[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 48 (Thursday, March 22, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1959-S1960]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              HEALTH CARE

  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Let me first congratulate Chairman Harkin for his 
remarks today but more than that the work that has preceded today on 
the health care bill. He was an ardent advocate for the prevention 
programs that save lives and money. It was a real pleasure to work with 
him at that time.
  Today is the second anniversary of the passage of the affordable care 
act. I wish to describe how the law is already making a difference for 
families in Rhode Island and across the country by drastically 
improving access to higher quality care, by addressing rising health 
care costs, and by protecting consumers.
  Look at the changes. Children with preexisting conditions were denied 
coverage--no longer. Lifetime limits on insurance policies left many 
American families struggling to pay medial care bills on their own--no 
longer. Insurers could cancel coverage for individuals who became 
sick--no longer.
  In addition, the law helps kids just out of school who all too often 
cannot get that first job with health insurance. It helps them to stay 
on their parents' insurance policies until age 26. For seniors, 
prescription drug costs are down as the Medicare doughnut hole begins 
to close. This is real change, and it hits home in my home State of 
Rhode Island. I hear from Rhode Islanders and I listen.
  I heard from Greg, a father in Providence, who told me about his 16-
year-old son Will. Will spends 2 hours every day undergoing treatment 
to keep his cystic fibrosis in check. In addition to his daily 
treatment and prescriptions, Will sees a specialist four times a year 
to monitor the disease. Greg said he often thinks about his son Will's 
future and whether his son will be able to maintain health insurance 
coverage and receive the treatment he needs.
  Thanks to the affordable care act, Will does not have to worry about 
insurance companies denying him coverage because he has a preexisting 
condition or fear that he will have to go without treatment because his 
medical bills will have pushed him over some arbitrary lifetime limit.

  As many as 374,000 Rhode Islanders, including 89,000 children similar 
to Will, can now receive the treatments they need free from lifetime 
limits on coverage. People who want to repeal ObamaCare should be ready 
to look Greg in the eye and tell him why they want to take that away 
from him and his son.
  Olive, a senior from Woonsocket, shared with me that her husband 
takes several medicines to help treat his Alzheimer's disease. A 3-
month supply for two of his medications costs close to $1,000. As Olive 
said: Those months go by quickly. Last year, Olive and her husband fell 
into the prescription drug doughnut hole in July. Without the 
affordable care act, they would have been responsible for paying the 
full cost of his medications out of pocket, but because of health care 
reform, Olive and her husband received a discount on their prescription 
drugs and saved $2,400 last year.
  Olive and her husband are 2 of the over 14,800 Rhode Islanders who 
received a 50-percent discount on brand-name prescription drugs when 
they hit the doughnut hole. This discount resulted in an average 
savings of over $550 per person, for a total savings of more than $8.2 
million for seniors in Rhode Island alone.
  People who want to repeal ObamaCare should be ready to look Olive in 
the eye and tell her why that $8.2 million should go back into the drug 
companies' pockets, why she and her husband should have to cough up an 
extra $2,400 for the drug companies.
  Brianne, a 22-year-old graduate of the University of Rhode Island, 
currently works part time as a physical therapy aid in Providence. Her 
job does not offer health insurance. Brianne suffers from several 
seasonal and food allergies. She makes frequent trips to her allergist. 
Because of the affordable care act, Brianne can stay on her mother's 
health insurance so she can continue to get the treatment she needs. 
Without this coverage, Brianne said, she would be hard-pressed to 
afford the treatments necessary to address her allergies.
  As of June of last year, Brianne was 1 of over 7,500 young adults in 
Rhode Island who gained insurance coverage as a result of the reform 
law. People who want to repeal ObamaCare need to explain to Brianne why 
she and those other 7,500 Rhode Island kids should be kicked off their 
parents' policy.
  The affordable care act has also brought needed relief to employers 
that are still the leading source of health coverage in the United 
States. Geoff is a small business owner in Providence. He provides 
health care insurance for his employees because, as he said, ``It's the 
right thing to do.'' But the rising costs of his employees' health 
insurance have placed increased pressure on his business. Geoff's 
business qualified for the health care law's small business health care 
tax credit, which covers up to 35 percent of premiums paid by a small 
business owners for its employees' coverage. These credits are a 
lifeline for small businesses that are struggling in today's difficult 
economy and for the people those small businesses employ. People who 
want to repeal ObamaCare need to look Geoff in the eye and tell him why 
they want to take away that tax credit lifeline that lets him provide 
coverage for his employees.
  The affordable care act also provided support for community health 
centers. In Rhode Island, similar to elsewhere in the country, 
community health centers fill a critical gap in our health care system, 
delivering comprehensive, preventive, and primary care to patients, 
regardless of their ability to pay.
  Dennis Roy is the CEO of the East Bay Community Action Program in 
Rhode Island. He tells me the affordable care act has provided critical 
support for his community health center's mission. East Bay has 
received $3 million through this law to construct a new community 
health center in Newport which, despite its international reputation, 
is one of Rhode Island's poorer cities. The new community health center 
will triple the available patient care space for needy Newport County 
residents.
  To date, Rhode Island community health centers have received $14.8 
million to create new health center sites in medically underserved 
areas. This is important American infrastructure, and we should not 
tear it down to make a political point or to assuage a political 
ideology. These stories are just a few of many that show how the 
affordable care act is working for Rhode Island families, seniors, and 
small businesses.
  Although we have made great progress, the work continues. Over the 
last 2 years, a tremendous effort has been made by the health care 
industry, by State and local leaders, and by the Obama administration 
to develop a better model of health care delivery, to shift from a 
system that is disorganized and fragmented to one that is coordinated, 
is efficient, and delivers the high-quality care Americans deserve.
  Private health care providers, such as Geisinger, Intermountain, and 
the Marshfield Clinic, are already focusing on quality rather than 
quantity, efficiency rather than volume, to better serve their patients 
and their bottom line. Because of the affordable care act, the Federal 
Government now has the opportunity to support and encourage their focus 
and to deliver much needed savings in the most patient-centered way, by 
improving the quality of care and health outcomes.
  There is tremendous potential for improved care and cost savings in 
five key areas: payment reform, primary and preventive care, measuring 
and reporting quality, administrative simplification, and health 
information technology.
  Savings, from a range of responsible viewpoints, run from $700 
billion to $1 trillion a year, all without compromising the quality of 
care Americans have come to expect--indeed, likely improving the 
quality of care.
  I will shortly release a report to Chairman Harkin and the HELP 
Committee on the Obama administration's implementation of the delivery 
system reform provisions of the affordable care act. When I say 
``delivery system reform,'' I mean those provisions that

