Press Releases

Congresswoman Pingree reads from letters from Maine people asking her to vote for reform

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree today called for health care reform that will crack down on insurance companies, improve health care for seniors, strengthen Medicare and provide a tax break for small businesses for health insurance.
 
“As we get ready to cast a vote to finally reform our health care system and rein in the insurance companies, I want to tell you what I hear from my home state of Maine where people are frustrated and struggling,” Pingree said.Pingree read from a letter from a small business owner who described how the premiums that Anthem charged her have doubled in four years, making it unaffordable for her to provide coverage to her employees.  And she talked about a Maine resident named Ron, who also struggled with health care and insurance coverage.
 
Ron wrote, “I was out of work and lost my insurance, for 18 months. I am a cardiac patient and have other chronic illnesses that require constant care and constant prescription drugs. After 18 months with no insurance I lost everything.”
 
Pingree urged the House today to pass health care reform that she said “will end the worst practices of the insurance companies, like denying coverage for preexisting conditions or cancelling your policy when you get sick.”
 
She said the reform will also improve health care for seniors, “strengthening Medicare, closing the donut hole, reducing prescription drug prices and making sure seniors don’t have to pay to get a checkup or get screened for things like cancer or diabetes.”
 
The bill the House is expected to vote on today also will provide the largest health tax credit in history for small businesses and individuals and protect Americans from going bankrupt because of medical bills.