[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 20]
[House]
[Page 27184]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 SAY ``YES'' TO HEALTH CARE FOR AMERICA

  (Mr. PAYNE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, the American people are counting on us to 
reform this broken health care system. Health insurance premiums and 
out-of-pocket costs have risen steadily, and the number of families in 
trouble over health care continues to grow--48 million uninsured, 50 
million underinsured. We simply cannot afford to maintain the status 
quo.
  Those who continue to resist a much-needed change in our health care 
system are refusing to deal with the problems, and they won't go away 
if we ignore them.
  The health care insurance reforms we are espousing will benefit 
Americans, including those who are already enrolled. No longer will 
coverage be denied or hikes go for preexisting conditions. Insurance 
companies will no longer be able to drop insurance when a policyholder 
becomes sick, just when a patient needs insurance the most.
  There will be a positive emphasis on prevention, with vaccinations, 
mammograms, and colonoscopies that will be covered with no out-of-
pocket expenses. In addition, there will be lower premiums for millions 
of older Americans who will see the doughnut hole go away.
  I urge my colleagues to do the right thing and vote for this bill.

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