[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 166 (Wednesday, November 20, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8298-S8299]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               OBAMACARE

  Mr. BLUNT. I want to talk a few minutes about what is happening with 
health care. I came to the floor last week to talk about individuals 
who were having problems. People are contacting our office. In fact, I 
suspect they are contacting 100 Senate offices every day expressing 
their concerns as they lose insurance.
  At least 4.2 million Americans have now received cancellation notices 
on the insurance they had. I know last week the President made his 
proposal that apparently you could keep the insurance you like for 1 
year if your insurance company will still offer it and if the State 
insurance commissioner will approve it. But those are two pretty big 
ifs and certainly nowhere close to ``you can keep your insurance if you 
like it, period. If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor, 
period.'' Neither of those is going to turn out to be the case. In 
fact, insurance commissioners immediately--their organization--said 
this is going to be practically very hard to comply with. So it is one 
of many problems.
  I think the law that is most likely to apply with the Affordable Care 
Act will be the law of unintended consequences--consequences for 
individuals, consequences for people who had preexisting conditions and 
who in 35 States were being well served by something called the high-
risk pool. Virtually all of those high-risk pools go out of existence 
on December 31. I know the Missouri high-risk pool goes out of 
existence on December 31, and the 4,300 people who depend on that for 
their insurance now have to find insurance on their own. They can get 
insurance through the exchange, but in all cases I have heard of so 
far, they will be paying more for their insurance on January 1 than 
they are paying for coverage today or will pay through the end of this 
year. So much for helping people with preexisting conditions. There was 
certainly a way to extend those high-risk pools, but we didn't do that.
  This week I had a number of businesses talking about the problems 
they are having. I would like to briefly talk about two of them this 
morning. One of them is the Older Adults Transportation System in our 
State. It is headquartered near the middle of the State in Columbia, 
MO. It provides transportation for seniors, for people who are 
disabled, for low-income Missourians. Like many, the Older Adults 
Transportation System--called OATS--was notified that their current 
plan would be canceled on January 1. The rate for their new policy for 
their 50 full-time employees is going to be 40 percent higher on 
January 1 than the policy they have until December 31, and the only way 
they can do anything about that is to provide fewer services. So 
because of that 40-percent increase, fewer trips will be available to 
take the people they serve. Surely that wasn't the goal of the health 
care plan. They wanted to insure their driving staff. There are 600 
drivers in that system; they wanted to insure them. They were actually 
hopeful, with all the promises about the Affordable Care Act, that they 
would be able to add their driving staff. Instead of adding their 
driving staff, they have to figure out what they are going to do with 
the 50 employees they have been insuring at rates that are now 40 
percent higher than they were before.
  Businesses around the State are calling. I recently heard from 
McArthur's Bakery in St. Louis. They currently have a 9-percent cap on 
a 2-year health policy. It is a qualified plan. Randy, the president of 
McArthur's Bakery, believes they have a pretty good plan. He thought 
their plan was a plan that should meet any standard they would hope to 
meet. It wasn't a rich plan. He described it to me as not a Cadillac 
plan but at least an Impala plan, and they thought the Impala was what 
they could do. Suddenly they have learned there is going to be a 4.4-
percent increase in fees and taxes and a huge increase in the 
deductible. Their current plan has a deductible of about $500 for an 
individual and $1,250 for a family. The deductible on the new plan is 
going to be about $3,500 for an individual and $10,000 to $12,000 for a 
family.
  That is what I am hearing all the time, that the coverage may be 
broader, there may be things covered that

[[Page S8299]]

didn't used to be covered, but the deductible is now so big that the 
plan people thought protected their needs doesn't really protect their 
needs. For most families, $12,000 is catastrophic. It doesn't take 
$120,000 or $500,000 to be catastrophic; $12,000 is catastrophic. If 
that becomes your new deductible year after year, you will have a 
problem you didn't have when your deductible was $1,200.
  Randy McArthur says:

       The very thing that ObamaCare was supposed to do was to 
     protect the working people--to give them access to affordable 
     insurance--but it's actually doing the exact opposite.

