[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 15, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H2074-H2078]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           HEALTHCARE REFORM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2017, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Ferguson) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
  Mr. FERGUSON. Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by saying that, for 
the last 25 years, I practiced dentistry in Georgia's Third District 
and I experienced a healthcare system that was broken and in desperate 
need of repair to reduce costs and increase access to care.
  After the Affordable Care Act was signed into law, I saw my patients, 
my friends, my neighbors forced away from doctors who had treated them 
for their entire lives. Instead of decreasing costs, patients saw their 
costs skyrocket and their access to care limited.
  As a medical practitioner, I want what is best for my patients. Those 
are the people that I am fighting for: my neighbors and constituents 
who saw their premiums skyrocket, their quality and access to care 
limited or determined by a government bureaucrat. I committed to them 
that I would repeal ObamaCare and undo the damage that it has done to 
our healthcare system.
  The legislation we are currently considering in the House, the 
American Health Care Act, is just the beginning of keeping that 
promise.
  This is not a choice between a broken healthcare system that existed 
before ObamaCare. It is a new direction that reflects an understanding 
of what works and what does not work. The legislation will enact many 
reforms that directly impact Americans by lowering costs and improving 
access to care.
  Tonight, my colleagues and I are going to share with you in great 
detail what that legislation does. We have all been very open in our 
opposition to the Affordable Care Act, but it is also important that we 
share with our constituents what we stand for and what we are working 
to do to reform this broken system.
  We stand for patient-centered health care that meets the needs of our 
constituents in an affordable way. We stand for market-driven 
healthcare solutions and an industry that prioritizes personal freedom 
over government mandates. We stand for the biggest entitlement reform 
in a generation to ensure that we protect our most vulnerable 
populations.
  This is just a short list of the goals we are working towards, and I 
am excited to be joined by a number of my colleagues tonight to help me 
explain more to the American people what is happening with our 
healthcare system.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Arrington). He 
served in the George W. Bush administration. He has worked with the 
FDIC, and he has been a public servant in Lubbock, Texas, at Texas Tech 
University. He serves on the House Agriculture Committee, the Budget 
Committee, and the House Veterans' Affairs Committee.
  Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, the facts are indisputable: President 
Obama's attempt to plan our healthcare economy from Washington, D.C., 
has failed.
  I have spent nearly 2 years criss-crossing 29 counties in west Texas, 
and I can report from the many stories from my constituents that no 
single law or policy has been more reviled, more destructive, or more 
intrusive than ObamaCare. It is absolutely crushing our small 
businesses and Main Street Americans everywhere.
  The American Health Care Act repeals ObamaCare and is a step in the 
right direction to freeing the American people from the scourge of 
government-controlled health care.
  For the first time since the passage of ObamaCare, according to the 
Congressional Budget Office's report recently, the American Health Care 
Act will lower premiums over time by 10 percent, a far cry from the 
skyrocketing premiums we have seen over the last several years since 
the passage of the Affordable Care Act.
  The report goes on to say that the American Health Care Act will 
reduce the deficit by $337 billion and make the biggest entitlement 
reform in generations, saving taxpayers well over $800 billion.
  This bill strikes at the heart of ObamaCare by repealing its 
mandates, eliminating its taxes, and gutting its regulations.
  Make no mistake, this legislation is not perfect. I will continue to 
fight for more conservative and more fiscally responsible policy 
outcomes like work requirements for able-bodied adults. But when the 
dust settles and the debate is over, we cannot allow perfect policy 
aspirations to be the enemy of good, conservative results. The 
alternative, Mr. Speaker, is simply unacceptable.

