Addressing America's Priorities

Floor Speech

ADDRESSING AMERICA'S PRIORITIES -- (Senate - October 27, 2009)

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Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, first let me compliment my colleague from Illinois. He is right that the health care system in this country is in need of repair or reform. He is right also about the people who are out there believing they are insured when in fact they are one serious illness away from bankruptcy.

Ten years ago in Fargo, ND, I met a woman who had $600,000 in the bank. She said she had a job, she had health insurance, and she had equity in a home. Ten years later it was gone. She has a very serious illness. She is a quadriplegic and needs a substantial amount of care, and all those assets are gone. She had insurance and all those assets are gone because her insurance had a cap.

A lot of people don't know that. They say: I have health insurance. Their insurance often has a cap on how much the insurance company will pay in the aggregate, which means they are just one serious illness away from bankruptcy. That is just one among others of the reasons there needs to be some change with respect to the health care issue.

I think this will be difficult. I commend the majority leader for trying to put a bill together. It will come to the floor of the Senate. We will have an opportunity to review it and offer amendments, which is the way it should be. My hope is at the end of the day we will be able to advance the issue of health care and improve the health care system in this country.

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