Thomas Daschle: “I tell the Senator from Massachusetts that, just last week, a family from South Dakota told me that if there is one…”

“I tell the Senator from Massachusetts that, just last week, a family from South Dakota told me that if there is one thing the U.S. Senate should do this year--this year--it is pass the Patient Protection Act. It is to deal with the problems they are having with managed care. And it is to deal with the recognition that there is a growing problem out there. In poll after poll after poll, the American people are saying: We don't care what else you do, do this and do it this year. So I think it is very clear that the intensity level is as high as it can be. People care about this issue, and they recognize the problem. People know how difficult it is today to face managed care organizations that, in large measure, are not addressing these problems as they should. So the Senator from Massachusetts raises the right question. Do the American people want us to address this issue? The answer is not only yes, but yes with an exclamation point.”