                              {time}  2015

  My constituents sent me to Washington to tackle the tough issues and 
solve the big problems. Well, we have got one, and it is called 
ObamaCare. I committed a long time ago that if I ever had the chance, I 
would repeal ObamaCare, and I plan on keeping my promise, Mr. Speaker.
  Mr. FERGUSON. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Texas touched on some 
very important issues. One that he talked about was the process here, 
that this is just the beginning of a long journey that we must take to 
rebuild our American healthcare system.
  This has been an open legislative process. More than 8 months ago, 
even before I was a Member of this great House, the Republican caucus 
here released A Better Way agenda, which detailed a consensus vision 
for patient-centered healthcare reform. Our bill, the American Health 
Care Act, is built on that framework.
  These ideas are not new. They are not unvetted. They are a product of 
many conversations, debates, and work. Unlike the drafting of 
ObamaCare, we want our constituents to know what is in this legislation 
before we pass it. That is why every American can go to readthebill.gop 
and look at this legislation for themselves. In fact, I encourage 
anyone who hasn't taken time to look at this legislation yet to go to 
readthebill.gop and read more about the American Health Care Act.
  At no point in this process have I felt closed out of it. As a matter 
of fact, as a freshman, I can tell you that I have had my voice heard, 
I have been asked for input, and I have seen many of the ideas that I 
have spoken about be included in this bill.
  This bill has not been crafted behind closed doors. It has not been 
kept in the shadows. As a matter of fact, it has been just the 
opposite. As a freshman Member sitting in conference, leadership has 
been very straightforward about the intentions of the bill, the basic 
framework of the bill, and I am excited to see that, as this process 
has gone through regular order, we have seen many amendments added to 
it, and we are continuing that process.
  Regular order means that we have done something very unique here. We 
haven't just taken a bill and passed it and then get to read what is in 
it. We have taken a bill, and we have taken it through the committee 
process. Our colleagues on the Committee on Energy and Commerce and 
Committee on

[[Page H2075]]

Ways and Means have worked through some many long nights debating 
amendments in an open process.
  Tomorrow the House Committee on the Budget will take up this 
business. I am a member on that committee, and I am looking forward to 
the process of going through the debate tomorrow. I am sure that it 
will be long, and I am sure many amendments will be debated; but I am 
excited about the opportunity that we have to move a piece of 
legislation forward, make it better, make it more conservative, but, 
most importantly, make sure that Americans have great health care, 
access to that health care at an affordable price.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bacon).
  Mr. BACON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the American 
Health Care Act.
  ObamaCare has failed, and we need to replace it. It has made health 
care inaccessible for many of the Americans it was created to help. Our 
premiums have skyrocketed, small business growth has been stunted as it 
can't expand due to health care regulations, and employees have seen 
their hours cut. Individuals are forced to purchase healthcare coverage 
they do not want.
  Over the past 2 years, I have met with many Nebraskans in my 
district. I keep hearing about the broken promises of ObamaCare and the 
tight stranglehold this law has created for the American people. I have 
heard from a young mother who had to pay for the whole bill of the 
delivery of her child. The ACA plan she was on had a $12,000 
deductible, and that plan didn't help her one cent.
  Another citizen from Omaha, Jeanine, was happy with her healthcare 
insurance for decades. Five years ago, she was paying $323 a month and 
was satisfied with the coverage she had. Four years ago, she was told 
by her insurance company that she would have to pay more because she 
would need additional coverage, like maternity coverage, even though 
she was past that stage in her life. Two years ago, that insurance plan 
of Jeanine's jumped to $690 a month--double.
  However, her health insurance company had another policy under ACA 
which she could switch to. She did so for $150 a month with a $550 
credit. At least, she had that plan until her insurance company dropped 
that ACA policy and sent Jeanine searching for another policy. Now 
Jeanine is on an ACA policy that covers her primary doctor but not her 
dentist or her pharmacy. All Jeanine wants is a healthcare plan that 
fits her needs. She does not want the Federal Government telling her 
what coverage she must purchase.
  Imagine for just a second that you have been happy for decades with a 
product you use, and one day the government comes in and tells you that 
you don't know what is best for you. They force you to pay more, and in 
return you get something that doesn't work. ACA is like the government 
telling you that you need to buy an expensive, fast, shiny sports car 
with all the bells and whistles, when all you wanted was a less 
expensive economy car to get you around town. But later you find out 
that that fancy sports car is actually a lemon.
  That is exactly what happened to Jeanine and countless other 
Americans when ObamaCare forced them to coverage they did not want or 
need. This is more than a failed system. It is wrong to the core, and 
this is what the American Health Care Act is designed to fix.
  The American Health Care Act is a step in the right direction, and we 
are fulfilling our promises to repair the problems that ACA has left 
us. This legislation repeals major flaws of ObamaCare, such as employer 
and individual mandates, letting individuals choose what coverage is 
best for them. Under this bill, health savings accounts will be 
expanded and will give tax credits for those who buy their own 
insurance to give them parity with those who get employer-provided 
coverage tax free. These are things that I campaigned on and promised 
to fight for, and they are in the bill.

