[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Pages 17108-17109]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           HEALTH CARE REFORM

  Mr. NELSON. Madam President, I think the President did the right 
thing today. The whole idea of health insurance reform was to get 
people into health insurance that do not have health insurance. The 
idea was not for those who had insurance, unless they wanted to improve 
that insurance or they did not have the insurance they needed.
  The idea, certainly, was not that if they had insurance they were 
satisfied

[[Page 17109]]

with, that they were not going to be able to keep that. That is what 
the President had said. That is what the President reaffirmed today. I 
think the President did the right thing.
  Insurance is a very complicated subject. In all that we are hearing 
about in the setting up of those different health insurance exchanges 
in each of the States, you are creating a new pool of people, both 
young and old, both sick and healthy, and you spread that health risk 
over a larger number of people. If it is a typical population of young 
and old, not just all old, and not just all sick, the more you can 
spread that health risk over an average population, the more you can 
bring down the cost of that health insurance. That is basically the 
principle of health insurance.
  So, unless we can get the young and healthy people who need health 
insurance--by the way, they may think they are invincible, but they may 
also have an accident. Instead of them ending up in the emergency room 
at the time that they have the accident, or when they really get sick 
and they do not have health insurance, and they do not pay--guess who 
pays. All the rest of us pay in our health insurance premiums.
  So the whole idea is to reform this by getting as many of the 45 
million people that do not have health insurance into the health 
insurance system. That is what these 50 State insurance exchanges are 
designed to be. So the issue today did not directly affect that, but 
for the fact that if those who have health insurance, and they say that 
they are happy with it, but they are really not because it is a subpar 
health insurance policy--I call them dog policies. If they realize they 
have a dog policy, then they see what they can really get in the 
exchange in a comprehensive policy that will cover maternity and all of 
the other things, on top of the guarantees that an insurance company 
cannot cancel them, on top of the guarantees that if they had a 
preexisting condition, their insurance is not only not going to be 
canceled but that they will, in fact, be able to get insurance.
  What I have described--guess what it is. It is the Affordable Care 
Act. It is the ability to have health insurance when a big part of our 
population--45 million people in this country--has not been able to 
have it.
  The narrow little issue addressed today by the President was that 
some people have health insurance that they like. They ought to be able 
to keep it. Some people who have health insurance don't realize how 
much better it could be with much more comprehensive coverage. Once 
they see the difference, those folks who the President said today can 
keep those subpar policies are going to want to go into the health 
insurance exchange. That is what this is all about.
  Unfortunately, this has become all balled up in politics. It is a 
complicated subject. Most of us don't even want to think about it. We 
want to leave it to our insurance agent, someone who is skilled.
  Now, as we are making our own individual choices, which we are able 
to do by going on a Web site and designing a policy for ourselves, we 
are empowering ourselves to have the health care coverage we want. In 
the meantime, we have a lot of turmoil, a lot of strife, and a lot of 
politics.
  Give it some time. And this is a former insurance commissioner 
speaking, and I know most of the tricks the insurance companies will 
pull. But give it some time. Down the road, with the insurance 
companies I have seen, as I have talked with the CEOs, they want to 
cooperate because they realize this is good for their business as well 
because now they will be able to offer so many more policies to people 
who, in fact, do need that health coverage. Give it a little time. It 
is going to work. There will be a few twists and turns. We are not 
going to get rid of the politics because it is the nature of the beast 
these day, but give it a little time and it will all work out.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware is recognized.
  (The remarks of Mr. Coons pertaining to the introduction of S. 1709 
are located in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced Bills 
and Joint Resolutions.'')
  Mr. COONS. I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Coons). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for 
such time as I may consume.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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