The extraordinary diversity of our Democratic Caucus--from right to left has ensured that this bill represents a cross-section of the our country--urban, suburban, and rural. The incredible diversity of our Democratic Caucus, representing Republican, right-leaning, moderate, and progressive areas, meant that we could come to this floor today only with a bill that sensitively put all of America together into one convincing bill. That is why we have produced a bill that satisfies deficit hawks, who are more wary of increasing deficits than of most other issues, as well as single-payer advocates, who believe that only Medicare for all can markedly reduce costs while providing adequate health care to the middle class and the uninsured. Thus, there can be no doubt that the Affordable Health Care for America Act is the best bill for the citizens of the United States of America.
The bill's greatest achievements are that it would reduce the deficit over the next 10 years and into the future while covering 96 percent of the American people; would end discrimination by insurers who dropped or refused to renew or sell coverage because of health status and would ensure that coverage is affordable by providing subsidies for people in employer-based health care or through an insurance exchange of private insurers and a consumer option to drive down the cost of health care while operating on a level playing field with other insurers.