  The bill also gives States more control over their healthcare 
policies, allowing for patient-centered health care and getting the 
Federal bureaucrats out of the discussion. The American Health Care 
Act, instead, allows for individuals to choose the health insurance 
plans based on their needs and budget, allowing for Americans to have 
greater access and to find a health plan that is right for them. The 
CBO shows that it is going to lower those premiums by 10 percent. Now, 
Nebraska had a 51 percent increase last year, Mr. Speaker. This plan is 
going to lower premiums by 10 percent.
  The American Health Care Act will reduce the deficit and cut taxes. 
According to Monday's CBO score, this bill will reduce the Federal 
deficit by $337 billion and lower taxes by $883 billion. That is good 
for America.
  Finally, the American Health Care Act does this and yet preserves 
affordable insurance for those with preexisting conditions and 
maintains a safety net for those who cannot pay premiums. These are 
things that I also promised to fight for, and they are in the bill.
  I look forward to working with my fellow House Members on both sides 
of the aisle to deliver the best law for the American people. We are 
going to be debating this bill for the next few weeks, and we are going 
to make it better.
  I am proud that this Congress and the Republican leadership have made 
a commitment to passing this legislation in an open and transparent 
process. This is a good first step toward fixing the mess of the ACA.
  Before we vote on this, I encourage my colleagues and the American 
people to carefully read the bill so they can find out what is in it. 
Unlike ObamaCare, we don't have to pass this to find out what is in it. 
We know now.
  This is a great step forward, a patient-centered, doctor-supported 
healthcare system that gives power back to the States and gets the 
bureaucrat out of our healthcare decisions.
  Thank you for the opportunity to speak on this.
  Mr. FERGUSON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. 
Bacon) for his remarks.
  He touched on something that is very important, and that is the 
driving down of cost and how this is accomplished. Truly, when the 
patient is in control of their health care, they are also in control of 
the cost. We are fighting for consumer choice in a patient-driven 
healthcare system. We understand, and I certainly understand, that 
patients and doctors need to be at the center of the healthcare 
conversation, not bureaucrats and not insurance clerks.
  Our plan includes provisions to expand choice and give consumers more 
control over their healthcare dollars. The American Health Care Act 
significantly increases the amount individuals and families can 
contribute to their personal health savings accounts each year, 
allowing them to save more to pay for future healthcare expenses and 
the flexibility to use their healthcare dollars as they choose.
  It also allows them to spend those healthcare dollars where they 
think that it will best benefit their families. It allows them to have 
the most intimate conversations with their healthcare providers and 
make sure that they are making the right decisions and using their 
dollars wisely. If the first question always is ``does my insurance 
company pay for it?'' you are always going to get the most expensive 
answer. However, if the patient has contributed to this process, the 
patient then will be able to make some informed decisions through good 
conversations with their doctors, and they can better manage their own 
health care.
  We are fighting for a system that puts patients first and allows 
Georgians in the Third District and all across this Nation to make 
their own healthcare decisions. That starts with a conversation between 
the doctor and the patient.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Rutherford). 
He is a former three-term sheriff from Florida, representing the 
greater Jacksonville area.
  Mr. RUTHERFORD. Mr. Speaker, tonight I rise to speak of fairness, to 
speak of equity, to speak of parity for America's hardworking 
taxpayers. I want to talk about bringing parity between Americans who 
get their insurance coverage through their employer and those who are 
forced to purchase theirs on the individual market.
  Currently, over 150 million Americans who have employer-sponsored 
health insurance enjoy a tax benefit to

[[Page H2076]]

purchase that health insurance. However, Americans who purchase their 
insurance in the individual marketplace, like farmers, small-business 
owners, plumbers, and mechanics, do not have a similar kind of benefit. 
Mr. Speaker, simply put, this is just unfair.
  However, the American Health Care Plan helps fix this inequity by 
offering a portable tax credit to help these Americans purchase the 
health insurance they choose. These credits are also age-adjusted so 
older Americans who have higher healthcare costs will also see a larger 
credit to assist them in purchasing that insurance.
  Mr. Speaker, I can tell you, many individuals and families in 
Florida's Fourth Congressional District will benefit from this reform 
and for the first time will be on a more level playing field in 
purchasing their health insurance. We are fighting for basic fairness. 
No American, no small-business man or woman, no farmer, plumber, or 
mechanic should be disadvantaged because of where they work or where 
they are forced to purchase their insurance.
  Mr. FERGUSON. Mr. Speaker, my colleague from Florida touched on 
something that is very important, and that is fairness in the 
marketplace. I can tell you, as a small-business owner, I did not 
receive the same favorable tax treatment as the major corporations did 
under the Affordable Care Act. Once this bill took effect, I had to 
move into the individual market. I had to begin buying health insurance 
with post-tax dollars, and I was unable to afford the coverage not only 
for my family, but for the people that I had the pleasure of working 
with every single day in my business.

