[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6388]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           HEALTH CARE REFORM

  (Mr. WESTMORELAND asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WESTMORELAND. Mr. Speaker, last week the Centers for Medicare & 
Medicaid Services confirmed what we already knew--that health care 
spending will increase. It violates the pledge made by the President 
last year, and it leaves the hardworking American taxpayers to pick up 
the bill. The report estimates a $311 billion increase in total health 
care spending. And while this may be chump change for this 
administration, it's a lot of money for the American taxpayer.
  There is one area of interest for me, and that is the high-risk pools 
for the uninsured. Back home in Georgia, we have been talking about the 
Democrats' approach to the high-risk pools. It is clear that their 
approach is not the best, and this report confirmed that.
  The Democrats want to set aside $5 billion for high-risk pools, but 
this report says that is not enough and that it will run out within 1 
to 2 years. Plus, their plan only covers 375,000 Americans. What 
happens when the funds run out? Premiums will go up, services will be 
cut, there will be waiting lines formed, or States like Georgia will be 
forced to pick up the cost.
  This is unacceptable for all Americans, and taxpayers especially.

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