Greg Ganske: “today we take up the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. This bill is long overdue. The…”

“today we take up the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. This bill is long overdue. The American people have demanded this kind of change for many years. We will provide genuine health care reform, expand accessibility, ensure portability, and all without a Government takeover of the health care sector. This bill fights fraud and abuse, it allows the self-employed to increase their health care deductible, it establishes medical savings accounts, and it provides deductions for long-term care. This is a win-win proposal for the American people. We will provide expanded health care coverage without creating huge new bureaucracies. In fact, we will give more power to individuals to make their own decisions on health insurance. Mr. Speaker, the debate gets pretty hot sometimes, but this week alone we will have reformed health care and welfare. I want to salute my colleagues on both sides of the aisle who have helped make this the most productive Congress in a generation.”