Pete Sessions: “Mr. Speaker, this competition angle is an important part of what this Medicare bill will be. You see, we Members of…”

“Mr. Speaker, this competition angle is an important part of what this Medicare bill will be. You see, we Members of Congress that occasionally go home who are aware of the things that happen at home in the real marketplace, some of those things that are very exciting in the world of competition are happening in health care. They are happening all across this country. Sometimes when you go home and you open up a newspaper, or you watch on TV and they talk about LASIK eye surgery. LASIK eye surgery used to be $1,200 an eye. Due to competition, due to machines, due to procedures now becoming available, they are $299 an eye. That means that as a result of competition, as a result of physicians, medical doctors, learning how to do these procedures, we have sent these teachers all across the country, and they have perfected this technique. That is an example of where competition does work. Over 1 year these surgeries have gone from over $1,200 to $299 an eye. We think competition will be a huge part of the success of this Medicare bill.”