  What Mr. Rutherford talked about is leveling the playing field, and 
that is something that we need to do. It will increase innovation. It 
increases jobs. It increases success. It is so frustrating for 
Americans as they begin to build their small businesses and they begin 
to grow, and every single time that they take a step forward, the 
government takes more and more out of their pocket. Now we have a 
healthcare system that continues to rob them of their success.
  Make no mistake; the healthcare system that we had prior to the 
Affordable Care Act was certainly not successful and not headed in the 
right way, but we have made it worse with this. What we have done is we 
have not only disenfranchised many small businesses and people who are 
growing their businesses and finding success, but we have also, quite 
candidly, done a poor job of maintaining our safety net. What we are 
fighting for is to increase affordable health care for all Americans, 
and this has meant listening to a lot of the feedback from our families 
and our constituents back home.
  What we need to recognize is that, under our plan, dependents can 
continue to stay on their parents' insurance until age 26 and they are 
fully on their feet, if that is the right thing for their families to 
do. Americans told us that they like this flexibility, and we have 
listened to them.
  Our plan will also ensure that those who have preexisting conditions 
can't be charged more for the health coverage they need. It also 
includes incentives, not mandates, to encourage Americans to have 
continuous coverage. This is good for the marketplace, and it will keep 
costs down for all Americans. Our portable tax credits will also 
increase access to coverage by assisting lower income individuals to 
purchase the health insurance that they need.
  What is more, the American Health Care Act includes a Patient and 
State Stability Fund to help States expand the number of vulnerable 
patients who have access to health care. We know that States know how 
to best meet the unique needs of their citizens, and this is going to 
give them the flexibility to do that. Therefore, as these funds are 
flexible, they allow things like cutting out-of-pocket expenses for 
patients, promoting access to preventive services, or increasing 
available options in the marketplace--all things that are needed.

                              {time}  2030

  These reforms will help drive down costs and increase access to care. 
This is good news for patients who are worried about affordable 
coverage. Unlike ObamaCare, though, it means that their coverage 
provides them with meaningful access to care.
  It does you no good to have an insurance plan that you cannot afford 
to use. Time and time again, I have patients, I have small-business 
owners, I have constituents from all over Georgia's Third District that 
come to me and say: Just because I have this new insurance plan doesn't 
mean that my family is getting better care.
  One such example was a gentleman that came into my district office 
just this past week. Three years ago, his health insurance for his 
family with four children was about $900, and he had a $3,000 family 
deductible. Last year, his premium had risen to $1,700 a month. And 
this year, he laid in front of me on my desk in the district office a 
bill for his health insurance that was $2,400 a month, and a $7,000 
deductible. He is a small-business owner with nine employees. It is 
absolutely crushing his family expenses, and that is not fair.
  What we have done is we have created an environment where we have 
tried unsuccessfully to expand access; and in doing so, we have risen 
costs on men and women across this Nation that are trying to do their 
best to move into the middle class. We have seen it destroy family 
finances. We have seen it create a situation where many families now 
pay more for their health insurance than they do for their own homes.
  Mr. Speaker, in my case, that is the exact same thing. My insurance 
payment is more than my house payment, and that simply doesn't seem 
right.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Tenney). 
She has proven to be a great Member of Congress. I have enjoyed working 
with her thoroughly. Ms. Tenney has some very revealing remarks going 
forward.
  Ms. TENNEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. 
Ferguson), my esteemed colleague.
  I rise today to recognize the New Yorkers who have been hit 
especially hard by the policies of the previous administration and 
ObamaCare's so-called reforms to our healthcare system. Patients have 
been hurt, doctors have been burdened, and families and taxpayers are 
being crushed by this terrible law, and its thousands of pages of 
onerous regulations.
  Our most vulnerable citizens--seniors, the hardworking middle class, 
and veterans--are in worse shape now in upstate New York than they were 
before. In New York State and across the 22nd District, patients are 
being denied high-quality care that they deserve and need.
  With higher costs, less accessible and affordable care, and mountains 
of red tape, this law has proven to be everything but a Patient 
Protection and Affordable Care Act. Now, some deductibles are higher 
than a house payment, and premiums across the Nation have increased on 
average by 25 percent. Our families didn't sign up for this.
  Patients have had their plans canceled and their doctors are deemed 
out of network. They have fewer and worse choices than before. All the 
while, costs have skyrocketed with premiums and deductibles jumping by 
double digits and triple digits in some cases.
  This failed law has hurt our economy, small-business owners, and 
family farms while driving hundreds of thousands of jobs out of our 
communities. Small businesses are being crushed by ObamaCare and have 
either stopped hiring or dropped insurance coverage for their 
employees. The CBO estimated that ObamaCare will result in the loss of 
at least 2 million jobs. In fact, the number one complaint of small-
business owners in my district throughout the last 6 years has been 
ObamaCare, and 70 percent of the new jobs are created by the small 
businesses in our community.
  One small-business owner, in fact, told me that she had to lay off 
nearly a dozen employees just to keep up with the cost of ObamaCare. 
Just think of looking at 12 families and saying: You have now lost the 
primary caregiver in your family just to keep up with ObamaCare 
mandates.
  Another family that I met with told me they had their insurance lost 
after being canceled three times, and now their options are either 
limited or unaffordable.
  Another independent, self-insured man with three children told me 
that he had an insurance plan, but he had no

