[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 86 (Friday, June 8, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1035]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 HEALTH CARE COST REDUCTION ACT OF 2012

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                               speech of

                         HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 7, 2012

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 436 is primarily focused on 
dismantling the Affordable Care Act, which is why I will oppose it 
today.
  Medical devices offer important benefits to individuals throughout 
the country. In some cases they save lives; in other cases, they 
improve the quality of life. An important part of the Affordable Care 
Act was to expand access to the benefits of medical devices by making 
health insurance more affordable. Indeed, as a result of the Affordable 
Care Act, over 30 million more Americans will have access to affordable 
care. This is good for the individuals, and it is also good for the 
manufacturers of these devices, who will now have more people who can 
afford their products.
  Now, the medical device industry apparently wants to keep the 
benefits of having more insured people capable of benefiting from their 
products without contributing to the effort that allows those 
individuals to afford their coverage in the first place. If every group 
that joined the effort to expand insurance coverage took that approach, 
the entire health care reform effort would fall apart--which is 
precisely the outcome the Republican majority is seeking with this 
legislation.
  Additionally, rather than finding a different way to pay for 
extending affordable health insurance to over 30 million Americans, 
this repeal--and the rest of the bill--is offset by eliminating 
existing protections for middle and lower-income citizens who receive 
tax credits for insurance they purchase on the exchange, a change the 
nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation estimates will increase the 
ranks of the uninsured by 350,000.
  While I would support the provision in this bill allowing health care 
flexible spending account holders to recover up to $500 in unspent 
funds from their FSAs if it came before the House as a freestanding 
bill, the vast majority of this legislation is clearly aimed at 
undermining the Affordable Care Act.
  Accordingly, I urge a ``no'' vote.

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