[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 43 (Friday, March 22, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2320-S2321]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    AFFORDABLE CARE ACT ANNIVERSARY

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, three years ago tomorrow, President Obama 
signed into law the Affordable Care Act. This landmark law will extend 
health insurance coverage to millions of uninsured Americans when the 
reforms are fully implemented next year. Getting to this point has been 
an arduous process. But in the end, this achievement proved that real 
reform is possible, and that the voices of so many Americans who over 
the years have called on their leaders to act have finally been heard.
  Since its passage, Americans have seen the immediate benefits of the 
Affordable Care Act and 3 years later, those improvements continue. 
Seniors on Medicare who have high-cost prescriptions are continuing to 
receive help when trapped within the coverage gap known as the doughnut 
hole. The Affordable Care Act completely closes the coverage gap by 
2020, and the new law makes it easier for seniors to afford 
prescription drugs in the meantime. In 2010, more than 7,000 Vermonters 
received a $250 rebate to help cover the cost of their prescription 
drugs when they hit the doughnut hole. Last year alone, nearly 6,400 
Vermonters with Medicare received a 50-percent discount on their 
covered brand-name prescriptions, resulting in an average savings of 
$765 per person. Since the Affordable Care Act was signed into law, 
more than 5,000 young adults in Vermont have gained health insurance 
coverage under these reforms, which allow young adults to stay on their 
parents' plans until their 26th birthdays. The improvements we are 
seeing in Vermont go on and on: in 2011 and 2012, 71 million Americans 
and 151,000 Vermonters with private insurance gained access to and 
received preventative screening coverage with no deductible or copay, 
including more than 80,000 Medicare beneficiaries. These are just a few 
of the dozens of consumer protections included in the law that are 
benefiting Vermonters and all Americans every day, and in many ways.
  The law goes into full swing next year as even more consumer 
protections are implemented and millions more Americans gain access to 
health insurance coverage. Beginning in January, insurance companies 
will no longer be allowed to deny coverage to individuals with 
preexisting health conditions or to charge higher premiums based on 
health status or gender. Unfortunately, estimates show that 44,000 
Vermonters currently do not have health insurance, but with the 
Medicaid expansion contained in the Affordable Care Act, 84 percent of 
these Vermonters will qualify for Medicaid or a premium tax credit. 
Also important to Vermonters, to assist Vermont with our State's work 
on implementing Vermont's State-based health insurance exchange--or 
marketplace--Vermont has received more than $125,000,000 in grants for 
research and for information technology development, as well as almost 
$3,480,000 for maternal health programs. These tangible initiatives 
help at-risk families gain the support they need to improve their 
children's health and ability to learn, and they help prevent child 
abuse.
  I was proud as well to work with Senator Grassley and others to 
include strong anti-fraud provisions in the law that already have 
helped prevent and detect fraudulent activities that in the past have 
cost American taxpayers multiple millions of dollars each year. Thanks 
in part to these efforts, $4.2 billion was returned to taxpayers last 
year alone.
  In only 3 years, Vermonters across our State have seen the many 
benefits of health care reform unfold in their lives. I see and hear 
about these improvements and pocketbook savings in visits to every 
corner of our State. At home in Middlesex and throughout Vermont, 
whether I am in the grocery store, at the gas pump, or at church, I am 
constantly reminded of how important access to quality affordable 
health care is to individuals and families. I applaud Vermont's efforts 
to expand the Affordable Care Act's reach even further to help every 
resident secure health insurance. I am proud that the Affordable Care 
Act offers Vermont the foundation it needs to reach this goal, and I 
look forward to working to see that it is met.
  Regrettably, opponents of the Affordable Care Act continue to 
misleadingly attack the law in an attempt to undermine its 
implementation. The moment President Obama signed this bill into law, 
opponents sought to continue their political battle by challenging the 
landmark legislation in the courts. With the legal challenges now 
nearly resolved, we are now seeing amendments filed to every bill we 
consider on the floor, aimed at repealing or gutting the Affordable 
Care Act. In fact, on the budget resolution we are considering today, 
dozens of amendments have been filed in an effort to block the 
Affordable Care Act's implementation, to undermine its success in 
making lives better across the land, or to repeal the law completely. 
This is unfortunate, it is shortsighted, and it is cynical. Even more 
shameful is the budget resolution considered and passed by the House 
this week. The House-passed budget would make drastic changes to the 
Medicaid Program causing 14 to 20 million Americans to lose health 
coverage; it would replace Medicare with a voucher scheme costing 
seniors at least $6000 more per year; and would completely repeal all 
the consumer protections included in the Affordable Care Act.
  The Affordable Care Act is not perfect, but in the true interests of 
the

[[Page S2321]]

people we represent we should be working together to ensure its 
success. We can make improvements where necessary, but we must allow 
full implementation to continue. Already the Affordable Care Act has 
changed so many lives for the better, and we must not turn our backs on 
the millions more who will have access to health care next year because 
of these reforms.
  The Affordable Care Act is a tremendous achievement that will improve 
the lives of Americans for generations to come. This anniversary is a 
time to renew our commitment to completing this important work on 
behalf of the American people, who are counting on us to do the right 
thing. With each year that we move forward to implement the features of 
this landmark health care reform law, the stories of families not being 
able to gain access to affordable coverage are becoming fewer and fewer 
and are being replaced by stories of the success of these reforms, one 
family at a time, all across Vermont and all across America. I look 
forward to continuing to work with Vermont and with the administration 
as the law moves forward in its fourth year.

                          ____________________