Senate Proceeding on Oct 29th, 2009 :: 1:37:10 to 1:49:50
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1:37:10 to 1:49:50( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Benjamin L. Cardin

1:37:18 to 1:37:42( Edit History Discussion )

Benjamin L. Cardin: yield the floor. mr. cardin: mr. president? senator from maryland. mr. cardin: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, soon we're going to have an historic opportunity on the floor of the senate to take up the most significant change in our health care system in many decades, a bill that will help americans deal with

1:37:43 to 1:38:03( Edit History Discussion )

Benjamin L. Cardin: that will reform our health care system so that we have affordable, quality health care for all americans. this bill will help middle-income families who currently have health insurance because we're going to build on the current system to protect those who have good health care

1:38:04 to 1:38:26( Edit History Discussion )

Benjamin L. Cardin: covege, so they're able to keep that coverage in the future. we base it on building on what is right in our health care system and correcting the problems that currently exist. for a family tha has health insurance today, they're paying a large amount of money for those who don't have health insurance. the number of people without health insurance has grown

1:38:49 to 1:39:09( Edit History Discussion )

Benjamin L. Cardin: help correct that inequity today to help middle-income families. it will also reform the practices of health insurance companies dealing with preexisting conditions and caps that are put on the amount of coverage and dealing with making sure that prevention is available without co-payments andeductibles.

1:39:53 to 1:40:13( Edit History Discussion )

Benjamin L. Cardin: and for many families, they're actually receiving less iome every year because so much more is devoted towards health care costs. in my state of maryland, ten years ago the cost for a family was about $6,000 for health insurance. today that's $12,000.

1:40:14 to 1:40:34( Edit History Discussion )

Benjamin L. Cardin: by the year 2017, it's projected to be $23,000. we're spending in america today $7,400 per person for health care, $2.4 trillion. well, health reform will help middle-income families because we're going to bring down the costs of health care.

1:40:35 to 1:40:55( Edit History Discussion )

Benjamin L. Cardin: how do we do that? well, first we invest in wellness. we know that if people take care of that he own health care needs, if they deal with their diabetes, blood pressure, high cholesterol, they deal with keeping themselves healthy through exercise, if they don't smoke -- all of that will bring down the cost of health care. so health care reform that we

1:40:56 to 1:41:16( Edit History Discussion )

Benjamin L. Cardin: shortly will be taking up invests i wellness programs, gives incentives for wellness programs to bring down the cost of health care. what we also do in this legislation is invest in health information technology. the amount of money we waste every year because of the infinish sis -- the administrative inefficiencies of our system is staggering.

1:41:17 to 1:41:37( Edit History Discussion )

Benjamin L. Cardin: also, we have unnecessaryests that are given when you enter an emergency room because they don't have your medical records. we have this technology. let's use this technology. we can use technology to keep people healthy, by sharing information so that your health care provider knows what medicines you're taking, and manage your care.

1:41:38 to 1:41:59( Edit History Discussion )

Benjamin L. Cardin: we can save money by managing diseases in america much more effectively than we can. so for all those reasons, health care reform will help control the escalating costs that will help middle-income families. it will also help small businesses in america. small businesses need more competition among health care

1:42:00 to 1:42:20( Edit History Discussion )

Benjamin L. Cardin: insurance companies. today, if you're a small business options available to you as to who you can choose as your health insurance company. as a result, you're subjected to unpredictable annual adjustments in your premiums. we already know that health inurns is too expensive. we already know that it's

1:42:21 to 1:42:43( Edit History Discussion )

Benjamin L. Cardin: increasing every year. but too high oby too high of a percentage raivment but for a small business orientation it's worse than that. they can be subject to a 20%, 30%, 40% increase every year. well, health insurance reform helps small businesses by providing larger pools that

1:42:44 to 1:43:05( Edit History Discussion )

Benjamin L. Cardin: small businesses can get into. more competion exchanges provides information to get the product that they want. it makes it more affordable. let me give i might. i know we all have received letters -- i've received lots of letters from my constituents.

1:43:06 to 1:43:27( Edit History Discussion )

Benjamin L. Cardin: i want to read one that i received. it comes from keith. "currently i have what is considered a cadillac health plan. it is an old blue cross-blue shield health care plan. it who is a a moderate deductible. my wife is disabled and is unable to work.

1:43:28 to 1:43:50( Edit History Discussion )

Benjamin L. Cardin: she is under the age of 50 and has med k medicare as a primary insurance and is on my family plan which is secondary." this person is a small business owner. i have one child with some issues on the plan. based on my situation, my health insurance options are limited. i am a small business owner and

1:43:51 to 1:44:11( Edit History Discussion )

Benjamin L. Cardin: i have a significant increase in my insurance costs over the last 20 years. currently, i pay $29,000 for family coverage through my company. and last year i had $9,900 in out-of-pocket expenses, which is normal for my family.

