House Majority Whip James Clyburn's floor remarks on the Health Care Reform Bill

November 7, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


CLYBURN ON HISTORIC HEALTH REFORM BILL

WASHINGTON, DC—House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn today delivered remarks on the House floor in favor of HR 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act, legislation to provide affordable quality health care for all Americans. Following are Clyburn’s remarks.

“Today I’m thinking about a woman from South Carolina. A few months ago, during the August break, I participated in a Talk Radio program on health reform, and a gentleman called in to tell me that his health care was great and he didn’t want me or the government to mess with it. I explained that our plan was about choice, bringing down costs and providing quality care.

“But the next caller got right to the heart of the matter, she said, ‘Of course he likes his health insurance; it’s probably because he has never tried to use it.’ She explained that she had recently been diagnosed with cancer, and when she began to get her treatment she was dropped from her insurance coverage.

“Mr. Speaker, that’s why we’re here today, to answer that caller and others who have asked what’s in this plan for me?

“When this Bill is signed into law, 15 reforms will immediately occur. Among them are:

beginning to close the donut hole by increasing Medicare part D coverage by $500;
increasing funding for community health centers, doubling the number of patients seen over 5 years;
extending coverage for young people to stay on their parents insurance plans up to their 27th birthday;
providing access for the uninsured with pre-existing conditions to a temporary insurance program—we're calling it a high-risk pool;
from the date of enactment until the exchange is available insurers will be prohibited from dropping your coverage if you get sick;
from the date of enactment, COBRA health insurance coverage will be extended until the exchange is available and displaced workers can have affordable coverage;
from the date of enactment, we'll hinder price-gouging with sunshine requirements on insurance companies to disclose insurance rate increases.

“Now, after 2013, when the mandate for coverage and the exchange are in place, you'll see these additional protections:

no more co-pays for routine checkups and preventive care;
there will be yearly caps on your out-of-pocket expenses;
no lifetime or yearly caps on what insurance companies will cover;
and as has been said so often, an end to discrimination before—because of preexisting conditions like diabetes, heart disease or cancer

“Mr. Speaker, these are just 11 reasons to support this bill, my colleagues will outline many others. But none will be any more important than being able to maintain your coverage when you attempt to use that for which you have spent almost a lifetime paying.”


For more information on the Affordable Health Care for America Act please visit: http://www.majoritywhip.gov/index.cfm?p=Healthcare