GOP lawmaker who survived cancer blasts government healthcare

Rep. Sue Myrick (R-N.C.) struck a personal note in the national debate over healthcare in the Republican weekly radio address.

Myrick, a survivor of breast cancer, asserted that she would not have been able to receive the same quality of healthcare she enjoyed had the U.S. implemented reforms similar to those proposed currently by congressional Democrats.

“Under the government-run healthcare system they have in Canada and the United Kingdom, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to get those tests so quickly. One international study found that three times as many citizens in those countries wait longer than a month to see a specialist," Myrick said. "When it comes to life-threatening diseases like cancer, delay could mean death."

The North Carolina Republican drew on that experience, saying that the plans before Congress are not the solution to healthcare problems in America.

She decried solutions floated by some centrists in both parties -- such as nonprofit healthcare cooperatives or a public option "trigger" -- as "gateways to government-run healthcare."

“It’s time we heed the American people’s frustrations with the increased spending and big government growth going on in Washington," Myrick said. "There is another way to reform healthcare – and options we can agree on to move forward. Please go to healthcare.gop.gov to learn more."

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