Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010

Floor Speech

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Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. President, I thank Senator Warner for leading us and pulling us together in this freshman effort. It has been a pleasure to work with all of my fellow freshman Senators on the floor again and to join them right now. Last fall, we gathered right here in this Chamber to fight for health care reform. As a group, we helped lead the charge to make quality, affordable health care accessible to all Americans. Yesterday, the change we have been fighting for became a reality. With President Obama's signature, health care reform is now the law of the land.

This moment has been a long time coming. Teddy Roosevelt first called for health care reform nearly a century ago. His banner was taken up by a long and distinguished list of men and women who advocated for change. For too many years, New Mexicans, like Americans across the country, have struggled to find or afford health insurance. They have struggled to hang on to policies that get more and more expensive and more and more restrictive every day. With this reform, all of that begins to change.

No longer will insurance companies be able to discriminate based on preexisting conditions. No longer will they be able to dramatically increase rates without public scrutiny. No longer will 32 million Americans worry every day about what would happen to their families if they get sick or are in an accident. I am proud to have fought for and voted in favor of this historic legislation.

This reform will benefit all Americans, including our country's First Americans, the 1.9 million American Indian and Alaska Natives who have spent too many years suffering because the federal government hasn't lived up to its promise to them.

With this reform, we begin meeting our obligations to Native Americans by reforming the Indian health care system and permanently reauthorizing the Indian Health Care Improvement Act. This law, which provides a framework under which health care programs for Native Americans are delivered, hasn't been reauthorized in more than 10 years. As a result, American Indian and Alaska Natives are three times as likely as whites to be uninsured, and almost half of low-income American Indians and Alaska Natives lack health coverage.

With this reform, no longer will Native Americans be forced to suffer needlessly. No longer will they have to go without treatment for chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease.

No longer will they have to put off basic care like colonoscopies or cholesterol screenings.

I say again, today is a new day for health care in America. I am proud to have fought for, and voted in favor of, this historic legislation.

Yesterday, we began taking back control of our own health care. Today, the journey continues. I pledge to continue fighting every day to ensure New Mexican families and small businesses have the security and stability that comes with access to quality, affordable health care.

The reason I have fought so hard for reform is simple. For my constituents, the status quo is not an option. So it is the people of New Mexico I wish to talk about today. They are the reason I stand up every day and fight for comprehensive reform.

People such as Katheryn Whitesides--Katheryn lives in Clayton, NM. We met last year when she attended one of my health care townhalls. Katheryn worked hard all her life. She had affordable insurance through her employer. But since she retired, Katheryn's health insurance premiums have risen dramatically from $110 a month when she was working, to more than $800 a month today. Katheryn's insurer recently denied a claim for a treatment she received. Now, on top of skyrocketing monthly premiums, she also owes about $4,000 in medical bills. That is more money than she receives from 5 months of pension payments.

As Katheryn herself said:

It's unsustainable for me. And I know I'm not the only one. I'm just looking for some relief--not just for me, but for all those people coming behind me.

To folks such as Katheryn, I say: Relief is coming. This reform will make health insurance more affordable by placing caps on out-of-pocket medical expenses. It will make it more affordable by providing premium assistance through tax credits for low- and moderate-income families.

I am fighting for New Mexicans such as Katheryn, and I am also fighting for New Mexico's small business and for entrepreneurs such as Arvind Raichur. Arvind has owned a small business in Albuquerque for more than a decade. As the boss, he has made it a priority to provide his employees with good benefits. For years, he paid 100 percent of his employees' health care premiums, but he is not sure how much longer he will be able to do that and stay afloat. You see, for the past few years, Arvind's insurer has increased his company's health care premiums by between 30 and 40 percent every year, and there is nothing Arvind can do about it.

As Arvind said:

We've got no bargaining power. We've got no leverage. I'm insuring maybe a dozen people at my company here. It's very hard. The insurance companies give you a 30 or 40Ðpercent increase and that's what you get. ..... It's too big a bite.

To small business owners such as Arvind and their employees, I say: Relief is coming.

This reform will help small businesses by making it more affordable for them to offer coverage for their employees. We do this by providing tax credits for up to 50 percent of premiums and by creating small business health exchanges to build a larger employee pool.

In New Mexico, the vast majority of our insured are employed, but they and their employers can't afford coverage. These new tax credits will help our small businesses provide insurance for their employees at a cost they can afford.

For hardworking New Mexicans like Katheryn and for small business owners like Arvind, health care reform can't come fast enough. Katheryn and Arvind can't afford the health care status quo. Katheryn and Arvind are the reason I stand here today. To my friends on both sides of the aisle I say: Let's get this done.

I am proud to be part of this body as we cast our final votes in favor of this landmark reform. With this final vote, we will finish this leg of the race. I look forward to building on this solid foundation in the coming months and years.

I yield the floor.

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