[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 83 (Monday, May 15, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2925-S2926]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                   Repealing and Replacing ObamaCare

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, let me assure the Senator from New York 
that I am willing to listen to his stories about how people might be 
affected by the health care debate that is going on in the Congress 
right now if he will listen to some of the stories I have to tell. By 
the middle of June, people in 94 of the 99 counties in Iowa may not be 
able to buy insurance through the Obamacare exchanges.
  Senator Schumer talked about the tough consequences of the House bill 
on healthcare. I am coming to the Senate floor today to talk about the 
tough consequences of ObamaCare.
  I rise today to speak some more about the Affordable Care Act. The 
law is collapsing before our eyes. After 7 years of ObamaCare, it 
continues to overreach, overpromise, and overstay its welcome for the 
American people. I want to tell you the history about a bridge that 
relates very much to what is happening to ObamaCare today.

[[Page S2926]]

  Before I dive into the details of how ObamaCare is denying people in 
the State of Iowa the ability to get health insurance, I want to share 
a story about a bridge in the State of Washington.
  This bridge is depicted right here. This is the collapse of that 
bridge. The bridge is called Tacoma Narrows Bridge. It was built in 
1940. It was the world's third largest suspension bridge. It was 
considered a state-of-the-art masterpiece of 20th-century engineering, 
but the bridge was set to fail from the very beginning.
  On July 1, 1940, the $6 million bridge opened to traffic. Just 5 
months later, on November 7, 1940, the bridge collapsed. What caused 
the massive steel and concrete structure to twist, turn, and drop 
nearly 200 feet into Puget Sound? Importantly, there was a key 
foreshadowing clue. The bridge was nicknamed ``Galloping Gertie'' for 
its dancing, swaying bridge deck. On most days, it resembled a roller 
coaster rolling in the wind. But on the morning of November 7, Gertie's 
dance became twisted in a howling 40-mile-an-hour wind. Dramatic 
footage shown here shows tons of concrete and steel cables snapping 
like fishing lines before its collapse. Gertie essentially self-
destructed due to design flaws that created sheer havoc in those high 
winds.
  Like ObamaCare, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge wasn't built to last, and 
like Galloping Gertie, ObamaCare is on a self-destruction course with 
destiny. Galloping Gertie collapsed by a flawed design that was unable 
to withstand high winds, and every day that goes by without a 
bipartisan solution to fix the flaws, ObamaCare is moving the American 
people closer to a calamity.
  Sooner rather than later, ObamaCare will become its own bridge to 
nowhere, with no insurance plans on the exchanges. Millions of 
Americans will be left twisting high and dry. The warning signs can no 
longer be ignored. First, many health insurers are bailing. The 
individual market is near collapse.
  Just last week, another insurance company, Aetna, announced it will 
quit the remaining two States it planned to sell plans in under 
ObamaCare. That means in 2018, Aetna will sell zero plans on the 
individual market exchanges. Just a year ago, in 2016, Aetna 
participated in the individual markets in 778 counties across the 
country. In 2017, that number fell to 242. In 2018, that number will be 
zero.
  We ought to repeat this story because everybody is talking about what 
the House health care bill might do to people's health insurance and 
their healthcare. The fact is that people can't buy health insurance, 
or if they buy it, the deductibles are so high they can't afford it. 
That is the story we ought to be telling at least with equal weight 
with the stories given by people who are talking about not wanting to 
do anything with healthcare.
  My home State has been hit particularly hard by insurers pulling out 
of the individual market. In 2016, UnitedHealth Group announced it 
would leave Iowa the following year. Last month, Aetna and Wellmark 
announced they would be pulling out of the individual market in Iowa. 
This leaves 94 of our 99 counties in Iowa with one choice for health 
insurance on the individual market.
  A constituent wrote to me following the news of their departure.

       My son recently turned 26 years old and is ineligible to 
     remain on my insurance; therefore, he signed up for his own 
     policy through Wellmark. My son farms with my husband, so 
     while my husband has coverage through me, my son may soon be 
     facing the fact that he will not be able to buy health 
     insurance. My son, a true ``beginning farmer,'' will be 
     forced to leave our farming operation and seek employment 
     solely for the purpose of health care coverage.

  If Congress doesn't act, the individual market may come crashing 
down, just like the Tacoma Narrows bridge. We simply can't ignore 
another warning sign. Healthier, younger people are choosing the off-
ramp. The toll to join ObamaCare is turning out to be unaffordable for 
them. ObamaCare is unsustainable.
  Remarkably, instead of joining us to fix this broken bridge, the 
other side wants to leave Americans twisting in the wind. In my home 
State, 70,000 Iowans are enrolled in the individual exchanges, and the 
last carrier left, Medica, is on the fence about its plans for 2018. 
That is why I told Senator Schumer to listen to our stories. The people 
in 94 of Iowa's 99 counties may not even be able to buy insurance on 
the exchange.
  The day has come. It is time to cross the bridge. It is time to 
repeal and replace ObamaCare before it finishes its collapse.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Arkansas.