[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 19]
[House]
[Page 25777]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              HEALTH CARE

  (Mr. TONKO asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, I rise this afternoon to tell you about a 
constituent of mine who is waiting on Congress to pass comprehensive 
health insurance reform.
  Karen Rozzell resides in Colonie, New York. She had to quit her job 
as a cashier because her diabetes got so bad she couldn't stand and she 
hasn't been able to find other work. When she left her job, she and her 
husband lost their insurance. They thought they could rely on COBRA, 
but it cost them too much and they were forced to let their insurance 
lapse. Her husband, a painter, doesn't have access to health insurance 
through his employment.
  As a diabetic, Karen should be seeing a doctor regularly, but she 
doesn't. A couple of years ago she was hospitalized for a staph 
infection; she was only able to stay in the hospital until the 
infection was cleared up. She signed herself out before her doctors 
wanted her to because she knew she couldn't afford the cost. It took 
her years to pay that bill.
  After living without insurance, her husband was diagnosed with 
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, but the cost of his treatment 
and medication is out of reach for them. She told me she worries every 
time her husband sneezes.
  No one in this country deserves to live in fear like this. We need 
health care reform.

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