House Proceeding 07-23-09 on Jul 23rd, 2009 :: 2:23:15 to 2:29:10
Total video length: 3 hours 41 minutes Stream Tools: Stream Overview | Edit Time

Note: MetaVid video transcripts may contain inaccuracies, help us build a more perfect archive

Views:237 Duration: 0:05:55 Discussion

Previous speech:

Next speech:

2:23:11 to 2:23:31( Edit History Discussion )

John Jr.Conyers: why the free market ears are a-- why are the free marketeers afraid of the public option? i thought they were in favor of competion. i yield to the gentleman. mr. conyers: well, it's c that many in the insurance field, and rember, there are

2:23:15 to 2:29:10( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: John Jr.Conyers

2:23:32 to 2:23:52( Edit History Discussion )

John Jr.Conyers: over 1,200, 1,300 different insurance policies for health care, dens and dozens of companies writing their own policies and plans, creating huge administrative overhead for doctors who are practicing who

2:23:53 to 2:24:14( Edit History Discussion )

John Jr.Conyers: frequently have to hire more and more administrative people just to sort through all of the policies of patients that come to visit them. so they don't want competion, they don't want a free market. they want a market in which the

2:24:15 to 2:24:36( Edit History Discussion )

John Jr.Conyers: ones that have the business and have been in it for a long time don't have to share it with anybody and they certainry don't want to have to face the competition -- certainly don't have want to face the competition of a public option which would almost surely be le expensive and perhaps more efficient than most of the private insurance systems.

2:24:37 to 2:24:59( Edit History Discussion )

John Jr.Conyers: why? because they don't -- have the advertising costs, the overhead costs, the administrative costs, all of these things that raise the costs of private insurance. the same way with medicare.

2:25:00 to 2:25:22( Edit History Discussion )

John Jr.Conyers: dicare costs are -- have an overhead of 3%. in the private se insurance policies are around 10%, 15%, 17% or more in costs. all the advertising we see, at least in my area, these huge billboards, come to this

2:25:23 to 2:25:43( Edit History Discussion )

John Jr.Conyers: hospitalecause we're better at this particular heal service, another hospital, come to this hospital, we're specialists in this particular service. and so on. m.r.i. equipment, the overuse of

2:25:44 to 2:26:05( Edit History Discussion )

John Jr.Conyers: equipment and doctors tell me this, if they're in a hospital and another hospital nearby gets new m.r.i. equipment, they have to go get it to compete with theirs and they don't really -- they don't really need it, but they want to have state-of-the-art, the latest

2:26:06 to 2:26:31( Edit History Discussion )

John Jr.Conyers: thin services notion keeps raising the costs of health care and many of the people that complain about these costs don't realize that the public option will almost surely lower the cost of health care.

2:26:33 to 2:26:54( Edit History Discussion )

John Jr.Conyers: . mr. ellison: put food on the table. rely on credit cards. just through the week. i yield to the gentleman.

2:26:45 to 2:27:15( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: John Conyers
Bill: H.R. 3200: To provide affordable, quality health care for all American

2:26:55 to 2:27:15( Edit History Discussion )

John Jr.Conyers: mr. conyers: answer, yes. no question about it. and this is what the goal of a health care reform is about. is to lower the cost, whichy the way each year the costs keep increasing and we have to find ways to deal with it.

2:27:16 to 2:27:36( Edit History Discussion )

John Jr.Conyers: there are other reasons that costs go up. but we've got to tackle this on a realistic basis. this isn't about emotions or whether a capitalist system is being challenged or not.

2:27:37 to 2:28:02( Edit History Discussion )

John Jr.Conyers: we have plenty of systems -- in which -- highway systems are run by different companies. your water systems, your electricity, health care is a matter of having availble -- avaible to every citizen rerdless of their ability to

2:28:03 to 2:28:24( Edit History Discussion )

John Jr.Conyers: pay and people end up in bankruptcy, they had health insurance. they didn't know that what they needed it for wasn't covered by the health insurance that they have. so for me it's been such an interesting field of endeavor to

2:28:25 to 2:28:46( Edit History Discussion )

John Jr.Conyers: meet and talk with these really wonderful doctors in different parts of the country, at the medical schools, and to have made their acquaintance. then to learn of all the innumerable citizens who are so grateful to us for dealing with

2:28:47 to 2:29:07( Edit History Discussion )

John Jr.Conyers: their problems. by wait this isn't some kind of circumstance that applies in rural areas as opposed to urban areas or in conservative areas as compared to liberal areas. this is the same -- people are

2:29:08 to 2:29:11( Edit History Discussion )

John Jr.Conyers: in the same fix all across the country. in every one of the