Congresswoman Myrick Speaks Out Against Health Care Reform
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
By: Aonya McCruiston

Breast Cancer Survivor Says We Won't Be Safe

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Representative and breast cancer survivor Sue Myrick spoke out against health care reform on Capitol Hill Tuesday.

She was joined by three other Republican cancer survivors in the House and one representative who recently lost her husband to pancreatic cancer.

"In 1999, I knew something was wrong and I went to five doctors, I had three mammograms, and it was finally a sixth doctor who ordered an ultrasound that found my cancer," Myrick explained in a short speech.

"Under a government health care plan . . . I would not have had the advantage to get all of that done in such a quick time. It might of been too late by the time they actually found my cancer."

Myrick and her colleagues insist that the universal, government-run health care plans of Canada, Spain, Italy, and the United Kingdom have not been successful.

In particular, they pointed to Canada, where one out of every three physicians sends patients to the United States for treatment, according to this CATO study.

To watch the entire press conference, click here.

Supporters of reform say that Americans are paying too much for too little health care. The United States has the most expensive health care system in the world, but nearly 1.6 million North Carolinans are still uninsured. They say your insurance shouldn't depend on whether or not you're employed.

Many people who are insured face crippling costs. Sixty percent of bankruptcies are caused by high medical bills. Healthreform.gov says family premiums in NC average $12,669 annually. That's as much as a full-time minimum wage job pays per year.

Myrick agrees that health care reform is needed, but she said, "We don't need to create [a national system] that's going to limit people's choices and ability to go see their doctor."

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