Washington, D.C. – Dean of the United States House of Representatives, John D. Dingell (D-MI15) spoke on the House floor today to call out the hypocrisy of the House GOP’s political stunt and explain the impact and positive benefits of health insurance reform.  Here is an excerpt of his statement for the record:

“I rise in opposition to this political stunt before us.  Instead of working together to forge bipartisan consensus on improvements to health care reform, the Majority wants to halt the Affordable Care Act.  The repeal bill will once again allow the insurance companies to deny care to people with pre-existing conditions, to drop patients’ coverage as they are wheeled into the operating room, and permit insurance companies to hike premium rates to skyrocketing levels.

“The 15th Congressional District of Michigan would suffer tremendously under this repeal:

·         Insurance companies could deny coverage to up 292,000 individuals in the 15th, including up to 33,000 children, with pre-existing conditions.

·         Increase the number of uninsured in the 15th by 20,000.

·         Increasing the costs to hospitals of providing uncompensated care by $182 million annually.

“Real people will be adversely impacted by this legislation, constituents like Kelly Jackson of Taylor, Michigan. 

·         Kelly is a graduate student at Wayne State University, who without the Affordable Care Act would have lost insurance coverage at the end of last year.

·         She now has the benefit of being able to receive insurance benefits through her father, allowing her to continue to afford treatment for endometriosis, a condition that requires continuous monitoring from physicians. 

·         Kelly was right when she wrote to me deploring as she called the “preposterous and careless rhetoric to repeal legislation that is a landmark for the government’s concern for the American people.”

“The Affordable Care Act was also a landmark for assistance to our small businesses – providing $40 billion in tax credits to help small businesses provide health coverage for their employees.

“In the 15th District, companies such as Downtown Home and Garden and Selo/Shevel Gallery of Ann Arbor as well as Teraeon of Dearborn have told me they will take advantage of this legislation to provide affordable care for their employees. We know that more small business owners are likely to offer health coverage as a result of these tax credits, yet rather than publicize this benefit, the new Majority recklessly touts the myth that this is a job-killer, hurtful to businesses across the country.

“I welcome debate over improving our health care system, yet we cannot have an open and candid debate if the new Majority’s suggestions are rooted in fiction.  I urge my colleagues to vote against this political stunt, and hope that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle will work with us to implement this law, fix it where it must be fixed, and work together to give the American people the health care they deserve.”

To view his floor speech, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CAK9NQbonM.

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