Political Quotes

“Madam President, it is hard for me to imagine how anyone could defend a healthcare system in which over 70 million people today are either uninsured or underinsured. As we speak, this moment, there are millions of Americans who would like to go to a doctor, who need to go to a doctor, but cannot afford to go to a doctor because of the outrageous cost of medical care in this country. Frankly, I am tired of talking to physicians who tell me about the patients who died--who died--because they were uninsured or underinsured and who walked into the doctor's office when it was too late. Time and time again, I hear from doctors who tell me about a patient who walked in, and they said to the patient: Why didn't you come in when you first noticed your symptoms? The patient responded: I don't have the money; I can't afford the copayment; or I have no insurance at all. Madam President, we are talking about--and I know we don't talk about it much, and maybe we should--we are talking about some 68,000 Americans who die every single year because they are uninsured or underinsured and don't get the medical care that they need. This is the United States, the wealthiest country in the history of the world; 68,000 Americans should not die every year unnecessarily. I am tired of seeing working-class families and small businesses pay far more for healthcare than they can afford, which results in more than 500,000 Americans every year declaring bankruptcy because of medically related expenses.…”