Political Quotes

“Clearly, much of the debate centers on what the cost of this bill will be. We both have patient protections. We want to give rights to patients that they deserve, rights to make sure we have medical decisions made by doctors and patients working together, and not medical decisions made by HMOs. If HMOs make a medical decision, then they need to be held accountable. How do you hold them accountable? That is where much of the difference lies. In terms of cost, because I do want to clarify this and because the Senator from North Carolina is comparing the Frist-Breaux-Jeffords bill to the McCain-Edwards-Kennedy bill, most of the quoted cost comparisons are from the Congressional Budget Office, upon which we rely. In truth, they are projections. Nobody knows exactly what the cost will be, but it is important to understand how the increase in premiums relates to the overall cost. Specifically, how much will premiums increase for the 170 million people who rely on insurance to obtain their health care? That is what we are discussing. The American people, who are the ones who will be paying more for the cost of this Bill of Rights--what they will pay is substantially different in our bill versus their bill.”