In the first press event since the passage of the House health bill, H.R. 3962, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi joined Congressmen Jim McDermott (WA-7) and Jay Inslee (WA-1) at Seattle’s Swedish Medical Center. That bill passed 220-215 in the House on Saturday.



“It’s important that we would come here, to Swedish, on the first public hearing for many of us since this legislation passed,” said Pelosi. “I say appropriate because Swedish has been in the lead, and what is being said here is nothing to be taken for granted. When we’re talking about admiration among healthcare professionals… when we’re talking about a Medical Home, when we’re talking about reducing infections, Swedish has been in the lead.”

The press event was not without disruption, though both were minor. A woman tried to enter the press briefing while McDermott spoke, shouting, “I have Stage 4 kidney cancer – arrest me!” At the end of the conference, a man shouted to Pelosi, “Please don’t send me to jail for not buying health insurance.”

Both were in reference to the health insurance mandate that is part of the bill. Pelosi responded to a question about the mandate, saying, “Well, the point is that we want to make sure people have access to healthcare.”

When pressed, she continued, “I think the legislation is very fair in this respect. It gives people an opportunity to have healthcare, access to quality healthcare. If they can’t afford it, it provides subsidies for them to do so. But do you think it’s fair if somebody says, I’m just not going to have any if I get sick and I’ll just go to the emergency room and hand the bill to [taxpayers]?”

(more…)