1:44:12 to 1:44:33( Edit History Discussion )

Benjamin L. Cardin: my income is above $100,000 but well below the $250,000. at one time i considered myself part of the middle class but with ever-increasing health care costs, i now have second thoughts. it is unbelievable to me that a family like mine could be in this situation. i know that there are others far worse than mine and can empathize with their plight.

1:44:34 to 1:44:55( Edit History Discussion )

Benjamin L. Cardin: how can i be spending about $40,000 a year on health care with no end in sight?" well, mr. president, help is on the way. the bills that have been reported out of our committees that the majority leader is now merging to will help my constituent keith

1:44:56 to 1:45:16( Edit History Discussion )

Benjamin L. Cardin: who cannot find that he can afford health care today, even though he has certainly a reasonable iome. this legislation will also help our i want to mention that. and there's a lot of concern about how we can strengthen the medicare system, which is so important to our seniors. well, the problem with medicare

1:45:17 to 1:45:38( Edit History Discussion )

Benjamin L. Cardin: today is that health care costs are going up. medicare is a pretty progra we know its administrative costs are far less than private insurance. but you can't bring down the government costs of medicare unless you bring down health care costs in america. and that's exactly what the health care reform proposals will do.

1:45:39 to 1:46:00( Edit History Discussion )

Benjamin L. Cardin: it will also, by the way, those savings to seniors by improving their prescription drug benefit so that we can hopefully get rid of, certainly make improvements to mitigate the doughnut hole on prescription and it strengthens dramatically the preventive health care services that are offered our

1:46:01 to 1:46:22( Edit History Discussion )

Benjamin L. Cardin: seniors under the medicare system. well, the uninsured are also helped under this bill, or those who are in danger of losing their health insurance by the state exchanges where there will be more competion, more availability. the bill deals with affordability, providing subsidies for those who

1:46:23 to 1:46:44( Edit History Discussion )

Benjamin L. Cardin: otherwise could not afford health insurance. and one of the prime ways that that is done is through the public option, so let me just talk a moment about it. there's been about it. it's going to be included in the bill in the house of representatives. the majority leader is looking to include that in the bill that's going to be brought forward on the floor of this house.

1:46:45 to 1:47:05( Edit History Discussion )

Benjamin L. Cardin: mr. president, a public option is nothing strange to americans. it's not that the government takes over health care. it doesn't. health care is provided by private doctors, private hospitals. the most successful public option program in america in health care is medicare, and i don't see anyone coming here and

1:47:06 to 1:47:27( Edit History Discussion )

Benjamin L. Cardin: saying we should do medicare in a different way. medicare has worked well with the government providing the way that we collect the premiums and collect the dollars necessary to pay the doctors and hospitals that are medicare beneficiary can choose their own doctor or hospital. that's the way it should be. the reason why it's important to

1:47:28 to 1:47:48( Edit History Discussion )

Benjamin L. Cardin: include a public insurance option in a bill that's being brought forward is to make sure that we have an affordable option to those who can't find insurance today, so that we have an affordable product in every part of america. if you live in rural america, it's tough to find an insurance company that's interested in insuring you if you're in the

1:47:49 to 1:48:10( Edit History Discussion )

Benjamin L. Cardin: individual market. that's just a fact of life. so the public option provides an affordable option. it provides more competion. in my own state of maryland, two insurance companies represent 71% of the private insurance market. we don't have effective competition in our state of maryland. the public option offers more

1:48:11 to 1:48:31( Edit History Discussion )

Benjamin L. Cardin: competition, and we have more competition, it's going to be less costly. that's the rean why we want to make sure that's included in the bill that's brought forward and the bill we hope that reconciled with the house and sent to the president of the united states. mr. president, as i said when i took the floor, we have a unique opportunity. we have a unique opportunity in

1:48:32 to 1:48:52( Edit History Discussion )

Benjamin L. Cardin: taking up health care reform and health insurance reform to really help the people of our nation. we've got to make sure we get it right. i agree with my colleagues, we need to take the time to make sure we get this bill right. but we need to act. we need to act in order protect middle-income families so they have affordable health coverage in america. we need to act to help small

1:48:53 to 1:49:13( Edit History Discussion )

Benjamin L. Cardin: businesses so they have more choice, more competition and they can afford to provide health insurance for their employees. we need to act for our seniors and those who are disabled in the medicare system to make sure we strengthen medicare for future generations and can expand the benefits that are covered under medicare. we need to act for the sake of our economy. we need to act for the sake of our nation.

1:49:14 to 1:49:34( Edit History Discussion )

Benjamin L. Cardin: and i encourage my colleagues to get engaged in this debate so that at the end of the day we pass a bill that's going to be in the best interest of the people of this nation. and with that, mr. president, i would yield the floor suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the

1:49:35 to 1:49:40( Edit History Discussion )

Benjamin L. Cardin: clerk will call the roll.