[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 89 (Thursday, June 4, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3760-S3761]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               OBAMACARE

  Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, it has been 5 years since Americans were 
forced into a broken and unhappy relationship with ObamaCare. Ever 
since

[[Page S3761]]

the implementation of this failed law, Americans have received one 
broken promise after another. For Montana families, reflecting on the 
consequences of this law is not a happy trip down memory lane. Too many 
Montanans have seen their work hours cut, they have been forced off the 
plans they liked, and they were told they could not see the doctors 
whom they trusted.
  The reviews have been in for quite some time, and ObamaCare is not 
anything close to what Montanans were promised. Five years later, 
insurance companies are still unable to find stable rates that do not 
force more uncertainty and hardship upon Montanans. It has been widely 
reported across the country that rates for millions of Americans are 
set to skyrocket again. Look no further than Montana, where it is 
evident that health care premiums are not as affordable as President 
Obama promised they would be. Policies sold through ObamaCare exchanges 
are becoming even more expensive. In fact, in Montana, according to 
filings with the Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance, 
insurers across the board are asking for double-digit increases for 
2016 policies on top of more increases that occurred just last year.
  Blue Cross Blue Shield, which is Montana's largest insurer that 
boasts 255,000 consumers in the State, is asking for an average 
increase of 23 percent for Montanans enrolled in individual plans. That 
is the start.
  PacificSource filed papers with the commissioner requesting an 
average of a 31-percent increase for individual plans. What about 
Montana Health CO-OP? They have requested a 38-percent increase for 
individual plans. And Montanans who were insured under Time Insurance 
are facing a staggering 47-percent increase in 2016.
  Increased premiums make it harder for Montanans to have access to 
affordable health care. It is money that no longer is in the pockets of 
Montanans, and those rate increases are not just in Montana. Across the 
Nation, Americans are seeing massive and debilitating rate increases. 
These hikes are a far cry from what Montanans--from what the American 
people were promised.
  In 2007, President Obama said himself that by the end of his first 
term, ObamaCare would ``cover every American and cut the cost of a 
typical family's premium by up to $2,500 a year.''
  Montanans have not seen their premiums decreased by $2,500 a year. It 
is not even close. Unfortunately, this is the predictable result of 
forcing a partisan piece of legislation through Congress without 
transparent consideration or bipartisan input. We need to ensure health 
care is affordable, and it needs to be accessible for all Montanans. 
That starts with repealing ObamaCare, repealing its costly mandates, 
repealing its burdensome taxes, and repealing the senseless 
regulations. ObamaCare is not working and it is not popular. This law 
is a bureaucratic nightmare that hurts small businesses.
  I just came out of a meeting with some homebuilders and small 
business owners from Montana. I showed them this chart before I came 
down to the floor. One of the builders said: This likely means I no 
longer will be able to provide health care insurance for my employees.
  Growing up in Montana, I grew up hunting, camping, backpacking, 
fishing. In fact, I was fly fishing in Montana before Brad Pitt made it 
cool in the movie ``A River Runs Through It.'' I know that when your 
fishing line gets tangled up, you have two options. I have been there 
many times on one of the banks of Montana's rivers. Sometimes you take 
a minute, sometimes you take several minutes, and you work to untangle 
the line. But other times the line gets so badly knotted up that the 
best option, instead of spending a long time untangling the line, is to 
simply cut the line.
  After 5 failed years, the American people know ObamaCare is too badly 
tangled to fix. It is time to cut the line and tie on a new fly.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Cassidy). The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DONNELLY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________