Political Quotes

“Thank you, Mr. President. I know my Republican colleagues are working on versions of the healthcare bill they have been talking about today, and I know my colleagues are going to try to say they are protecting the sickest of Americans, and they are saying they do want to ensure that people with preexisting conditions don't have to pay through the nose when they need care. I think the President called the House version of this attempt a mean bill, and I think the original Senate bill was just as mean, if not meaner, with the number of people who would be cut off of Medicaid over a period of time and left without access to care. Today's bill also includes an amendment or a package of ideas by my colleagues from Texas and Utah--a provision that allows insurers to sell junk insurance on the individual health insurance market. As long as they offer at least one plan that is real insurance, insurers could offer a bunch of plans that, as CBO has said, are not really insurance; that is, they just cover one or two things. Yes, they would be cheaper, but if CBO doesn't consider these types of plans insurance, how are they insurance? I think the whole notion of junk insurance being invested into this bill is very problematic. Under junk insurance plans, they can limit or deny coverage of essential benefits, including hospitalization, maternity care, preventive care, prescription drugs, laboratory care, and substance abuse treatment. That is what they can limit.…”