Why are we talking about health insurance reform now and what is the rush to get Affordable Health Care for America Act passed?
Health insurance premiums have doubled over the last nine years, three times faster than wages. The average American family already pays an extra $1,100 in premiums every year for a broken system that supports 46 million uninsured Americans. In the 3rd Congressional district alone, there are 152,000 people without health insurance. In 2008 there were 620 health care-related bankruptcies, mostly due to lack of insurance in New Mexico. Health insurance reform has been debated since the beginning of the 20th century. The debate has taken many turns, President Theodore Roosevelt first proposed national health insurance. When President Franklin Roosevelt instituted Social Security for our seniors in the 1930s there was a significant discussion about health reform. And President Lyndon Johnson signed Medicare and Medicaid into law in 1965, taking an important step to make sure our seniors would get the health insurance and care they need and deserve. In the 111th Congress we have been debati
