On the recordJanuary 6, 2011
Let me, if I can, read something that I've had prepared for today that came from a constituent's story, John Hopkins; and I know John Hopkins. He's a very important and active member in my community and contemporary. He sent me an email, and Mr. Hopkins requests I share this story with the House as we consider repeal of the Affordable Care Act. I want to share it with everybody here on C-SPAN. John was diagnosed with two unrelated cancers during his life. If you know anything about cancer, getting it twice for unrelated reasons is almost unheard of, but it happened to John Hopkins. Midway through his first bout with cancer, he was, of course, dropped from his health insurance plan. He was left with a medical bill that wiped out his and his wife's entire retirement savings, as well as the value of their house. They were never able to repay the debt in their lifetime. When he was diagnosed with a second bout of cancer 2 years later, he had no health insurance because there was no insurer anywhere in the market who would offer him a policy because of the pre-existing condition. He got some coverage in Tennessee because of a plan called Access Tennessee for uninsurables, but it was limited to $250,000 a year. As we all know, annual limits are set to be phased out by 2014 because of this law, and lifetime limits are already a thing of the past.
