[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 19550]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             THE HEALTH CARE REFORM PLAN AND WHY WE NEED IT

  (Mr. MORAN of Virginia asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I can understand why our friends 
and colleagues on the other side were very much concerned over the cost 
estimate that the Congressional Budget Office came up with for this 
health insurance plan. But there are some things in the CBO report that 
we also need to be aware of.
  First of all, over the next decade, there will actually be a $6 
billion surplus. So in terms of adding to the deficit, it doesn't. It 
actually adds a surplus. But they also estimate that only about 3 
percent of Americans will actually choose the public option. So 97 
percent of Americans will continue to be in their private plan. They 
also estimate that the amount of employer-provided coverage is going to 
increase. So this is hardly some kind of socialized government takeover 
of health care when 97 percent will continue to be insured by their own 
employer.
  Now, the real reason why I think this needs to be done is that health 
insurance premiums have gone up by 3 fold in the past 9 years. And that 
is why we need health care reform.

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