[[Page H2077]]

health care, with a $12,000 annual deductible.
  This is unfair and it is unsustainable for small-business owners, 
particularly those in the independent market.
  Hardworking middle class families in New York are being burdened with 
nearly the highest taxes in the Nation. New York is one of only four 
States that passes the State 50 percent share Medicaid burden onto the 
local taxpayers. Twenty-five percent of the State's obligation to cover 
Medicaid costs are forced onto struggling local governments already 
suffocating under unfunded mandates from the State. This has caused 
property and sales taxes to increase year after year, crushing the 
pocketbooks of even the most vulnerable taxpayers.
  In New York State, local taxpayers throughout our 63 counties will be 
forced to pay over $7.5 billion annually in this local share to support 
New York's Medicaid program. New York's Medicaid program is the largest 
in the Nation. In fiscal year 2018, the cost will be over $65 billion--
over 42 percent of New York's $152 billion proposed State budget. That 
is nearly the cost of the entire State of Florida's State budget.
  Already, taxpayers in upstate and central New York are burdened with 
some of the highest combined property and sales tax in the country. 
Every penny that goes for this failing scheme is a penny less for our 
schools, our roads, care for our seniors, care for people with special 
needs, and actually the truly needy in our communities.
  There is a better way that won't leave anyone behind. It is vitally 
important that we begin to repeal ObamaCare so we can provide relief 
for people across the country and the State.
  I am currently reviewing the American Health Care Act, a reform 
initiative proposed to alleviate the pressures ObamaCare has put on 
patients, providers, and taxpayers. The proposals in the American 
Health Care Act will lower premiums by 10 percent, reduce taxes by $883 
billion, and reduce the Federal deficit dollars by $337 billion. All 
are a significant step in the right direction.
  However, I will continue to listen to constituents in the 22nd 
District as the House carefully considers this legislation before we 
vote on it and any future bills to improve and restore our healthcare 
system for all.
  Current and future taxpayers must not be saddled with further debt 
and taxes to pay for lower quality and less access to care. Any new 
initiative must enshrine the freedom to choose a plan tailored to each 
person and each family. Any new initiative must include a competitive 
marketplace which provides better and broader options for families 
across all economic sectors. Any new initiative must protect seniors 
and the truly needy in our society, because we do have an obligation 
and a desire to help them.
  But the status quo is unacceptable. ObamaCare is inefficient, 
ineffective, and tramples our precious liberties. We, as their duly 
elected representatives, should do all in our power to patient-
centered, cost-conscious, high-quality system of health care in this 
country. I will continue to fight for everyone in our communities.
  Mr. FERGUSON. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from New York for her 
very candid remarks. As you can see, she touched on many important 
issues--the unfairness of the system that we have now, but also the 
importance of protecting our Medicaid safety net.
  What we have seen under the Affordable Care Act is that we have seen 
our safety nets eroded. We are diverting resources away from the people 
that need them the most--the poor, the elderly, the blind, the 
disabled, children, and pregnant women--and we are pushing those 
resources to able-bodied men and women who do have the ability to work.
  It is important to recognize that our legislation is probably the 
largest entitlement reform program in a generation. Our legislation 
puts Medicaid back on a budget for the first time in history. It 
provides enhanced flexibility to the States to allow them to design 
effective and financially sound programs to meet their population's 
unique needs.
  Our plan also ensures that Medicaid prioritizes care for the most 
