[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 45 (Tuesday, March 17, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1560-S1561]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that an article that 
appeared and was posted last night at 7:14 p.m. in the Washington Post 
be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

               [From the Washington Post, Mar. 16, 2015]

    Affordable Care Act Adds 16.4 Million to Health Insurance Rolls

                          (By Lenny Bernstein)

       About 16.4 million adults have been added to health 
     insurance rolls under the Affordable Care Act, which provided 
     especially robust gains in coverage for minorities and states 
     that expanded their Medicaid programs, administration 
     officials announced Monday.
       The total includes 14.1 million adults who joined the 
     insurance rolls since October 2013 and 2.3 million younger 
     adults ages 19 to 25 who were able to remain on their 
     parents' health insurance plans since October 2010, when that 
     provision of Obamacare went into effect.
       Richard Frank, the assistant secretary for planning and 
     evaluation at the Department of Health and Human Services, 
     called the gains ``historic,'' comparing the impact to the 
     creation of Medicare and Medicaid in the mid-1960s.
       HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell said she was 
     ``pleased'' with the numbers but added that the government 
     still can enroll greater numbers of African Americans and 
     Latinos.
       ``African American, Latino [rates] are not exactly where 
     you want to be, because the [uninsured] numbers are still 
     high,'' Burwell said. ``I believe we can do more.''
       The Latino uninsured rate dropped by 12.3 percentage points 
     between the first quarter of 2014 and the same period in 2015 
     as 4.2 million adults gained coverage. That ethnic group, 
     however, continues to have the lowest rate of insurance 
     coverage.
       About 2.3 million African Americans enrolled, dropping that 
     group's uninsured rate by 9.2 percentage points, and 6.6 
     million whites obtained coverage, a decline of 5.3 percentage 
     points.
       The data are based on surveys conducted for HHS. The totals 
     do not show whether an individual obtained coverage through 
     the new insurance marketplaces, a private employer or some 
     other method. No numbers on children were included.
       States that decided to expand their Medicaid insurance 
     programs for the poor recorded bigger gains than those that 
     didn't, reducing their uninsured rate by 7.4 percentage 
     points as compared with 6.9 points for states that declined 
     to expand.
       Meena Seshamani, director of HHS's Office of Health Reform, 
     said the 16.4 million newly covered adults no longer need to 
     put off health care ``because they can't afford it'' or 
     ``worry about going broke'' if they face a serious illness.
       ``Today's news is good for the health and financial 
     security of millions of Americans,'' she said.

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, referring to this article just printed in 
the Record: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released 
some very good news, further proof that ObamaCare is working and 
insuring millions of Americans--16.4 million to be exact.
  Reading from the Washington Post report that is now part of this 
Record, I state:

       About 16.4 million adults have been added to health 
     insurance rolls under the Affordable Care Act, which provided 
     especially robust gains in coverage for minorities--


[[Page S1561]]


  And everyone, in fact--

     and states that expanded their Medicaid programs, 
     administration officials announced Monday.
       The total includes 14.1 million adults who joined the 
     insurance rolls since October 2013 and 2.3 million younger 
     adults ages 19 to 25 who were able to remain on their 
     parents' health insurance plans since October 2010, when that 
     provision of Obamacare went into effect.

  As if that weren't enough good news, the Department of Health and 
Human Services also reported that uninsured rates for minorities are 
plunging.
  Quote:

       The Latino uninsured rate dropped by 12.3 percentage points 
     between the first quarter of 2014 and the same period in 2015 
     as 4.2 million adults gained coverage. . . .
       About 2.3 million African Americans enrolled, dropping that 
     group's uninsured rate by 9.2 percentage points, and 6.6 
     million whites obtained coverage, a decline of 5.3 percentage 
     points.

  So it is clear that the Affordable Care Act is working just as 
Congress intended.
  Not only are record numbers of Americans gaining health coverage, but 
historically underinsured communities are now getting access to quality 
health care.
  At some point, my Republican colleagues need to face reality. 
ObamaCare is helping their constituents.

                          ____________________