Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is unveiling the House health care reform bill this morning. In her opening remarks, she said, “Today we are about to deliver on a promise of making affordable quality health care available for all Americans, laying a foundation for a brighter future for generations to come.”
Pelosi said the bill will “insure 36 million more Americans” and “will not add one dime to the deficit” — covering 96 percent of Americans and costing less than $900 billion. The bill includes a public option and will end “discrimination for preexisting medical conditions.”
She said the plan will be put online “for all Americans to see.” You can read it here.
Early in her remarks, there was some loud off-camera noise — apparently from protesters nearby.
“Thank you, insurance companies of America,” Pelosi said.
Here’s the video:
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer was up next. “What a day for America, and what a day for all of our people,” he said
The bill is expected to be debated on the House floor next week.
If implemented, by 2013, the bill would require a mandate for coverage and a health insurance exchange to be in place. There would, by this point, be new consumer protections, including an end to co-pays for routine checkups and preventative care, yearly caps on out-of-pocket expenses and an end to yearly and lifetime caps on what insurance companies will cover.
Young adults would also be able to stay on their parents’ health care plans until their 27th birthdays.
Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) also spoke, saying he was “delighted to get up here and celebrate with you this proud day.”
The House’s health care reform bill, Dingell said, is “a piece of legislation conceived in the greatest openness, fairness and frankness.”
A few minutes later, Dingell waved a gavel in the air as he declared: “We are going to see that Social Security and Medicare is protected!”
He then put the gavel down and added that the only citizens who are going to have to worry” about being cut from Medicare “are the insurance companies.”
Pelosi then spoke again to wrap up the event, saying she wanted to honor deceased Sen. Ted Kennedy who made health care reform “his life’s work.”
“As you can see,” Pelosi said, “we have our clarion call.”
Here’s the full video of Pelosi’s opening remarks.
