John Kerry: “I am delighted that Americans will finally receive the benefits of the health care reforms contained in the…”

“I am delighted that Americans will finally receive the benefits of the health care reforms contained in the Kennedy-Kassebaum bill--benefits which the General Accounting Offices estimates will help over 21 million people. But I want to talk today about one particular person who will benefit from this bill, a woman from Florence, MA, who wrote me recently about her daughter. She supports this bill, she said, because her daughter has diabetes and the family had a terrible time finding health insurance that would cover her. In her letter she told me, ``I think it's immoral for health insurance companies to cut off coverage even while the people they cover are paying their premiums. No health insurance company should have the power to do this to their clients.'' Millions of Americans have medical histories or preexisting conditions that make it difficult to get comprehensive insurance coverage. This bill takes very important steps forward to correct these problems. But we must do more so that ultimately we have coverage for all Americans.”