Kay Hagan: “Today I rise in support of a bill that builds upon the health care reform legislation that was signed into law…”

“Today I rise in support of a bill that builds upon the health care reform legislation that was signed into law yesterday. The new--and historic--law combined with the bill the Senate is now considering, will reform our health care system to reduce costs and improve patient care for North Carolina families and families across America. In 1996, the average family premium was $6,000. Today it is $12,000. Without health care reform, premiums would skyrocket to $24,000 by 2016--or half of the average North Carolina family income. Without reform, health care costs were projected to reach 20 percent of GDP, or $4.3 trillion, by 2017. This trajectory was simply unsustainable. After decades of working to fix a broken health care system, President Obama yesterday signed into law a reform bill that controls exploding costs, increases access to health care and reduces our long-term deficit by as much as $1.2 trillion within 20 years. By passing this bill, we will reduce the deficit, for a total savings of $143 billion by 2019. In addition to containing costs, health care reform will improve access and quality of health care for millions of Americans. 1.7 million North Carolinians without insurance will now have access to a family doctor.”