Steve Cohen: “I rise in support of S. 1028, the Health Insurance Reform Act, which promises to relieve the anxiety that millions of…”

“I rise in support of S. 1028, the Health Insurance Reform Act, which promises to relieve the anxiety that millions of Americans are feeling that they may lose their health care coverage if they change their jobs, lose their jobs, or become ill. Health care reform is certainly not a new issue for any of us. In fact, I introduced my first comprehensive health care reform bill back in 1990. It was 76 pages long and it dealt with these same issues--the availability and affordability of health insurance. Over the subsequent 6 years, we have spent countless hours studying and debating the issue. If we have learned anything, it is that the American people want health care reform, but they want something they can understand and afford, and something that builds upon rather than reinvents the current system. The American public wisely rejected the big-government approach proposed in the last Congress by the administration--that 1,400 page proposal literally collapsed under its own weight. More Government bureaucracy is clearly not the way to lower health care costs or ensure access to care. But rising health care costs and expanding gaps in coverage are still very much on the minds of the American people. Poll after poll continues to show that health care remains a top priority.”