[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 17662]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               HEALTH CARE CHOICE FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

  (Mr. GRIJALVA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. GRIJALVA. Private health insurance companies have two-thirds of 
all Americans that have insurance enrolled in their plans, and they pay 
one-third of the overall costs for health care in this country. Two-
thirds of that cost is borne by the American taxpayer and the working 
middle class of this country.
  You will hear in the next few days a lot of harping about the cost of 
health care reform for this Nation. I think the only way--and I believe 
sincerely--to reduce health care costs, bring private insurance 
companies under control by having a competitive plan, is to have a 
public option.
  A public option does not deny people health care because of 
preexisting conditions--a public option in the free marketplace that 
competes with private insurance, and a public option that extends 
health benefits and opportunities to all Americans.
  If we are going to do health reform right, we must provide 
competition for public insurance, and we must provide opportunity and 
choice for the American people.

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