Jackie Speier: “You know, there's something very ironic about the fact that when we are honoring long-term care physicians, that they…”

“You know, there's something very ironic about the fact that when we are honoring long-term care physicians, that they have become the pawn by the Republicans to have a discussion on health care reform and--oh, by the way, the long-term physicians that they want to applaud are endorsing the health care reform legislation. I have a story I want to share with my colleagues. It's about a constituent who has two children, a family of four. Their health insurance premium was $560 a month 4 years ago. Their health insurance premium today is $2,008 a month. The irony of this particular story is that the father is an emergency room doctor, and he gets his health insurance from Anthem Blue Cross. And, oh, by the way, Anthem Blue Cross negotiated a contract with him as an emergency room doctor where they require that he take a 60 percent discount in the fees that he was charging. So what that should say to all of us is that the Anthem Blue Crosses of the world aren't spending the money on health care. They're spending the money on CEOs' salaries and bonuses and Wall Street; and that's why health care reform is so critical today. So I urge my colleagues to join me in recognizing the work of our Nation's long-term care physicians who endorse health care reform by supporting this measure.”