[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 43 (Monday, March 13, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S1753]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  REPEALING AND REPLACING OBAMACARE AND THE NOMINATION OF SEEMA VERMA

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, last year, Bill Clinton called 
ObamaCare ``the craziest thing in the world.'' Over the weekend, former 
Obama Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said 
President Clinton had a point.
  Of course, ObamaCare is crazy. Premiums are spiking across the 
country by 25 percent nationwide and as much as 47 percent in Kentucky 
for individuals. Choices have fallen from coast to coast, with about 
one-third of the counties nationwide and nearly half in Kentucky having 
only a single insurer to choose from on the exchanges, and healthcare 
markets are teetering closer to the edge of collapse. The ObamaCare 
status quo is simply not an option.
  We have an obligation to the American people to repeal and replace 
ObamaCare. We have a three-pronged process to get there. The first is 
the legislation. House committees are currently considering the 
specialized piece of legislation that allows us to repeal ObamaCare and 
implement some, but not all, of the important replacement reforms we 
want to make.
  Another is an additional replacement reform that goes even further in 
making healthcare more affordable and accessible. The remaining prong 
is Executive action. There is much the administration can do to help 
bring calm out of chaos from Obama's broken promises. Health and Human 
Services Secretary Tom Price has already taken steps to do just that, 
and the nominee before us, Seema Verma, who has been nominated to head 
the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, can take important 
steps as well.
  Ms. Verma is extremely qualified, with a health policy background and 
a record of success. She is committed to protecting Medicare and 
modernizing Medicaid so the programs deliver the best results for those 
who need it. She also understands the challenges that ObamaCare has 
created for families.
  Remember, ObamaCare raided funds from Medicare. Remember, ObamaCare 
dramatically enlarged Medicaid beyond its core focus without improving 
health outcomes in States like mine. Now is the time for creative 
thinking to increase access and to lower costs. Now is the time for a 
CMS Administrator with the right experience as we repeal and replace 
ObamaCare. I know this nominee will strengthen the vital programs she 
has been tasked to lead because she has a history of doing just that. I 
look forward to confirming Ms. Verma later today so that she can get to 
work immediately developing solutions to the crisis of ObamaCare.

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