[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 41 (Thursday, March 9, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H1957]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TRUMPCARE COSTS MORE AND DELIVERS LESS
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from
Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz) for 5 minutes.
Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, in listening to my colleagues on
the other side of the aisle this morning, I am struck by the adage,
``You are entitled to your opinion, but you are not entitled to your
own facts.''
I think it is important to note that the reality of the passage of
the Affordable Care Act in 2010 was that there were hundreds of hours
of hearings, many opportunities for all Members to provide input,
mandatory processes that allowed for changes to that legislation that
eventually became law, discussion, and a CBO analysis that shed light
on the true cost--nothing like what has been described during the 24-
hour whirlwind in the middle of the night that has resulted in the
ramming through of legislation that will clearly increase costs and
cover fewer individuals.
Mr. Speaker, as a mother, a breast cancer survivor, and a proud
Floridian, I rise today in opposition to the majority's irresponsible
proposal to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
After preaching for 7 years about a superior alternative to
ObamaCare, my colleagues across the aisle have finally revealed their
TrumpCare plan to the American people.
As you might expect from TrumpCare, it promises more, delivers less,
has fewer protections, and costs more. In other words, it will make
America sick again.
To add insult to injury, my Republican colleagues have moved this
bill under the cover of darkness, without any hearings or even an
analysis of its cost from the Congressional Budget Office.
However, we do have an earlier CBO report that estimates that 15
million people would lose health insurance just as a result of
repealing the individual mandate, which this bill, of course, does.
Perhaps even more disturbing is the fact that President Trump told
129 million Americans like me, as a breast cancer survivor with
preexisting conditions, that he would preserve the ACA provision
prohibiting insurance companies from dropping us or denying us
coverage, but he and his Republican colleagues in the House broke their
promise and did not keep their word.
The bill would once again allow insurance companies to charge people
higher premiums when they have a preexisting condition, which will make
coverage unaffordable. That is unconscionable.
This bill will also punish millions of people who experience a lapse
in coverage. Before we had the Affordable Care Act, an estimated 59.1
million people lacked continuous coverage for at least part of the
previous year.
One of those 59.1 million people was Suzanne Boyd from my district in
Sunrise, Florida, who, with two daughters heading to college, was just
starting to realize her dream of owing her own special events small
business as her full-time job. Suzanne had insurance coverage for years
through her husband's employer-sponsored health plan, until 2012, when
her husband, Mark, died of lung cancer. Two weeks later, the family
lost their employer-sponsored health insurance. Only 5 months after
that, Suzanne, now widowed and uninsured, was diagnosed with Hodgkin
lymphoma.
As Suzanne has said, before the Affordable Care Act, she wouldn't
even have been able to think about starting her own business. She
probably would have looked for another corporate job with health
benefits. But knowing she would soon be able to obtain insurance under
the ACA and that her preexisting condition couldn't be held against her
when she applied, she started her company in 2013. She eventually
qualified for a plan that cost her $192 a month with substantial
government subsidies.
{time} 1100
Under the Republican plan, people like Suzanne may be forced to pay a
30 percent higher premium each month in order to receive care.
Make no mistake: these massive increases in healthcare costs dumped
on the backs of American working families will only benefit the
wealthiest few. The 400 richest families in America will see a tax
break worth $7 million a year. That would make the GOP bill one of the
largest transfers in wealth from low- and middle-income families to the
wealthiest in recent memory.
This tax cut for the wealthy will also fall on the shoulders of
seniors across America who will be forced to pay premiums five times
higher than what younger individuals pay for health coverage. Not only
is that cruel, but it is also unsustainable.
According to the 2016 Medicare Trustees Report, the Medicare trust
fund is solvent until 2028, 11 years longer than what was expected
before the enactment of the Affordable Care Act reforms. In contrast,
as the AARP noted, certain repeal provisions in the GOP bill could
hasten the insolvency of Medicare by up to 4 years and diminish
Medicare's ability to pay for services in the future.
Millions of seniors depend on Medicare in conjunction with Medicaid
to cover their long-term care needs, but Republicans' plans to make
America sick again would destroy Medicaid as we know it. At least 11
million Americans stand to lose their healthcare coverage with the
passage of this bill. And if you are fortunate enough not to be one of
those 11 million, well, then I hope you are not, either, one of the
tens of millions of seniors with long-term care needs, Americans with
disabilities, pregnant women, children, or others who rely on Medicaid,
because these drastic cuts and per capita caps are going to hurt them,
too.
TrumpCare's assault on Medicaid will also disproportionately affect
women. This is an unconscionable piece of legislation that must have
the light of day shining on it and that must not be allowed to become
law. Democrats will stand in the breach to make sure that Americans
don't get sick like they used to.
____________________