[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 173 (Tuesday, December 1, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8230-S8231]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
OBAMACARE
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I come to the floor because we are
discussing ObamaCare on the reconciliation bill. Webster's dictionary
defines the word ``success'' as the correct or desired result of an
attempt. So I want to discuss the definition of the word ``success'' as
we consider repeal of ObamaCare.
On the day the bill was signed into law, President Obama said the
following:
[[Page S8231]]
Today we are affirming that essential truth, a truth every
generation is called to rediscover for itself, that we are
not a nation that scales back its aspirations.
Such grand words for where we are today with ObamaCare. Today the
success of the law that now bears his name, ObamaCare, is defined in
much more meager terms. Think of all we have been through to this
point: the fight over the bill and the extreme legislative means used
to pass it through the Congress; the Supreme Court decision that
effectively repealed half of the law's coverage. Think of all the
changes made to the law through regulation to make sure ObamaCare
actually got launched--the postponing of the employer mandate, the
postponing of lifetime limits. Think of the impact this law has had on
our economy--people losing jobs, people losing the health insurance
they currently have because if you like what you have, you may not be
able to keep it.
Let's talk about that for a moment. ``If you like what you have, you
can keep it.'' This was the promise the President made to the American
people on at least 36 separate occasions. It is a great sound bite. It
is easy to say. It rolls off the tongue. It is also not true. It was
never true. It obviously was not true when the law was written. It was
obviously not true when the first proposed regulation came out.
This is what I said on the Senate floor in September of 2010:
Only in the District of Columbia could you get away with
telling the people ``if you like what you have, you can keep
it,'' and then pass regulations 6 months later that do just
the opposite, and figure that people are going to ignore it.
It is not that I have some magic crystal ball. We all knew it. The
administration certainly knew the day would come when millions of
people would receive cancellation notices. My constituents clearly know
that. I heard from many Iowans who found out the hard way that the
President made a bunch of pie-in-the-sky promises that he knew he
couldn't keep; constituents such as this one from Perry, IA, who wrote
to me saying:
My husband and I are farmers. For nine years now we have
bought our own policy. To keep the cost affordable our plan
is a major medical plan with a very high deductible. We
recently received a letter that our plan was going away.
Effective January 1, 2014, it will be updated to comply with
the mandates of ObamaCare.
To manage the risks of much higher premiums, our insurance
company is asking us to cancel our current policy and sign on
at a higher rate effective December 31, 2013 or we could go
to the government exchange.
We did not get to keep our current policy. We did not get
to keep our lower rates. I now have to pay for coverage that
I do not want or will never use. We are not low income that
might qualify for assistance.
We are the small business owner that is trying to live the
American dream. I do not believe in large government that
wants to run my life.
From a constituent living in Mason City:
My wife and I are both 60 years old, and have been covered
by an excellent Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield policy for
several years. It is not through my employer. We selected the
plan because it had the features we wanted and needed . . .
our choice. And because we are healthy, we have a preferred
premium rate.
Yesterday, we got a call from our agent explaining that
since our plan is not grandfathered, it will need to be
replaced by the end of 2014. The current plan has a $5,000
deductible and the premium is $511 a month. The best option
going forward for us from Wellmark would cost $955 per month
(a modest 87 percent increase), and have a $10,000
deductible. And because we have been diligent and responsible
in saving for our upcoming retirement, we do not qualify for
any taxpayer-funded subsidies.
These are just two of many letters, emails, and phone calls I have
received from Iowans.
Now the issue has turned to cost. Millions of people face rising
premiums. The impact is real and undeniable.
Here is another from a constituent from Des Moines:
In 2013, I encountered some medical problems which caused
me to retire early. My spouse works as an adjunct instructor
. . . thus not qualifying for coverage. In 2014, with 4 part-
time jobs between us, we made $44,289 in Adjusted Gross
Income.
Our Obamacare insurance cost $968 per month and after
credits, we paid $478 per month or approximately 13 percent
of our Adjusted Gross Income. In 2015, our Adjusted Gross
Income will be approximately the same, however our Obamacare
insurance jumped to a premium of $1,028.82 and our cost to
$590.12.
The insurance company touted that premiums went up less
than 10 percent, but as you can see, my costs went up 23
percent. The impact to Adjusted Gross Income went to 16
percent, a 23 percent increase. I just received my 2016
premium estimate. Our Adjusted Gross Income is likely to be
the same. Our gross premium is scheduled to rise 36 percent
to nearly $1,400; our cost after the credit is jumping 63
percent and the impact to our Adjusted Gross Income is that
25 percent of our income will be spent on health insurance (a
56 percent increase).
Thousands of Iowans have contacted me asking what can be done. Now
that we clearly see that what the President sold the American people
was a bag of Washington's best gift-wrapped hot air. All the grandiose
talk about the importance of this statute, and what we ultimately have
is an optional Medicaid expansion with a glorified high-risk pool and a
government portal that makes DMV look efficient.
Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the co-op disaster.
The first co-op to fall was Iowa's CoOportunity. CoOportunity enrolled
the second most beneficiaries of any co-op in America. CoOportunity
knew they were in trouble because they enrolled more than 100,000
people when they were planning for less than 20,000. CoOportunity was
in contact with CMS and so was the State of Iowa. CMS chose not to
further fund CoOportunity and CoOportunity has since been liquidated.
American taxpayers have billions of dollars invested in these co-ops.
The taxpayer only gets their money back when co-ops succeed. CMS's
stewardship of this program has proven that CoOportunity was not an
exception but unfortunately the rule as more and more co-ops have
failed.
Americans deserve better. They voted for better. It is time to admit
that ObamaCare has not achieved the correct or desired result of an
attempt. It has not been a success by any measure, unless, of course,
you lower your standard to the point that the mere act of keeping the
doors open is a success. How sad is that for all we have been through.
Maybe, just maybe, it is time to admit that the massive restructuring
has failed. Partisanship has failed. Perhaps it is time to sit down and
consider commonsense, bipartisan steps that we could take to lower the
cost and improve quality. Perhaps we could enact alternative reforms
aimed at solving America's biggest health care problems, reforms like
revising the Tax Code to help individuals who buy their own health
insurance, allowing people to purchase health coverage across State
lines and form risk pools in the individual market, expanding tax-free
health savings accounts, making health care price and quality
information more transparent, cracking down on frivolous medical
malpractice lawsuits, using high-risk pools to insure folks with
preexisting conditions, giving States more freedom to improve Medicaid,
and using provider competition and consumer choice to bring down costs
in Medicare and throughout the health care delivery system.
The American people need to know that this failed program is not the
only answer and we are not scaling back our aspirations. With this vote
this week, we once again demonstrate to the American people our
willingness to not accept failure and to aim for better. That is what
America is all about.
I yield the floor.
____________________