Political Quotes

“last year's 9\1/2\ percent increase in health care spending and costs was the largest in 11 years. Our health care spending per capita doubles that of European nations; yet 43 million Americans have no health care coverage and millions more receive inadequate care. Many Americans listened to the State of the Union address last night in hopes of hearing solutions to skyrocketing prescription drug costs and insurance costs, driven largely by the uninsured who show up in hospitals and emergency rooms seeking care, forcing all of us who do have health care to pay what I call an uninsured premium, which is one of the great causes of our health care inflation in this country. Unfortunately, the President's speech did not propose new ways to tackle these problems. The President touted his Medicare bill but ignored the fact that that bill does nothing to address skyrocketing prescription drug prices. We pay in this country 40 to 50 percent more than Canadians and Europeans pay for the same prescription drugs. To address the worsening problem of the uninsured, the President referred again to a refundable tax credit worth $1,000. The reality is in the marketplace it is impossible to find plans, individual plans, for $1,000 worth of any health care coverage, coverage none of us in Congress would take at all. Until we commit ourselves to market-based solutions that embrace the principle of competition and choice, we will not bring down health care prices and costs.…”