Political Quotes

“I have this chart. We've used it before as we've discussed Medicare. It brings this whole thing right into focus. This is a tombstone. Medicare. 1966-2011. Created by LBJ. Destroyed by the GOP. It may be a little harsh, but this is really the reality of what is going on here. It's the end of Medicare as we know it. It's the end of the guaranteed benefit program, and it does turn everyone who is 55 years and younger over to the insurance industry. I spoke to this briefly before--and Mr. Courtney, thank you for reminding me that I was the insurance commissioner in California for 8 years. I fought tooth and nail with the insurance industry over health care and automobile and homeowner and other kinds of insurance. In the health care sector, the private health insurance companies are about profit. That's their goal. They are profit-making organizations. And to enhance their profits, they do a variety of things. Deny coverage. You've got a policy? Oh, but that was a preexisting condition, and therefore we're not going to cover it. Or, gee, that kind of treatment is not covered. There was a lot of talk about death panels. I'll tell you where the death panel is--and I saw this as insurance commissioner. I saw insurance companies denying treatment that led to the death of numerous individuals over those 8 years. The real death panels have been the private insurance companies. In Medicare, I know of no case where that has happened.…”