On the recordJanuary 19, 2011
I rise today in strong opposition to repealing health reform. Instead of focusing on job creation, my friends across the aisle want to refight the health reform debate and take away patient protections that are already helping people get the health care they need. It bears repeating: health reform is already helping millions of people in America. These aren't just numbers; they are real people. In my community, I received a letter from a young woman named Stephanie Blazin from Castro Valley, California. Stephanie recently graduated from college, married and moved to California where her husband was pursuing a graduate degree. She was lucky and quickly got a job. Then within her first few weeks of the job, she found she was pregnant. This should have been an exciting time for a young couple to start a family. Instead, she learned that her pregnancy was a preexisting condition and she had obtained no coverage for any medical needs surrounding it. Fortunately, because health reform is law and she is under age 26, Stephanie was able to quickly change her health insurance to obtain coverage on her father's health insurance. She now has full coverage for her pregnancy. Under the Republicans' plan, Stephanie would be stuck with NoCare.
