Summer of 2009: How Reid misled America from the Senate floor

2009-6-10

Mr. REID…  Democrats are committed to ensuring all Americans can choose their doctors, hospitals, and health plans. No matter what the Republicans claim, this government has no intention of choosing any of these things for you or meddling in any of these relationships. We have said that time and again. If you like the coverage you have, you can choose to keep it or you can change if you desire.

 

2009-6-19

Mr. REID… No matter what Republicans claim, the government has no intention of choosing for you any of these things or meddling in any of your medical relationships. If you like the coverage you have, you can choose to keep it.

 

2009-6-23

Mr. REID… First, let me state once again the facts. No matter what Republicans claim, the government has no intention of choosing any part of your medical plan. Remember, we are talking a public option, a public choice. The government has no intention of choosing for you any part of your medical plan or meddling in any of your medical relationships.

If you like the coverage you have, you can keep it. In fact, it is the name of a whole section of the HELP Committee’s bill. Section 131 is called ‘‘No Changes to Existing Coverage.’’ That is what the title of the bill section is. Every time you hear Republicans say otherwise, you know they are not interested in an honest debate.

 

2009-6-25

Mr. REID… Everyone needs to listen, especially based on my colleague’s statement he just gave. We Democrats are committed to lowering the high cost of health care. We Democrats want to ensure every American has access to that quality, affordable care, and letting people choose their own doctors, hospitals, and health plans. We are committed to protecting existing coverage when it is good, improving it when it is not, and guaranteeing health care to the millions—including 9 million children— who have no health care.

We are committed to a plan that says: If you like the coverage you have, you can keep it. We are committed to reducing health disparities and encouraging early detection and effective treatment that saves lives.

 

 (C-SPAN video missing.)

2009-7-6

Mr. REID… We will no longer let insurance companies use a patient’s preexisting condition as an excuse to deny the needed coverage, and we will help small businesses give their employees health care while keeping costs as low as possible. We are committed to a plan that protects what works, fixes what is broken, and ensures that if you like the coverage you have, you will be able to keep it. We will lower costs by preventing disease in the first place, reducing health disparities, and encouraging early detection and effective treatments that save lives and money.

 

2009-7-8

Mr. REID… Insurance companies and most of our Republican colleagues seem to share a common philosophy. They both reflexively and recklessly say no for no good reason. That is a philosophy we cannot afford in America. If you are fortunate enough to have coverage you like, you can keep it. But if you don’t like the fact that the insurance company can deny you coverage when they feel like it, you will agree we need to change the way things are.

 

2009-7-13

Mr. REID… Just as our commitment to a bipartisan plan has not changed, neither have our principles about that plan: lowering skyrocketing costs, and bringing stability and security back to health care. We are committed to passing a plan that protects what works and fixes what is broken. A plan that ensures that if you like the coverage you have, you can keep it. We will make sure people can still choose their own doctors, hospitals, and health plans. Americans need affordable health care they can count on.

 

2009-8-3

Mr. REID… Unfortunately, much of what we have seen from the other side is simply one radical distraction after the next. For months, Republicans have perpetuated a pollster- and consultant-created myth that our plan and our goal is to have the government run your health care. It is not. Let me repeat: It is not. In fact, one of our core principles is that if you like the health care you have, you can keep it. But the other side simply won’t let the facts get in the way of a good story.