[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 10890]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             MYTH: AMERICANS DON'T WANT BROAD HEALTH REFORM

  (Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, another health care myth. It 
is amazing that opponents of comprehensive health care reform still 
make the argument that Americans don't want it, but they do, and it is 
time to debunk it. According to an April 2009 Kaiser Family Foundation 
Health Tracking Poll, just from this month, 59 percent of Americans say 
that it is more important now than ever to pass health care reform, 59 
percent. And it is easy to understand why. Because of costs, 42 percent 
of Americans reported that they didn't see a doctor in the past year; 
36 percent skipped dental care; 27 percent skipped a recommended 
medical test or treatment; and 18 percent of Americans reported that 
they cut their pills in half because they couldn't afford it.
  This isn't time for small ideas. This isn't time to just protect the 
status quo. Americans demand comprehensive health care reform, and it 
is time that this Congress gives it to them this year.

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