[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 173 (Tuesday, December 1, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8219-S8220]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               OBAMACARE

  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, soon we will be debating the future of 
ObamaCare. The American people have told us they want Congress to 
repeal this so-called health care law. They told us to start over with 
real health care reform. This actually shouldn't be a very 
controversial vote. It is clear, even to the law's supporters, that the 
Obama health care law has not worked out in any way they had 
specifically expected. The ObamaCare health care law is collapsing, 
whether the President wants to admit it or not.
  Democrats should really be eager to join us to help fix the damage 
that has been done by this law. So far they have been much more focused 
on protecting President Obama's legacy than on protecting the American 
people and the health of the American people from ObamaCare.
  Last month President Obama did a radio show in which he was asked 
about the law and about problems with the law because people all across 
the country are seeing significant problems with the law. The President 
would not admit to a single problem with this law. He insisted: ``It 
has been a success.''
  Well, I go home to Wyoming every weekend. I am a doctor. I practiced 
medicine in Wyoming for 25 years, and the people whom I talk to--my 
patients, my neighbors, people all around the State, and the people 
whom I run into in my travels--do not consider ObamaCare a success.
  Democrats come to the floor and say: It is OK that insurance rates 
are rising. Remember when the President said they would go down by 
$2,500 per family? The Democrats say it is OK that the insurance rates 
are rising because they say the rates also went up before the law. What 
they won't tell you is that premiums aren't just going up a little; 
they are going up a lot next year. Actually, they are going through the 
roof.
  There was a study by the McKinsey Center for U.S. Health System 
Reform. They found that the median increase for the bronze plans went 
up 13 percent from this year to next year. That is just the average. 
That means for half of the people, they are going to pay more than 
that. The silver plan is up 11 percent, the platinum plan is up 12 
percent, and the gold plan is up 15 percent. These double-digit price 
increases are not a success.
  Democrats have come to the floor and have talked about some of the 
people who have gotten insurance coverage since the law took effect. 
What they won't tell you is that having insurance coverage is not the 
same thing as getting medical care.
  The New York Times ran an article about 2 weeks ago with this 
headline: ``Many Say High Deductibles Make Their Health Law Insurance 
All But Useless.'' They don't even call it health insurance. They call 
it health law insurance because it is insurance to comply with the law 
and not to actually give you the health care. It is astonishing. Even 
the New York Times calls it health law insurance.
  The article tells the story about David Reines from Jefferson 
Township, NJ. He is 60 years old and has a history of chronic knee 
pain. This man says: ``The deductible, $3,000 a year, makes it 
impossible to actually go to a doctor.'' He says: ``We have insurance, 
but can't afford to use it.''
  President Obama, this is not a success. Democrats who support the 
health care law say that it created these marketplaces where people can 
shop for insurance. What they won't tell you is that companies have 
been pulling out of the marketplaces and exchanges all across the 
country. More than half of the State co-ops have gone out of business 
and have failed. The largest health insurance company in America says 
that it may drop out of the program entirely next year.
  In Wyoming, there is just one company participating in the ObamaCare 
exchange. That is the choice on the Wyoming exchange--one. Does 
President Obama consider that a success? Democrats say a lot of people 
like their insurance plans. Well, they won't tell you about the Gallup 
poll last month that found that the American people are far from happy. 
Just 33 percent of Americans said that the health care coverage in this 
country is either excellent or good--one out of three. Only one out of 
five is satisfied with the total cost of their health care.
  Now, both of these numbers are worse than they were when President 
Obama took office. When asked: How are you going now compared to where 
you were when Barack Obama moved into the White House, people will tell 
you that when it comes to health care, it is worse.
  Another survey last month by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 
just 38 percent of Americans have a favorable opinion of the health 
care law. Is that the way President Obama measures success? Is that 
what he calls a success?
  Why won't the Democrats come to the floor and talk about these 
surveys? Democrats come down to the floor and say that ObamaCare has 
put millions of people on Medicaid. I am not sure how many of them have 
a full understanding of Medicaid. As a doctor who practiced medicine 
for 24 years, I can tell you a lot about Medicaid. They won't say 
anything about this failed program. They won't admit to the fact that 
Medicaid is a failed program.

[[Page S8220]]

  A new study last month found that cancer patients with Medicaid in 
California--we have 2 Senators from California who voted for this law--
are less likely to get recommended treatment and they have a lower 
survival rate than people with other types of insurance. The Democrats 
celebrate the fact that they have all of these new people on Medicaid. 
This is not a success. Democrats don't want to talk about any of this.
  Nobody on this side of the aisle is denying that there are people who 
have been helped by the health care law. Why won't any Democrat come to 
the floor of the Senate and admit that for every person who has 
benefited, someone else may have been harmed and may have suffered? Why 
won't Democrats admit and the President admit that the law has not 
lived up to their promises?
  Why did we need a 2,000-page law that upended the entire health care 
system in this country basically to expand the broken Medicaid program? 
None of this had to happen. None of this is what people were asking for 
when Democrats wrote their law behind closed doors back there. It is 
certainly not what people are asking for today. This health care law 
has been expensive, disruptive, and devastating. It is headed for 
collapse, and if Democrats won't admit it, then they are just kidding 
themselves.
  Republicans are ready to move on with a better approach. We will work 
to lower costs and make insurance affordable for all Americans. We will 
make sure that people who need insurance can actually get usable 
insurance. That means making coverage equal care. That is what it 
should do. Coverage ought to equal care. We will give people freedom, 
flexibility, and choice to allow patients to make the decisions that 
are best for them and their family--not Washington and President Obama 
telling them what is best for them and their family. Those people will 
be making those decisions for themselves. We will protect consumers by 
making insurance predictable and stable so people don't have to switch 
their coverage and their doctor every year.
  Finally, we are going to fix Washington by making Medicare and 
Medicaid stronger for people who will absolutely rely on these 
programs.
  President Obama and Democrats in Congress do have a choice. They can 
join with Republicans in accepting the inevitable. They can act now to 
reform our health care system in a way that works or they can stand by 
and watch as the wheels continue to come off of ObamaCare. The program 
is collapsing, and it is unavoidable. Congress should not allow this 
health care law to harm the American people for one day longer. 
Democrats should work with us to create a replacement that actually 
delivers care, not just unusable coverage.
  I thank the Presiding Officer, and I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts.

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