Quotable Quote

"An essential part of our progressive vision is an America where no citizen of any age fears the cost of health care, and no employer refuses to create new jobs or cuts back on current jobs because of the high cost of providing health insurance…We should expand Medicare over the next decade to cover every citizen—from birth to the end of life-…because it will free Americans from the fear of crippling medical expenses and enable them to seek the best possible care when illness strikes."

"We’re already paying for universal coverage. We’re just not getting it. We’re pouring a large portion of every health care dollar into the waste of the private insurance companies, their executive salaries and stock options, their lobbying and advertising. [Universal health care] would remove that waste by making the government the single payer for health care…It is time to take the profit out of health care coverage, time to provide for the American people, not for the insurance companies…Privately delivered health care, publicly financed—has worked well in other countries, none of which spend as much per capita on health care as the United States."

"This is a program written by and for the insurance companies and the drug companies by Bush political appointees and GOP legislators...[It] shovels billions in subsidies to the insurance companies…[But] seniors are paying the price in confusion, catastrophic drug cutoffs and escalating drug prices. And American taxpayers pay for the costliest health system in the world, with the worst health results in the industrial world. So, when people say the stench in Washington doesn’t matter, take another whiff. It is time to clean out those stables."

""To deny coverage to these children is not only morally wrong, it is profoundly bad public policy. Denying children health coverage during their formative years leaves them far more vulnerable to preventable diseases, which costs patients, government and taxpayers far more to treat in the future... But if [Congressional Democrats and Republicans], too, fail to act, 400,000 children in New York — and millions more across America — will continue to rely on the oldest and most precarious health insurance policy of all: waking up every morning and hoping and praying you don't get sick." "

"“Millions of our citizens do not now have a full measure of opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health. Millions do not now have protection or security against the economic effects of sickness. The time has arrived for action to help them attain that opportunity and that protection… Our new Economic Bill of Rights should mean health security for all, regardless of residence, station, or race--everywhere in the United States. We should resolve now that the health of this Nation is a national concern; that financial barriers in the way of attaining health shall be removed; that the health of all its citizens deserves the help of all the Nation...” "

""We have to stop using words like 'access to health care' when we know with certainty those words mean something less than universal care. Who are you willing to leave behind without the care he needs? Which family? Which child? We need a truly universal solution, and we need it now.""

"“I…believe that every American has the right to affordable health care. I believe that the millions of Americans who can’t take their children to a doctor when they get sick have that right…We now face an opportunity – and an obligation – to turn the page on the failed politics of yesterday’s health care debates. It’s time to bring together businesses, the medical community, and members of both parties around a comprehensive solution to this crisis, and it’s time to let the drug and insurance industries know that while they’ll get a seat at the table, they don’t get to buy every chair.”"

"“That is the tragedy at the heart of our health care system -- The devastation when one stroke of bad luck undoes a lifetime of hard work. That feeling of being right on the edge that eats away not just at the 47 million who don't have health care, but many of the 250 million who do. It's the heartbreak you feel when your spouse asks, "can we afford my pills this month," and you don't know the answer. When your sick child asks, "can I see a doctor," and you can't bear to answer. When you ask your doctor, "will my insurance pay for that," and from the look on her face, you already know the answer. It's what has led to so many people in so many places over so many years to ask me, "what are you going to do about health care for America?" And then more quietly, "and what am I going to do about health care for me and my family?" "

"“Every American should have access to quality, affordable health care coverage. Why? Because people’s lives, their livelihoods, and their ability to contribute to society are all undermined if they aren’t healthy. In addition, access to health care coverage saves money in the long run. Overuse of emergency rooms, treatment of chronic conditions, and uncompensated care cost U.S. taxpayers billions each year.”"