Rob Andrews: “As a direct result of the White House summit a couple of weeks ago, good ideas from both parties are in this plan. But…”

“As a direct result of the White House summit a couple of weeks ago, good ideas from both parties are in this plan. But there is a philosophical difference between the two parties that I think came out last night. On weekends I very often go to the supermarket and see these little notices for beef and beer socials for people trying to raise money for a medical emergency in their family. Most of the people trying to do this have insurance. But their daughter has leukemia or their son is on a ventilator and they ran out of health insurance benefits because they run up against what is called a lifetime policy limit. Last night, we took a vote on whether or not to abolish those lifetime policy limits so no family should have to do that. Our side voted 'yes.' Their side voted 'no.' But Members of Congress, in their own health plan, if our families have this problem, there is no limit on what we get. So we think that the American people should get the same benefit that the men and women who vote in this Chamber every day do. We believe we should stand on the side of the families of this country, not the insurance industry.”