vulnerable, who it was originally intended for. We must do this because 
there are so many Americans, unfortunately, that have to depend on this 
safety net for their health care.
  I understand this. In my hometown, in my dental practice, I treated 
patients who relied on Medicaid for their healthcare coverage. It was 
an honor to take care of them and to have very real discussions about 
their healthcare needs. I understand this vulnerable population because 
they were a vital part of my practice, and it was truly my pleasure to 
take care of them. I understand the unique circumstances that cause 
many of these individuals to be on Medicaid and to need this valuable 
safety net.
  But we have to have an honest conversation about that. We have to be 
able to provide that safety net. And as we put more and more able-
bodied men and women without children on that safety net, it is 
diverting resources away from those that need it the most. That is not 
right and that is not the American way. We are fighting to protect and 
strengthen this Nation's healthcare safety net.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Marshall). Dr. 
Marshall knows firsthand about health care. He was a practicing OB/GYN, 
a board chairman of a hospital, and he has served our Nation in the 
United States Army.
  Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. Speaker, I am so proud to stand shoulder to 
shoulder with people like my colleague, Dr. Drew Ferguson, from 
Georgia.
  I am so proud to stand tonight with the President of the United 
States. I know that tonight Mr. Trump is speaking loudly on behalf of 
our healthcare bill. Mr. Trump is ready to take the fight on with us 
who feel like we need to move this health care forward.
  I am not sure how many of you grew up without power steering in your 
vehicles, but if you know anything about the lack of power steering--
and I think back to the tractors I drove growing up, and that tractor, 
you could not turn that wheel until you started the tractor moving--or 
if you had a Ford truck or a Dodge truck or a Chevy truck and it didn't 
have power steering, you couldn't turn that truck until it started 
moving.
  Mr. Speaker, it is time to get this bill moving. We have to move 
health care forward. I am so tired of the rhetoric of repeal and 
replace. I am telling you, my constituents sent me here to fix health 
care. Forget the political rhetoric. I am ready to fix health care. I 
am ready to stand shoulder to shoulder with Republicans, with 
Democrats, with people down the aisle, across the aisle, and with our 
President to get this healthcare bill passed.
  Unfortunately, ObamaCare has failed. When this first came about, I 
was so excited. I was hoping that this would be a healthcare bill that 
would work. But, unfortunately, it is true that this healthcare bill is 
dying very quickly.
  One-third of counties across this country no longer have a provider 
to take care of the exchange. My own State of Kansas is down to one 
provider. Today, even more insurance companies are bailing. This bill 
is dying. Doing nothing is simply not an option, Mr. Speaker.

                              {time}  2045

  As I visited with thousands of patients over the last several years 
and thousands of my constituents, they said there are several things 
that they thought were important that we save from this healthcare 
bill, the Affordable Care Act, and I think we have done just that:
  Number one, we have protected the preexisting issue conditions;
  Number two, we are letting children stay on their parents' health 
insurance until age 26;
  Number three, we are ensuring that women are not charged more for 
health insurance just because they are a woman; and
  Number four, we protected the doughnut hole and kept it closed for 
Medicare.
  So I think we have saved the best things of the Affordable Care Act.
  So what have we removed? Mr. Speaker, we removed almost $1 trillion 
of taxes. This is the most significant entitlement reform in our 
generation, the most significant entitlement reform since the 1960s 
started Medicaid.
  What can we expect out of this bill?
  We expect premiums to decrease by 10 percent.