[[Page S1960]]

improve the quality of care, avoid medical errors, coordinate care 
better, reward prevention and primary care, reduce administrative 
overhead, and reward who gets the best health outcomes, not who orders 
the most treatment procedures.
  I worked with Senator Mikulski on this project. She authored the key 
delivery provisions of the law and has great expertise in this area.
  These changes will make a real difference for millions of Americans, 
and I look forward to sharing the report and its findings with my 
colleagues next week.
  Before I close, I would like to acknowledge Rhode Island's work on a 
State health insurance exchange provided for by the affordable care 
act. Rhode Island is leading the way as the first State to receive 
level two grant funding to set up the exchange. The exchanges are 
commonsense, local, competitive marketplaces where individuals and 
small businesses will be able to purchase health insurance, with the 
prices and benefits out there on display. When insurance companies 
compete for your business on a transparent, level playing field, it 
will drive down costs. Exchanges will let individuals and small 
businesses use their purchasing power to drive down costs, much like 
big businesses are able to do.
  Progress has been made by State leaders such as our Lieutenant 
Governor Elizabeth Roberts, who is leading this effort to get to this 
point. They are remarkable. I urge them to keep up the good work.
  Whether it is changing the lives of Gregg and Will or Olive or 
Brianne or Geoff and his employees or whether it is building our 
community health center infrastructure or supporting the private sector 
leaders who are pivoting to a new and better and more efficient 
delivery system or whether it is something as simple as a marketplace 
for health insurance that is open, fair, and on the level, the 
affordable care act has made a real difference for hard-working 
families in Rhode Island. I will continue to work hard alongside these 
leading health care providers, alongside the Obama administration, and 
alongside my colleagues in the Congress to see the full promise of the 
affordable care act realized for this great Nation's advantage.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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