[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 19546]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              HEALTH CARE

  (Mr. PASCRELL asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to dispel misinformation that 
has been propagated about the health care system. I've heard many of my 
colleagues across the aisle claim that the Democrats' health care 
proposal will result in rationing. Let's address it.
  How many millions of people have put off getting checkups, have 
avoided doing necessary followups, have delayed needed care or have 
failed to get the prescriptions their doctors have ordered for them?
  Why? Because we ration care every day in this country now. If you 
want to talk about rationing, listen to these numbers:
  Forty-five percent of Americans went without needed care because of 
costs in this country in 2007. That's rationing. Fifty-three percent of 
Americans cut back on their health care in the last year because of 
costs. That's rationing. Between 2000 and 2008, 5 million families 
filed for bankruptcy because of medical bills. That's rationing. About 
one-third of the uninsured have a chronic disease. They are six times 
less likely to receive care for a health problem than are the insured. 
That's rationing.
  As many as 22,000 Americans die each year because they don't have 
health insurance. My brothers and sisters, that's rationing.

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