[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Page 2988]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         HEALTHY AMERICANS ACT

  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I cosponsored Senator Wyden's and 
Senator Bennett's Healthy Americans Act last year to support a 
legitimate bipartisan effort that combines ``private markets'' and 
``universal access.'' I am willing to do so again this year, because 
health care reform is too big of an issue for one party to tackle on 
its own. Our only chance of achieving true, meaningful reform is if 
both parties work together.
  However, I do have reservations about this legislation--I see it as a 
work in progress and would not vote for it in its current form. For 
example, the current budget figures are unrealistic. In order to 
maintain budget neutrality, as drafted, the bill would shift a new 
burden on middle-income Americans. We have not yet discovered a way to 
solve this problem without increasing the cost of the bill.
  Another problem I have with the bill is that the mandated level of 
standard benefits is too high. As drafted, typically young, healthy 
Americans would be forced to pay for a richer level of coverage than 
they might now choose or possibly be able to afford.
  I commend the efforts of Senators Wyden and Bennett to reach across 
party lines on this important issue, and look forward to working with 
both of them to further improve this proposal.

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