Don Nickles: “If we don't table the Kennedy amendment, there will be millions of people who will be without health insurance. That is…”

“If we don't table the Kennedy amendment, there will be millions of people who will be without health insurance. That is because it will dramatically increase the price of health care. There are results from actions. If we act to open up all health care plans and all employers to unlimited liability with punitive damages and class action lawsuits, we are going to have a lot of people dropping health care plans. Those are just the facts. The GAO says there is going to be a 4, 5, or 6-percent increase on top of the 10 or 12 percent that is already occurring. A lot of people can't afford it. They will drop their health care--plus the fact that the Norwood-Dingell bill, and the Kennedy bill they are trying to pass right now, have unlimited punitive damages. I have letters from Ford, Wal-Mart, from IBM, big companies with some of the best health care plans in America, saying they will cut benefits or reduce the benefits to individuals, maybe even drop coverage, if we pass that bill. We shouldn't do it. We shouldn't do things that will cause harm. We should not pass legislation that will increase costs. We should not pass legislation that will increase the number of uninsured by 2, 3, or 4 million.”