Madam Speaker, I want thank my colleague from Connecticut, Chris Murphy, for organizing these special orders to discuss health care reform.  I believe that we need to have a frank and honest discussion with the American people about this issue.  It is an issue that directly impacts everyone in this country – individuals, families, businesses and every level of our government.  Regardless of one’s age, gender, race, religion, or income level, everyone has a direct stake in our health care system and it is important that Americans are properly informed of their choices as Congress moves forward with health care reform.

I think every member of Congress is in agreement on one fact – our current health care system is not sustainable. But I am disturbed by allegations from my colleagues on the other side of the aisle that, in proposing real solutions that offer substantive changes to the status quo, we are somehow seeking to “socialize medicine” or “ration care.”  So I would like to offer some clarifications on this point.

The first thing we must acknowledge – the unfortunate truth – is that we already experience rationing under the current system.  We experience it when insurance companies deny individuals coverage based on their health status or pre-existing condition.  We see it in millions of families whose premiums and co-pays are so high that they must forgo basic care and life sustaining treatments, or choose between medications and groceries.  We see it in businesses that can no longer offer insurance as a benefit to their employees – not because they don’t want to – but because they can’t afford it.  Each of these circumstances represents a form of market-based rationing – a basic failure in our private health insurance markets due to skyrocketing costs.

I want to be very clear to my colleagues and to the American people that reducing costs and expanding health coverage to all Americans does not mean reducing quality, access or choice.  On the contrary, we can and must use the money already in the system more efficiently to ensure access and expand everyone’s choice of insurance coverage, doctors and more effective treatments. The most recent draft House proposal, while far from a finished product, builds on the strengths of our current system – the employer-based system – and then supplements that with a “health insurance exchange.” 

What does that mean?  It means that Americans who are happy with their current health care can keep it.  But those who don’t have coverage through their employer will be able to shop for their choice of a private health plan, just like federal employees and members of Congress.  They will also have the option to choose a public plan alternative.  Those Americans who cannot afford to purchase insurance in the private market will receive assistance in paying for the coverage they choose.

Under this new system, private health insurance companies will have to play by a new set of rules – they will no longer be able to deny coverage based on a person’s previous health conditions, and they will have to participate in a more transparent and competitive marketplace.  This means reducing out of pocket costs or unexpected fees when patients become sick and need the care they have paid for and have been promised.  Greater transparency will translate into more manageable costs so that when we open our bills or statements, we know exactly what we’re paying for.

Most importantly, under this vision of health care, doctors and patients will make medical decisions, not the insurance companies or the government.  I cannot overstate this point.  Medical decisions should always be left to the patient and his or her health care provider. 

This is the health care system that we can and must strive for – one that offers stability for families, where coverage is not lost because someone changes or loses their job or becomes unexpectedly ill.  These are without a doubt challenging times.  We are facing extraordinarily high unemployment in this country.  In my home state of Rhode Island, it has reached 12.1 percent.  I view this as unacceptable.  Even more unacceptable is that every job lost places access to even the most basic health care at greater risk. 

In a nation that has led the world in health care innovation, every citizen should have access to affordable, high quality care.  I believe this to be true for not only moral reasons, but because this is what will ensure we remain the global leader well into the 21st Century.

I urge my constituents and Americans across the nation to engage in this discussion on health care reform and to demand a universal health care proposal that puts the needs of Americans first. 

Thank you, I yield back.