Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Let me respond to the gentleman from Pennsylvania. He says there is nothing in this bill about preexisting conditions and discrimination, and he is absolutely right. That is the whole failing of this bill. It does not include the protections that are necessary to ensure that no American is discriminated against on the basis of preexisting conditions and that no employer can discriminate among groups of its employees. He also says this is going to open more opportunities for more people to get health coverage. I would point out that studies have shown that 95 percent of the people who are in these icky plans now once had good group health coverage. My concern is that we will see even more people lose their good group health coverage and be put into an icky plan. As for the Small Business Flexibility Act, I am for the Treasury and others educating all employers and employees about their rights and opportunities, but I think this part of the overall package is very slanted. Treasury needs to be out there educating employers, some of whom may not know themselves the limitations that these junk plans have and how much they will disserve their employees. We need education of employees on how to understand whether their employer's offer of coverage meets the minimum standard and is truly affordable for the purposes of being able to otherwise enroll in subsidized marketplace coverage.…”