Michael Burgess: “Mr. Speaker, an op-ed piece by Ronald Brownstein out in Los Angeles, California in December talked about that he thought…”

“Mr. Speaker, an op-ed piece by Ronald Brownstein out in Los Angeles, California in December talked about that he thought there were only two ways to pay for health care in this country: One was an employer-given indemnity insurance plan and the other is a government-paid system. As a longtime participant in the health care field, there is a certain segment of health care that is delivered free of charge. It is uncompensated because someone either cannot pay or will not pay, and the bill therefore is uncompensated and the hospital or physician or provider simply eats that charge, and that goes on every day of the week. But there is a fourth source and that is, of course, the individual who is going to write a check themselves, going to pay for their care themselves out of pocket. One of the problems in the world nowadays is that medical care has become so expensive so many people find that daunting, but that is why the health savings accounts not just for seniors but started at an early age and really making them available to all Americans, that is why that is such a crucial part of the overall reform encompassed within the Medicare bill.”