[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 15]
[House]
[Page 20395]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              COMMONSENSE LEGISLATION TO PROMOTE WELLNESS

  (Mrs. DAHLKEMPER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. DAHLKEMPER. Mr. Speaker, during the upcoming August work period, 
my colleagues and I will travel back to our districts to talk about 
meaningful health care reform that fixes what is broken and that 
protects what works.
  One of the things that does not work is the skyrocketing costs of 
medical treatment in the United States. If Congress is serious about 
tackling the issue, we must address the growing concern of chronic 
disease--preventable conditions that account for 85 percent of total 
health spending. Obesity alone cost $147 billion last year.
  Today, I am introducing legislation that will offer up to 20 percent 
discounted premiums to those who make the effort to live healthier 
lifestyles, such as not smoking, such as achieving and maintaining 
normal body mass index and working at lowering blood pressure and 
cholesterol levels. As a result, there will be an economic incentive to 
encourage personal responsibility for one's health, which will 
dramatically reduce overall costs.
  As we look at health insurance reform, we need to make sure that we 
look at encouraging wellness. I urge my colleagues to join me in 
support of this commonsense legislation to promote wellness.

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