[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 138 (Tuesday, September 13, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5583-S5584]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               OBAMACARE

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, days before ObamaCare passed the Senate 
in 2009, the senior Senator from New York predicted that Americans 
would come around soon on the unpopular bill his party was trying to 
force through the Senate. ``The reason people are negative is not the 
substance of the bill,'' he mused, ``but the fears that the opponents 
have laid out. When those fears don't materialize, and people see the 
good in the bill, the numbers are going to go up.''
  Today, years later, one need only read the headlines to see just how 
wrong that prediction was. ``One-third of the US won't have a choice 
between Obamacare plans in 2017.'' Other headlines:
  ``Frustration mounts over ObamaCare co-op failures.''
  ``Insurers propose massive increase in individual health insurance 
rates.''
  Here is the latest headline my constituents read just recently: ``Get 
ready to pay more for health insurance in Kentucky.''
  These headlines tell a story of a failing, partisan law and its 
continuing assault on the middle class. When Republicans warned of 
predictable consequences like these, Democrats waved off our concerns 
and forced their partisan law through anyway--with the middle class 
forced to bear the consequences ever since.
  It is time Democrats started to finally listen, and that is why last 
week Senators came to the floor to share the heartbreaking stories of 
how ObamaCare continues to hurt their constituents and impact their 
States.
  Senator Capito called ObamaCare ``nothing short of devastating'' in 
her home State of West Virginia. ``Working families,'' she said, ``are 
being faced with skyrocketing premiums, copays, and deductibles.''
  Senator Isakson warned that ``the numbers do not lie'' in Georgia. 
``ObamaCare,'' he said, ``is forcing insurance carriers to leave the 
market, eliminating competition and choice, all . . . while placing the 
burden of higher costs on the backs of working taxpayers in this 
country.''
  Senator McCain explained how ``Americans have been hit by broken 
promise after broken promise and met with higher costs, fewer choices, 
and poor quality of care'' and noted that his home State of Arizona 
``has become ground zero for the collapse of Obamacare.''
  Just last month, the Obama administration told Americans not to worry 
about rising costs because they could shop around to find the best plan 
and save money on health insurance, but many Americans in places like 
Ohio are ``going to be severely restricted'' when it comes to choosing 
an insurer next year, as the State's director of insurance pointed out. 
In fact, 19 of Ohio's counties are set to have just a single insurer in 
the exchange and another 28 counties will have only 2 options. 
Restrictions like these mean families could lose access to doctors they 
know and trust, face higher premiums, more out-of-pocket expenses, and 
have fewer options to shop around for more affordable coverage or plans 
to meet their changing needs.
  One self-employed Ohioan summarized the pinch facing so many across 
the country. She said: ``They fine you if you don't have insurance, and 
then they take your options away.'' That is what she said after 
learning she would lose her plan. Her frustration is one felt across 
Ohio and across America.
  More than 2 million people could be forced to find a new plan next 
year. A

[[Page S5584]]

majority of the Nation's counties are expected to have only one or two 
insurers offering plans in the exchange, and eight entire States are 
expected to have only a single insurer in the exchange to choose from. 
That is because just last night we learned that Connecticut would 
likely become the latest State with only a single insurer on the 
exchange next year. We learned something else last night as well: One 
of the few remaining ObamaCare co-ops will not offer plans in New 
Jersey next year.
  This is part of a broader trend we have seen across the country, with 
ObamaCare co-ops shuttering and forcing Americans to find new coverage 
as a result. Just look at what happened in New Hampshire. The Granite 
State's co-op was, in the words of New Hampshire Public Radio, ``the 
exact type of business that was supposed to make the individual 
insurance market more competitive'' under ObamaCare. But the co-op 
recently announced that it would close down operations in the State 
anyway. That is forcing thousands to find another plan, and it is 
forcing taxpayers to foot the bill.
  Here is what one New Hampshire editorial had to say after the 
announcement:

       The entire ObamaCare scheme was set up on faulty premises. 
     . . . You can't force people to buy health insurance they 
     don't want, subsidize mediocre insurance plans people can't 
     afford, and still claim to hold down rising medical expenses.

  ``The program,'' the paper continued, is ``destroying itself.''
  Collapsing co-ops and withdrawing insurers aren't the only signs that 
ObamaCare is ``destroying itself.'' Just look at my home State of 
Kentucky, where premiums could rise by distressing rates--in some cases 
as high as 47 percent. It is no wonder my office continues to hear from 
people who are desperate for relief from this law.
  One Louisville mom said her family's health care costs will consume 
nearly one-fifth of their budget this year. She said:

       This health care law has been far from affordable for my 
     family. Every year we extensively research for the least 
     expensive coverage we can find. Nevertheless, our premiums 
     continue to skyrocket. . . . Our out-of-pocket expenses have 
     greatly increased as well. . . . No, we didn't have junk 
     insurance before ObamaCare, but I'm rather certain that what 
     we have now IS junk insurance. . . . I wish someone would 
     explain to us how a hard working middle class family paying 
     this much for health insurance became a loser under 
     ObamaCare.

  Here is another letter from a Lexington father of three and small 
businessman who has provided insurance to his employees at no cost for 
decades because he says it is ``the right thing to do.'' Now he worries 
how he will be able to afford that next year, with his small business 
facing substantial increases when it comes to health care expenses.
  Here is what he said:

       At these rates, we will likely be forced to consider 
     alternatives, including forgoing insurance altogether or 
     pushing at least some of the additional cost onto our 
     employees.

  This is thanks to, as he put it, ``the cynically named Affordable 
Care Act.''
  These are the realities of ObamaCare for middle-class Americans 
across our country. Democrats can deny it, Democrats can say this is 
all some messaging problem, Democrats can pretend ObamaCare has been 
terrific for the country, as the Democratic leader tried to convince us 
last week, or they can accept that many years after ObamaCare's 
passage, the opposite of Senator Schumer's prediction is proving true, 
and it is anything--anything--but terrific. The reason Americans are 
negative about ObamaCare is precisely because of its substance. 
Unfortunately, their fears have materialized.
  ObamaCare is shrinking choices, and higher costs present a stark 
contradiction to what its champions promised. Democrats gave us plenty 
of soaring oratories in 2009. I remember it well. We are finding that 
the sleepless nights, unpaid bills, and broken promises are actually 
becoming the hallmarks of this partisan law.
  It is time for Democrats to stop denying reality and ignoring the 
concerns of our country. They need to stop pretending that ObamaCare's 
failures can be solved by doubling down on ObamaCare with a government-
run plan. It is time for Democrats to finally work with us to build a 
bridge away from ObamaCare and toward real care for the country 
because, as one Kentucky op-ed asked, ``if the ACA is failing so 
completely in delivering on its promises, why keep it? Why throw good 
money after bad?''
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Democratic leader.

                          ____________________