[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 86 (Thursday, May 18, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3023-S3024]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HEALTHCARE LEGISLATION

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, on another matter, too many Americans 
woke up this morning worried about the rising costs and limited options 
they are experiencing under ObamaCare. As they went to work, too many 
struggled with the reality that their ObamaCare premiums could take an 
even larger bite out of their paycheck next year.
  This afternoon, as they pick up their kids, too many will worry that 
they may have a hard time finding an ObamaCare plan at all for next 
year, with many counties having only one option left on the exchanges. 
Unfortunately, these are the realities for far too many Americans under 
ObamaCare, and they are miles away from what Democrats promised.
  In my home State, we endured large premium hikes this year of up to 
47 percent. For many working families, a spike in premiums like that 
can make it nearly impossible to afford health

[[Page S3024]]

insurance at all. To make matters worse, under ObamaCare, many 
Kentuckians don't have the option to select the best provider for 
themselves and their families.
  Let's take a look at the chart behind me. In Kentucky, under 
ObamaCare, 49 percent of our counties--49 percent--have one insurer, 
one. For Kentuckians in half of our counties, half have one choice. 
Really, when you have one choice, you have no choice at all.
  It is not as though this situation is unique to my State either. This 
year, there are 26 States with at least one county where residents have 
only a single insurance option under ObamaCare. That means millions of 
Americans living in more than 1,000 counties across the country really 
have no choice at all--no choice at all--when it comes to ObamaCare.
  Those families didn't get the increased choices they were promised 
under that law. They have been left to shoulder the burden nonetheless, 
and things have only gotten worse over time.
  In fact, just this week, people on the ObamaCare exchanges in three 
more States--Vermont, Virginia, and Oregon--learned they could face 
double-digit premium increases as high as 20 percent next year. I would 
ask our Democratic friends, are they really OK--are you really OK with 
ObamaCare's continuing attacks on the middle class?
  One constituent from Lexington in my State wrote me about her 
frustration with the status quo under ObamaCare. Here is what she had 
to say:

       My insurance is way more than what I can afford. I can't 
     imagine many others who can pay more for health insurance 
     than their mortgage.

  She and her husband had shopped on the exchanges for healthcare, but 
the lowest premium options were around $1,000 a month--listen to this--
$1,000 a month, and that got them a $10,000 deductible; $1,000 a month 
would only get a policy with a $10,000 deductible. So they decided to 
go uninsured and pay the penalty. She said:

       The cost will be minor compared to the useless premium 
     cost.

  The last part of this Kentucky woman's message is something I think 
we should all remember throughout this debate. She said:

       Please remember that there are many people depending on 
     Congress to set this . . . right.

  Americans like her are counting on all of us to leave ObamaCare's 
failures where they belong--in the past. For years, they have suffered 
under a collapsing system. Yet our friends across the aisle continued 
to defend the broken law regardless of its significant problems--
problems that even many of them have, by the way, started to 
acknowledge.
  Last week, Senate Democrats sent me a letter effectively admitting 
that the ObamaCare status quo is unsustainable. I hope that means they 
are prepared to join us in moving beyond their failed law. Otherwise, 
Senate Democrats are essentially telling the American people that they 
are OK with the status quo and that ObamaCare's collapsing markets, 
double-digit premium increases, and counties with only one insurer 
represent the new normal for healthcare in our country. Surely, they 
are not comfortable with that.
  My constituents refuse to accept the status quo. The only question 
that really remains is this: Will Senate Democrats work with us to move 
beyond the status quo?
  The entire Senate Republican Conference has been at work debating 
ideas and making progress. We are pursuing smarter healthcare policies 
for Kentuckians like the couple in Lexington and the millions more like 
them across the Nation who know that ObamaCare just isn't working. I 
hope our friends on the other side of the aisle will agree to join us 
in bringing some relief to all of these families who desperately need 
it.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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