Madam Speaker, our country has seen a significant rise in health care costs over the past several years.  We have witnessed a growing population with longer life spans, higher incidence of chronic disease, greater income disparities, and increased levels of uninsurance, all of which put a tremendous strain on our health care system.

Each of these elements has conspired to create an untenable situation that is being felt in hospitals and doctor’s offices, by individuals and families, and poses a threat to our long term economic competitiveness and fiscal well being. 

According to a recently released report by Families USA, 254,000 individuals in my home state of Rhode Island were uninsured at some point during the last two years. While these numbers are unconscionable, they come as no surprise. I have continually heard from individuals and families struggling with rising premiums, co-pays and overwhelming medical debt. In fact, the rising cost of care is one of the leading causes for personal bankruptcy.

I have also heard from Rhode Island businesses that want to provide health coverage for their employees but cannot afford the time or expense. Workers who are fortunate enough to have access to health insurance face increasingly daunting costs, while many people are afraid they will lose their benefits altogether.

This cannot continue – the time for comprehensive health care reform has come! I am very pleased that within the last few months Congress and President Obama have already taken significant steps to expand health coverage for children, increase funding to community health centers and invest in innovative technologies that will ensure better treatments and outcomes for our future.

It is only with comprehensive health-care reform that we will achieve substantive change that improves both our nation’s health-care system, and the health of our nation’s citizens. Fixing our health-care system is also critical to ensuring that the U.S. remains competitive globally, and will prove vital to our long-term economic growth.

In the spirit of furthering this important dialogue on health care reform, I have reintroduced my own universal health care proposal, called the American Health Benefits Program Act, which is designed to guarantee every American access to the same coverage as members of Congress.

This proposal, which is modeled after the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), uses a Health Insurance Exchange template while leveraging the power of the Federal government to negotiate with private insurance carriers so that competition for enrollees is based on quality, efficiency, service and price.

Under this program, no one will be denied coverage or discriminated against based on their health status or pre-existing condition.  The goal is to offer portable, continuous coverage that drives investment in disease prevention and long-term preventative care, which decrease the cost of care over time.

This proposal represents my own vision for health reform – one that contains costs, improves quality, increases efficiency, promotes wellness, guarantees universal coverage and encourages investment in treatments and cures for the 21st Century. Each of these principles comprises a key element and important goal within the national dialogue on health reform.

It is clear that we are about to set the scene for the next chapter of health care in America.  And it is my strong belief that by working together we can create a truly inclusive and sustainable model for health care that will meet the needs of our children, adults and seniors regardless of their income level, employment status, age or disability.

We are all stakeholders in this important debate, and we will all have a role to play in health care reform. I look forward to working with my colleagues to offer fresh solutions and create a new vision for health care in America.

Thank you, Madam Speaker.  I yield back.