[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 20]
[House]
[Page 26973]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              HEALTH CARE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Hastings) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Madam Speaker, the Democrat health bill 
is not about lowering costs or making health care more affordable, it's 
about government control and higher spending. It's about a government 
takeover of our health care system. It follows that it's about the 
Federal Government deciding how, where and when you get your health 
care.
  At its most basic, the bill creates a government-run health insurance 
system that will end private health insurance options and, in doing so, 
will force Americans to purchase coverage only from a government-
controlled program. The Federal Government would therefore decide which 
health care plans are acceptable. A Federal commissioner would decide 
which health care benefits are offered and how much is to be charged 
for those benefits. The proposed Medicare cuts would eliminate options 
for seniors and place recipients under a Medicare without choices, 
choices like the current Medicare Advantage program.
  In page after page of this massive bill, Federal health programs are 
expanded while private health care is restricted. In section after 
section, personal health care choices dwindle, and Federal control over 
decisions that should be made by you and your doctor increase.
  One of the most striking examples, Madam Speaker, begins on page 481. 
The Democrat bill arbitrarily bars doctors from opening new doctor-
owned hospitals, including the 124 hospitals that are currently under 
construction, and it severely restricts the existing 235 doctor-owned 
hospitals like the Wenatchee Valley Medical Center in my district from 
expanding their services.
  The Wenatchee Valley Medical Center is a top-rated hospital that 
serves a rural underserved area. It was founded in 1940 by three 
doctors and today is owned by 150 doctors, each with an equal share. 
The medical center employs 1,500 people; serves a population of a 
quarter of a million people in an area the size of the State of 
Maryland; and treats 150,000 patients a year, half of whom are Medicare 
and Medicaid recipients.
  Democrats, though, have decided that doctors cannot own hospitals 
regardless of the quality of care or degree of need. Under the Democrat 
bill, doctor-owned hospitals would face unprecedented reporting 
requirements, punishing new restrictions and strict limitations on 
their ability to expand. In fact, with the exception of a small handful 
of facilities selected by Democrat leaders, hospitals that are owned by 
doctors are barred from growing, barred from adding even a single 
hospital bed ever.
  Madam Speaker, something is very, very wrong when this Congress is 
blocking access to health care, banning new hospitals and blocking the 
growth of top-quality facilities because they are simply doctor owned. 
But now the position of Democrats in charge of writing health policy in 
this House is very, very clear: They want to outlaw all doctor-owned 
hospitals, period.
  Madam Speaker, we are headed down a very dangerous road when the 
Federal Government is getting in the business of deciding who can and 
who cannot own a hospital. But I am convinced that this is only the 
start. A Democrat Ways and Means subcommittee chairman was quoted this 
week as saying, ``Get your toe in, get your knee in, get your shoulder 
in, and pretty soon you're in the room.'' This is a blunt admission 
that if Democrats succeed with this government takeover, those in 
Washington, D.C. will already have bigger plans to seize even more 
control of every American's health care.
  Madam Speaker, I don't think that's where America wants to go. There 
is a better solution, and it doesn't involve penalizing hospitals, 
raising taxes or cutting Medicare. The plan I support focuses on 
lowering costs by expanding health care choices and tools to help 
families save, making it easier for small businesses to afford and 
offer health care; ending lawsuit abuse; and, Madam Speaker, more 
importantly, protecting the doctor-patient relationship from government 
intrusion.

                          ____________________