  Instead, this law will mandate coverage for things you will have to 
pay for that you didn't have to pay for before and apparently will 
offset that by being sure you pay a lot more of your own money up 
front.
  I think we are going to continue to see these problems develop. I 
hope we can find ways to fix that. I introduced a number of bills in 
2009 that I thought were better alternatives than this one. We may have 
to go back and start all over. But right now, the one thing we do know 
is that the law of unintended consequences appears to be hitting a lot 
of families and hitting a lot of families very hard.
  Madam President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a 
quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, how much time remains?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Eight and a half minutes.
  Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I come to the floor today and would 
note a headline on the front page of Politico today regarding the 
ObamaCare Web site. ``Tech Chief: Up to 40% Work Is Left On ObamaCare. 
Financial management tools are unfinished.''
  This Web site has been a debacle. People all around the country are 
angry. They are anxious, frustrated, and bothered, but mostly I am 
hearing anger from people in Wyoming. And it is not just the Web site. 
The Web site is just the tip of the iceberg. People are furious when 
they get letters of cancellation, when they have coverage canceled and 
then they see higher premiums. All across the country people are 
finding out that because of the health care law, they can't keep their 
doctor. They are hearing stories about fraud, identity theft, and 
higher copays and deductibles. So I bring to the floor today a couple 
of letters I have received from people in Wyoming.
  Last week, Veterans Day, I was in Douglas, WY, for the flag-raising 
ceremony at the American Legion at 7 a.m. talking to folks--some who 
had gotten cancellation letters. Let me read a letter from a family in 
Douglas, WY, a small community in Converse County. They say:

       We just found out that our current health insurance policy 
     with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wyoming (which is a $20,000 
     deductible for our family) will not be allowed after January 
     1st . . . that only those under age 30 will be able to have 
     catastrophic plans. We ranch, work very hard, have been 
     healthy . . . can't afford and don't believe a lower 
     deductible makes sense for us.

  So this is a family who decided what was best for them as a family--
not what the government told them they had to buy but what worked for 
them as a family. They say that what they bought was something that 
made sense for them.
  Continuing to read from their letter:

       . . . basically have had insurance to avoid losing our cows 
     and land if something catastrophic happened to us. Don't know 
     what we will do if you guys don't get this derailed.

  Madam President, as someone from the Rocky Mountain West, I can tell 
you that in a community of lots of ranchers and farmers, what they are 
trying to do is insure against this catastrophic loss.
  They go on to say:

       Quick side note--we think most people expect health 
     insurance to cover everyday costs--it wouldn't make sense and 
     it would cost way too much to get insurance to cover new 
     tires, oil changes, washer fluid, new batteries (regular 
     expected upkeep) for our vehicles--if we only had insurance 
     for the big health issues, it wouldn't cost as much for all 
     of us in the end.

  Of course, that is what they wanted to do.
  They go on:

       Obamacare doesn't deal with any of the issues of why health 
     care in America costs what it does and truly seems to make it 
     all worse.
       Thank you for what you do--we know you already understand 
     this. We just thought you should know what we are dealing 
     with.

  That is a ranch family in Douglas, WY, in Converse County.
  This past Saturday night I was in Lusk, WY, in Niobrara County, and I 
have an email I wish to share with you from Lusk, WY. Again, this is 
somebody who has had coverage canceled, higher copays, and all of the 
things we are talking about.
  Just for a second, let me show the list of the number of people who 
have been canceled. Some 4.7 million Americans have had their health 
insurance canceled in 32 States, and we don't even have the numbers for 
a number of other States. This is what people all across the country 
are seeing.
  Let me read this email from Lusk, WY. This individual says:

       I have supported the President and the Affordable Health 
     Care act since the beginning. That changed on Thursday. All 
     along we have been told if we have insurance, and we are 
     satisfied, no changes will be necessary. That is a misleading 
     statement. I was informed by my company my policy will be 
     canceled in December. Then they will offer me another policy 
     but with huge changes. My premium will go up . . . my 
     deductible will rise . . . That is not the same as my current 
     policy. I feel like, after decades of paying my own 
     insurance, I am being penalized. I won't call it lying, but 
     the President certainly misled a lot of us middle aged 
     Americans.
       I do have one alternative I am pursuing. I can buy 
     insurance that does not meet the guidelines of the Act. 
     However, I will be forced to pay the penalty for 
     noncompliance. I can afford my insurance and the penalty.
       Once again, Americans do not like to be misled from the top 
     leadership down. It simply helps to solidify the mistrust we 
     have in government.
       Thank you for your solid leadership.

  That is why I am here today on the floor. We need to hear more 
stories from people around the country--not just Republicans but 
Democrats need to hear these stories. Tweet us your story at hashtag 
``your story.''
  Republicans have better ideas about ways we can actually help people 
get the care they need from a doctor they choose at a lower cost.
  This health care law is hurting many millions of Americans. We now 
know that the President knew it at the time he continued to repeat the 
line--which we now know is a misleading line--to the American people. 
Very soon we will find that the line ``if you like your doctor, you can 
keep your doctor'' was misleading as millions more will be losing their 
doctor. There is great damage continuing to be done. We need to start 
over.
  Madam President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a 
quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Madam 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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