[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 19548]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    UNIQUE SOLUTIONS TO HEALTH CARE

  (Ms. HIRONO asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. HIRONO. Mr. Speaker, we've been grappling with how to provide all 
of our citizens with access to affordable, quality health care since 
President Truman's time. With health care costs being 18 percent of our 
GDP and growing and 47 million uninsured, we need to take action now. 
My Education and Labor Committee spent 22\1/2\ hours in a 24-hour 
period debating H.R. 3200, a historic bill.
  In 1974, the State of Hawaii enacted historic legislation of its own 
called the Prepaid Health Care Act. This law requires employers to 
provide health care coverage to full-time employees. After 35 years, 
the Prepaid Health Care Act remains the only employer mandate law of 
its kind in our country.
  An economist at the University of Hawaii estimates that per capita, 
health expenditures in Hawaii have been about 7 percent lower than the 
national average. The economist believes that Hawaii's wider health 
insurance coverage and support for preventive health care led to this 
outcome.
  Hawaii's Prepaid Health Care Act has been the major driver in the 
health and well-being of our residents.

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