John Garamendi: “As you said at the outset, I was the insurance commissioner in California for 8 years, '91 to '95 and 2003 to 2007. I…”

“As you said at the outset, I was the insurance commissioner in California for 8 years, '91 to '95 and 2003 to 2007. I saw this problem over and over again, where corporations push aside, literally discriminate against people because they may be more expensive. A particular problem in the smaller companies, where the risk cannot be spread out. This piece of legislation provides an opportunity for those risks to be adjusted, to be smoothed out among all of the people that are insured, all of the companies, thereby reducing the incentive for companies to discriminate in their hiring, discriminate against people that have a sickness or who may become sick because they happen to be 50, 55 years of age. There is another thing in this legislation that is extremely important to every single qualified, to use your term earlier, qualified American, or qualified person in this country.”