[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 6189]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           HEALTH CARE REFORM

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                          HON. JERRY McNERNEY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 22, 2010

  Mr. McNERNEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my proud support 
for the passage of historic health reform legislation earlier this 
year. I am glad the Congress, after working for more than nine months, 
was able to pass comprehensive health care reform that will reduce the 
growth in health care costs, cut the deficit, and provide affordable 
health insurance for an additional 32 million Americans.
  The package passed by Congress, which includes H.R. 3590 and H.R. 
4872 as enacted, will reduce the deficit by $143 billion over ten years 
and by more than $1 trillion over the second decade. Enacting 
responsible health care reform will provide health care security for 
individuals, families, and small businesses across the country. This 
legislation will ensure that individuals can no longer be denied 
coverage due to a pre-existing condition or kicked off their insurance 
when they get sick. Health care reform also places caps on annual and 
lifetime out-of-pocket costs so that individuals and families will no 
longer go bankrupt due to an illness.
  Despite the benefits and enhanced Medicare protections that I am 
confident health reform will bring, I wish to stress the importance of 
vigorous oversight of the newly created Independent Medicare Advisory 
Board, IMAB. H.R. 3590 establishes such a board, whose goal is to 
reduce the per capita rate of growth in Medicare spending. I strongly 
support the need to control costs, but I believe elected officials who 
answer to the people should make the key decisions affecting health 
programs. Medicare beneficiaries expect Congress to take responsibility 
for shaping Medicare, allowing Americans a voice through their elected 
representatives in determining the benefits they receive on a daily 
basis.
  H.R. 3950 wisely prevents IMAB from recommending measures that would 
ration health care, increase Medicare beneficiary cost-sharing, or 
otherwise restrict benefits. However, we must remain vigilant in our 
oversight of IMAB to ensure that the board serves our constituents' 
best interests.

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