Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, when the President signed the health care reform bill into law, he noted, ``The overheated rhetoric of reform will finally confront the reality of reform.'' He's right. Here is the reality: Insurance companies will now be required to accept children with preexisting conditions and carry adults up to the age of 26 on their parents' policies. New policies will have to cover preventative care without copays. Such requirements may or may not be in the public interest, but health insurance that is no longer a hedge against risk cannot accurately be called health insurance. Health insurance companies are now more like public utilities. Keep in mind that individual mandates requiring the purchase of insurance to broaden the pool will not kick in for 4 years. New competition is not required, nor is there any serious effort to deal with legal liability. In other words, there is no downward pressure on cost, only upward pressure. Madam Speaker, in this body we can pass all the laws that we want, but we cannot suspend the laws of economics, nor can we phase them in. Americans should now be prepared for higher premiums. That, Madam Speaker, is the reality of reform. ____________________”