Frank Pallone: “Again, the question here is whose side are you on? The only people that I talk to who are against the exchanges are the…”

“Again, the question here is whose side are you on? The only people that I talk to who are against the exchanges are the big insurance companies and their representatives, because they are the only ones that stand to gain by keeping the status quo and not having the exchanges. The little guy, the consumer wants the exchange. Why? Because he can get affordable coverage, because he can get a good benefit package, because there is transparency, because he can find out what's being offered and how much it costs him. And the insurance companies don't want any of that because they want to continue with business as usual, keep raising rates. Now, we all know how it works. The large employers, they can go out and get group coverage, but if you are an individual or you are a small business, it's very hard to do that. And that's why we set up the exchanges, because basically it's like a larger insurance pool. And now the small business, the individual can go on the exchange, they can find out what's going on, they can see what the rates are, and there's competition. As the gentlewoman from Connecticut said, the Republicans always used to be for competition. This is the marketplace. This is capitalism. This is what we are providing here. It's a choice. More choices for the little guy. That's what this is all about.”