[[Page H2078]]

  We expect to start reprioritizing Medicaid moneys. I want to make 
sure, Mr. Speaker, that we prioritize Medicaid moneys for those who 
need it the most: those with disabilities, children, and the elderly. 
And I want to make sure these people are at the front of the Medicaid 
line rather than at the end of the line.
  This country cannot afford to give Medicaid to able-bodied Americans. 
We need to prioritize the dollars that we have for those that need it 
the most.
  Mr. Speaker, we spent $580 billion last year on Medicaid. We are on 
our way to spending $1 trillion on Medicaid if we don't do something 
soon. This country cannot afford to spend $1 trillion on Medicaid.
  Mr. Speaker, these are only the first steps of bending the cost curve 
downward for health care. We have to do more than just this bill. There 
are going to be more steps.
  I have complete faith in Dr. Tom Price, our new HHS Secretary, that 
he will be deregulating health care, which is the most regulated 
business in the country right now. Give Dr. Price 60, 90 days to 
deregulate medicine and start encouraging competition, and we will 
start bending this cost curve downward.
  We need to empower free markets. We need to empower States to have 
more local control. We are expanding healthcare savings accounts, but 
there are many more things we need to do. This is just the start of 
healthcare reform.
  This is the first chapter of a new book on healthcare reform. There 
are many more chapters to go. I cannot wait to improve health care, to 
improve quality and start driving the cost curve downward.
  Mr. Speaker, thank you so much for allowing me the time to stand 
shoulder to shoulder with our President, as well as with Dr. Drew 
Ferguson, who is representing the State of Georgia so proudly. I am so 
proud to be called his freshman colleague.
  Mr. FERGUSON. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Dr. Marshall for his 
strong remarks and pointing out and highlighting several important 
things.
  You know, one of the biggest things that we are fighting for as part 
of repealing ObamaCare is that we are fighting for our personal 
freedom. Right now, Americans have the ``choice'' of purchasing a 
government-mandated, one-size-fits-all product or paying a government-
mandated penalty. In almost a third of all U.S. counties, and many in 
my home State of Georgia, consumers don't even have the choice between 
insurances to purchase. This is not a choice.
  With the passage of the American Health Care Act, no longer will the 
Federal Government mandate that Americans purchase a product that they 
don't want, because we believe that individuals should have the freedom 
to make their own choices. We understand the unique dignity of every 
human being. This dignity calls for self-determination and personal 
freedom, and we are fighting for that freedom. It is important.
  I want to thank all of my colleagues who have joined me tonight to 
share with our constituents more about what we are fighting for.
  First off, our legislation promotes personal freedom by eliminating 
the individual and employer mandates. Purchasing decisions should be 
left up to the consumer, not the Federal Government. Under our plan, no 
American is mandated to purchase a product that he or she does not want 
and cannot afford.
  As I have shared, I have personal experience with how important the 
conversation between the patient and their doctor is. By almost 
doubling the cap on how much individuals can contribute to their 
personal health savings accounts each year and expanding where those 
dollars can be used, our plan puts patients back at the center of the 
conversation with their doctor, and they remove all of the government 
bureaucrats from the middle of that conversation.
  Health care is personal. It should belong to the patient and their 
healthcare provider--and no one else. That is where the most important 
decisions are made.
  We are also working to strengthen our safety net to ensure that our 
vulnerable populations have continued access to health care. Our plan 
returns power to the States with the biggest entitlement reform in a 
generation. Our legislation also protects Americans with preexisting 
conditions, ensuring that no one is unable to purchase insurance 
because of an illness.
  ObamaCare is a complex tangle of regulations and Federal overreach. 
With every day that passes, Americans and businesses feel the growing 
weight of a healthcare system that is failing. But it is also 
irresponsible to return to a broken healthcare system that brought us 
ObamaCare.
  Tomorrow, we will take the next step in the open legislative process 
as my colleagues and I on the Budget Committee do our part to send the 
American Health Care Act to the floor of the House for a vote. I am 
excited to take this step, but I want to be clear that this is only one 
part of repeal and reform. We are doing all that we can, and we are 
going to continue to push for conservative solutions with this bill. 
But it is not the final vote that we will take. There are many steps to 
go.

  While it will take time and patience, I made a promise to repeal the 
Affordable Care Act and improve our healthcare system for all 
Americans. I am committed to this difficult road of building this 
healthcare system that puts patients first. The American people deserve 
the hard work and political will it will take to do this the right way.
  Mr. Speaker, I am honored to have been joined by my colleagues 
tonight and glad to hear their comments, and I know that you have been 
as well. I want to point out that my colleagues have done an 
outstanding job tonight, and I believe that they have made some very, 
very salient points, and articulated reasons why we must step forward 
and do all that we can to reform our American healthcare system.
  We have to control the cost. We have to do the things necessary to 
put patients back in control. And, Mr. Speaker, I have confidence that 
this body, along with our President and our colleagues in the Senate, 
can do that.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________