
                    REFORM HEALTH CARE THE RIGHT WAY

  (Mr. FLEMING asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. FLEMING. Madam Speaker, from today, the ABC network will be known 
as the ``All Barack Channel'' due to unprecedented propaganda for the 
President's health plan.
  Democrats and Republicans agree that our health care system needs 
reforming, and we essentially agree on how, with one very important 
exception: a government-run plan is not the solution.
  Our current Medicare system is a microcosm of what the proposed 
public plan would look like. Medicare is propped up by the privately 
insured as it is, and is still on a course for bankruptcy within 10 
years.
  Our President says he can make a government-run system lower cost. 
Then why hasn't anybody been able to do that with Medicare in 50 years? 
Creating a public option like Medicare will progressively increase 
private insurance costs due to cost shifting and eventually drive 
private insurers out of business. Besides the damage it would do to the 
private sector, the government does not have the money to pay the $1.6 
trillion price tag.
  As a physician, I say we need to reform, bring down costs, and 
increase access to private insurance. We do not need the government in 
the exam room.

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