[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 1855]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         OUR HEALTH CARE SYSTEM

  (Mr. WALZ asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WALZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to applaud the House, the Senate 
and the President for having the courage to attack the important issue 
of health care. I also want to recognize that the legislation passed by 
this House in November takes a huge leap forward in addressing the 
issue of paying for value in health care.
  The current payment system rewards volume and quantity rather than 
quality and outcomes. We waste hundreds of billions of dollars every 
year on tests and procedures that do not improve patient health. We 
need to change the incentive system. We need doctors and hospitals to 
work together to coordinate care based around patient need.
  In my district in southern Minnesota, the Mayo Clinic has done 
exactly that. There are other institutions around the country that also 
provide high-quality, low-cost, efficient care. This is the one issue 
that both sides can agree on.
  Yesterday in Roll Call, led by the Mayo Clinic, the Chamber of 
Commerce, Cleveland Clinic and other insurers, they stated: reforming 
health care in America will not become easier with the passage of time. 
We encourage all stakeholders, government officials, patients, 
families, insurers, doctors and nurses to work together to pass reforms 
that provide quality, affordable health care for Americans. This is the 
path to true health care reform that will strengthen our economy, take 
care of America's families, and grow jobs.

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