Health Care Reform

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. GOHMERT. Well, clearly the majority leadership thinks that the American people are so stupid that if you have a rule that says, you know what, if you vote for the rule, then the bill automatically is deemed passed. I just don't know anybody in the American public that can't figure out when you voted for the rule, I don't care what you say, you voted to pass the bill.

As far as it passing constitutional muster, who knows anymore with this Court. But I do know, as the gentlemen, both of you have been talking about the deals and Medicare Advantage, and I have got the Senate bill here, this lovely thing, and the truth is the only people that ought to pass this bill are people that eat it. A little digestive humor there. If you eat it, then yes, you should pass it. But otherwise this bill should not be passed.

But if you look at page 904 of part one of two parts of the Senate health care bill, and you wonder, gee, I wonder why AARP came out a couple weeks ago and said, oh, yes, we like the proposal, we are all on board. Well, you look at the Senate bill, it says that nothing in this section shall be construed as requiring the Secretary to accept every bid submitted by a Medicare Advantage organization. And so also the Secretary may deny a bid submitted by a Medicare Advantage organization for a Medicare Advantage plan if it proposes significant increases. But the bottom line here is the Secretary doesn't have to accept a bid.

And what is the consequence of saying we are not going to allow any more Medicare Advantage bids, we are just going to cut that out? Do you know what retirement organization is in the business of selling a kind of supplemental insurance?

Mr. SHADEGG. Wait. Wait. Let me guess. Could it be AARP?

Mr. GOHMERT. Well, it seems like maybe they do sell some supplemental medical insurance. So by golly----

Mr. SHADEGG. Maybe they got a better deal out of this.

Mr. GOHMERT. Maybe 904 is one of several reasons AARP said, you know what, this could be all right. We could get millions and millions of dollars in new insurance sales.

But did you see that the pharmaceutical industry says they like this bill, they are okay? And I read a headline today that the pharmaceutical industry was going to spend millions trying to get people to vote for it.

Mr. SHADEGG. So AARP likes it and PhRMA, which are big drug companies, like it. All of the big insurance companies like it because you're mandated to buy their product. And there is no public option competing with them, and they don't have to compete across State lines. Looks to me like all of the big guys really like this bill. They like the fact that they are getting lots out of it. What does Joe Six-Pack get?

Let me make a point. I put up a quote here from Speaker Pelosi. She said it on March 9. ``But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of the controversy.'' Wow. Pretty stunning quote. Maybe those are things she doesn't want you to find out until after we pass it.

I know the gentleman has a point to make. I just want to point out. Talking about deals in the bill and special deals for health insurance companies. According to The Boston Globe of December 22, 2009, the Senate bill waives from any annual fee on health insurance companies certain additional fees, and this provision exempts two insurance companies, Blue Shield-Blue Cross of Nebraska and Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Michigan. That might be one more of those special deals put in there by a couple of powerful Senators, BEN NELSON of Nebraska and DEBBIE STABENOW of Michigan, cut a little deal for a couple of Blue Cross-Blue Shield Nebraska and Michigan companies--maybe that is what Mrs. PELOSI meant when she said, But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.

Mr. GOHMERT. I appreciate the gentleman yielding.

If you look at page 1,957, along the same lines of what kind of deals that are in this bill, this has to do with health savings accounts. We know that there are millions and millions of dollars in health savings accounts that only can be used for health care. Well, I know I have an HSA, and if I can get an over-the-counter drug, a generic drug, that is what I buy.

Well, good deal for the pharmaceutical industry here beginning at page 1,957, because it says that such terms shall include an amount paid for medicine or drug only if such medicine or drug is a prescribed drug.

So you may want--like in my case, I have hay fever. I've had since it since I was a little kid. I go and get a generic for like $2.50. And now if I want to spend my HSA on it, I can't go spend $2.50. I've got to go pay megabucks to the pharmaceutical companies in order to get a prescription drug.

Wow, maybe that is part of the deal that made them think, You know what? You know Joe Six-Pack, as my friend from Arizona says, may not get anything out of it, but by golly, we're going to make a lot of money on this bill. Let's throw our support behind it, and the President will love us for it, too.

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