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Madam Speaker, beyond the walls of this Capitol there are millions of Americans who can't afford health insurance, and they live in fear of getting sick. Millions more are discriminated against by insurance companies because they have pre-existing medical conditions. In my own life, as a child and as an adult, I have lived without health insurance. A dear, dear niece of mine has a pre-existing condition that makes her uninsurable. Passing health insurance reform is not a political game - it is personal.
Contact: Maria Reppas, (202) 225-6631 / (202) 527-0149 maria.reppas@mail.house.gov
U.S. House - White House Agreement to Address Medicare Geographic Payment Inequities and Reward Value in Care
Contact: Maria Reppas, (202) 225-6631 / (202) 527-0149 maria.reppas@mail.house.gov
Contact: Maria Reppas, (202) 225-6631 / (202) 527-0149 maria.reppas@mail.house.gov
Rising health care costs and inadequate coverage burden many Americans. The current system lets insurance companies penalize a woman, just for being a woman.
It is unfair and it is wrong, plain and simple, that a woman can be charged a higher premium than a man or be denied coverage for a "pre-existing condition" such as pregnancy, having a c-section, or being a domestic violence victim.
An estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year, and 85% of domestic violence victims are women.
Let me give you one example.
No one should be forced to lose their health insurance when they need it the most or be faced with bankruptcy trying to pay for health care. Unfortunately, we have a system today where insurance companies, not patients, are making those decisions.
Insurance companies have been using lifetime and annual limits since the 1970s to limit the total dollars in benefits that they will pay out over a year or the lifetime of a patient.
Dear Friends,
Our nation's health care system is broken, and it needs to be fixed. Tens of millions of American are uninsured, underinsured, or afraid of losing their coverage. Insurance companies continue to squeeze families by increasing health premiums and reducing coverage. Unless you are an insurance company or a Republican Member of Congress this is the time for action. It is time to pass health care reform.
Madam Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.Con.Res. 248, a resolution that would require the President to precipitously withdraw American troops from Afghanistan by December 31, 2010. While I welcome today's robust debate on such a critical issue, there can be no doubt that abandoning Afghanistan and the region in this moment is against America's national interests.