Dodd: No More Delay For Health Care Reform

By Michael Combier-Talk Radio News Service

Businesses in the the U. S. and ordinary citizens are struggling with their medical expenses, resulting in 62 percent of personal bankruptcies in 2008. Congress can no longer delay instituting healthcare reform, said U.S. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), temporary Chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions at a press conference this morning in Washington.

Leading the committee as a replacement for Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) who is suffering from a brain tumor, Dodd said that healthcare reform “will affect every single one of our citizens for years and years to come. And so getting busy about it is important, getting it right is important... (It is) the single most important domestic issue that we have to grapple with and we have to get going on it. We can’t delay in my view,” he said. “The estimates that families can be spending 50 percent of their gross income on health care premiums is just not sustainable.”

A legislative text of the Health Committee bill would be announced later today and is expected to contain “an aggressive schedule,” said Todd. The Committee wants to start having hearings by Friday and start to mark up the legislation on Tuesday of next week.

“This is a beginning...of a journey that will go on for weeks,” said Dodd adding that on the legislation to be introduced later today, “there are some gaps in it (the legislation), and done so intentionally but there are no gaps in our determination.”

This legislation will not make U.S. citizens change their health coverage if they are satisfied with it. “If you like what you’ve got, you get to keep it,” said Dodd. Additionally, no one will dictate to Americans what to choose and the choice of coverage will be left to the customers.

Every American needs to “have access to an affordable, high quality health care...Our economy depends upon it,” said Dodd. The constant rise in medical bills and the fact that health care represents around 18 percent of the country’s gross domestic product “is not only unacceptable, it is completely unsustainable. We just cannot sustain that.”

Ted Kennedy determined to fight cancer, “because he wants to continue to fight for the people of Massachusetts”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said at a news conference regarding Senator Ted Kennedy’s (D-Mass.) health that “at times like this we realize the Senate really is a family,” and that as a family the Senate is tremendously concerned for Kennedy. He said Kennedy is a model of public service, an American icon, and a fighter, and that he is confident in Kennedy’s recovery. He said he talked to Kennedy’s wife, and that she said Kennedy is in good spirits.

Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.), who Reid referred to as Kennedy’s best friend in the Senate, said that Kennedy has a big heart and is an unbelievable fighter, and has helped millions of people many ways. He said everyone needs to pull for him and his family, but respect their privacy. He said Kennedy is drawing strength from his wife, his children, and his extended family, and is determined to fight this so he can continue fighting for the people of Massachusetts and for what he believes in.