[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 3146]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           HEALTH CARE REFORM

  (Mr. BACA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. BACA. Mr. Speaker, Anthem Blue Cross in my district of California 
has requested raising premiums by 39 percent.
  If we do nothing, the American people will continue to pay higher 
premiums and higher out-of-pocket costs now and in the future. And the 
insurance companies will continue to control the high cost of health 
care. A step-by-step approach is not enough, and it is not the answer, 
especially for the 219,000 families in my district without coverage, 
and with a 14 percent unemployment rate.
  Health care reform holds the insurance companies accountable, ends 
discrimination based on preexisting conditions, cuts and eventually 
closes the doughnut hole for thousands of seniors, including 5,200 in 
seniors in my district, expands coverage for 31 million Americans who 
do not have health care coverage, and cuts the national deficit by $100 
billion over the next 10 years.
  Health care reform must make insurance more affordable, providing the 
largest middle class cut for health care in history, reducing the 
premium costs for tens of millions of families and small business 
owners who are priced out of coverage today. I ask us to support health 
care reform.

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