Senator Murray Applauds Presidential Signing of Health Reform Bill that Will Begin Helping Washington Families and Businesses this Year

See how Washington state families will be helped starting this year



 (Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) released the following statement after the President Obama signed health insurance reform legislation into law. Health insurance reform will begin helping Washington state families immediately. Senator Murray attended the bill signing, along with Marcelas Owens, an 11 year-old from Seattle who she met last June and whose story she has told throughout the health care debate including sharing it with President Obama at the White House health care summit in February.



“Over the course of the health care debate I have received over 10,000 letters from families and small business owners from across Washington state asking for help. These letters came from every corner of our state. From those with health insurance and from those without. From men and women who have struggled to pay premiums for their families. From small business owners who were fighting to cover their employees.  And from people who couldn’t get coverage at all due to a pre-existing condition.



“For more than a year it was those voices, those letters, those stories that I told and retold as we moved through committee hearings and floor debate.  And today, their voices are the ones that made health insurance reform possible.  



“Thanks to the stories and passions of Washington state residents, today’s bill signing was possible and families and small business owners have moved one step closer to lower premiums, more choices, and the health care security and stability they deserve.”