[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 3] [House] [Page 3707] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]STORIES FROM NORTH CAROLINA The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Etheridge) is recognized for 5 minutes. Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to discuss reforming the health care insurance market in this country. It is really time to put health insurance back on the side of the people back home. To me this issue has never been about politics; it's about people. It's about North Carolina families and small businesses. I have heard from thousands of North Carolinians from all perspectives. And I want to share some of their stories because my phones are still ringing. These are the stories of real people on North Carolina's Main Streets and country roads. I talked the other day to a farmer in Johnston County in North Carolina, the county where I grew up in a family of tenant farmers. This farmer has health insurance that costs him over $20,000 a year. He told me, We've got to fix this broken system that leaves too many families out in the cold. A woman from Raleigh, North Carolina, our State's capital city, fears she will suffer the same fate as her sister who died from asthma because she could not get coverage. There's a lot of fear out there right now. Her fear is real. It is the fear of the consequences of a health care system that's not working for everyone. She wrote me and said, Like many Americans, I take health care reform very seriously, and I feel that this is no time to bow to petty bickering or false arguments. This issue is also very personal to me. You see, my 33-year-old sister died just last December of asthma, a perfectly livable condition if only she had the right treatment. She didn't. She simply couldn't afford her medication, even with family help. I also suffer from the same condition as my sister, and I have to say, it scares me to think that if it weren't for my husband's job, I could end up like my sister. He's been at his company for less than a year now, and I pray he doesn't lose his job or his coverage. So as you see, Congressman Etheridge, health care reform is a deeply personal issue for me, and it is one that I hope will finally be resolved this year. It's too late for my sister, but I'm hoping this gets done soon, especially before her daughter gets out on her own. I don't want her ever to have to deal with what her mother and I are dealing with under this ghastly system. And a nurse from Sanford, North Carolina, recently wrote me in favor of health reform, and she said, Insurance premiums are too high. How can we wrestle the high cost of health insurance from the companies? When they tell a physician how much he can charge for a procedure or what medications he can prescribe, we are allowing untrained, uneducated individuals to dictate health care to our system in this country. And a woman in Louisburg, North Carolina, says, Please vote ``yes'' on health care reform. I have a very successful new business that my son would like to join me in, but he can't afford to leave his current employer's health plan because he has a child with autism. No private plan will provide coverage for him, even though he has never filed a claim for his treatment of autism. We are not looking for a handout, just a fair playing field. Everyone should be able to get insurance. And a young man from Raleigh wrote and said, I want to thank you very much for the work you have been doing in my district and urge you to vote for the health care reform bill. Despite the misinformation and outright lies that are being spread about the bill, I hope the House acts to pass comprehensive reform to our broken system. My girlfriend, whom I love very much, has a disease which prevents her from getting coverage. In fact, the insurance company dropped her when they found out she had it. This disease will very possibly lead to her death. While it is too late for this bill to help her, I do not want any other American to have to worry about how they will get treatment for any disease that they may have. I urge you to vote for the bill. Another woman from Clayton, North Carolina, tells me she has a brain tumor, and as of December of this past year, the insurance company dropped her coverage. She is talking now to an attorney and plans to file bankruptcy. And this is a tragedy. These are examples of why we need reform. Mr. Speaker, I'm listening to North Carolinians from all perspectives and a wide range of points of view about this system. We need reform that cuts costs, assures quality of care, patient choice and prohibits denials for preexisting conditions. ____________________