On the recordMarch 16, 2010
It's time for us to stop talking in generalities and gibberish. It's time to start talking about real people and their real experiences. One thing all of us can agree on is that we trust our doctors. I just received a letter from a doctor in my district, Michael Bresler, who is an ER doc. Four years ago, his insurance premium to Anthem Blue Cross for his family of four was $539 a month. This year that same policy will cost him $2,008 a month, a 373 percent increase since 2006. What makes this especially hard to take is that in 2005, Dr. Bresler and his practice were forced by Blue Cross to accept a contract with a 60 percent reduction in payments. Dr. Bresler calls Anthem Blue Cross 'robber barons.' I assume he uses harsher language when he is not corresponding with Congress. Madam Speaker, this is not a fight among Democrats and Republicans. This is a fight between robber barons, the insurance industry, and American doctors, families and working people.
