[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 21, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3657-S3658]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HEALTHCARE LEGISLATION

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, in the many years since ObamaCare was 
imposed on the American people, it has continued to hurt the people we 
represent over and over and over again with higher costs, fewer 
choices, pain and heartbreak for the middle class. We have watched 
ObamaCare unravel before our very eyes with each passing year. Now it 
teeters on the edge of collapse, and we face a choice: Allow the 
unsustainable ObamaCare status quo to continue hurting more Americans 
or take action to finally move forward.
  Early on, Democrats made it clear they did not want to work with us 
toward that goal in a serious or bipartisan way. I regret that. But we 
have a responsibility to move forward, and we are.
  As I have said, our entire conference has been active and engaged in 
moving beyond the failures of ObamaCare for quite some time now, and we 
are focused on the following: stabilizing insurance markets, which are 
collapsing under ObamaCare; improving the affordability of health 
insurance, which keeps getting more expensive under ObamaCare; freeing 
Americans from ObamaCare mandates, which force them to buy insurance 
they don't want; strengthening Medicaid for those who need it the most; 
and preserving access to care for patients with preexisting conditions. 
Those are the principles.
  We believe we can do better than the ObamaCare status quo, and we 
fully intend to do so. We have all received the calls, letters, and 
emails from our constituents who have been hurt by this failed 
healthcare law. We all know the pain it has caused in our home States.
  Take my home State of Kentucky, for example. Under ObamaCare, 
insurance markets are collapsing in Kentucky, just as we see them 
collapsing across the country. We want to stabilize them. Kentucky was 
once held up as an ObamaCare success story, but ObamaCare made a mess 
of healthcare markets in my home State, just as it has made a mess of 
markets all across the Nation. Too many families in Kentucky who liked 
their insurance plans or their doctors soon found they were unable to 
keep them. When families are kicked off their plan, they must find a 
new insurer, often at a higher price. When families must change 
doctors, they often lose a bond of trust they develop with a physician 
who is familiar with their medical history. When insurers flee the 
exchanges, it leaves families with fewer options for their healthcare. 
In fact, Kentuckians in nearly half of our counties now have only one 
option on the ObamaCare exchanges, and as we all know, one option 
really isn't an option at all.
  A woman from Lexington contacted my office about her difficulty 
finding a plan on the exchanges. Here is what she had to say: ``I live 
in one of the three largest cities in our state, and I had two options 
for insurance this year.'' She wrote that the limited networks on both 
of those two plans ``[eliminated] a huge number of providers in Fayette 
County,'' the second largest county in my State. In addition to the 
limited access to care on these plans, she said, ``The lowest 
deductible option was $10,000.''
  The lowest deductible option--$10,000. For this Kentuckian and for so 
many others, ObamaCare has failed. We must do better, better for 
Kentuckians and

[[Page S3658]]

better for families all across the country. That is why we have to act.
  Under ObamaCare, healthcare costs are skyrocketing in Kentucky, just 
as they are skyrocketing across the country. We want to improve 
affordability. Too many Kentuckians have learned firsthand that the so-
called Affordable Care Act has really been anything but affordable. 
Premiums and deductibles continue to climb higher as ObamaCare takes a 
larger bite out of Kentuckians' budgets.
  A recent Health and Human Services report shows that ObamaCare 
premiums in Kentucky have spiked an average of 75 percent since 2013, 
when the law was fully implemented. This year alone, ObamaCare premiums 
have shot up by as much as 47 percent.
  After years of being frustrated by ObamaCare, a small business owner 
from Lancaster, KY, said she had ``decided it was utter nonsense to buy 
insurance that covered nothing.'' She said that it was utter nonsense 
to buy insurance that covered nothing.
  Although she pays a large sum every month, her plan ``covers no 
office visits, no prescription coverage, [and] has a $6,000 
deductible.'' In her estimate, ``[i]t is useless.''
  The rising costs of ObamaCare add a burden that many in my State 
simply cannot bear. I have received heartbreaking letters from 
Kentuckians, such as one family faced with this dilemma: Pay for health 
insurance or put food on the table. As ObamaCare collapses, these 
families are stuck dealing with the consequences. Increasing costs have 
become the status quo under ObamaCare, and it is completely 
unsustainable--unsustainable for Kentuckians and unsustainable for 
families across the country. That is why we have to act.
  Under ObamaCare, Kentuckians are being forced to buy insurance plans 
they don't want, just as Americans are being similarly forced to do so 
all across our country. We want to free them from those mandates. The 
American people have made clear that they don't like the mandate, which 
compels individuals to purchase unaffordable ObamaCare plans or pay a 
penalty. When you combine those who pay the fine and those who received 
a waiver, it adds up to millions of Americans who decided they didn't 
want or simply could not afford ObamaCare.
  Listen to the story of a single mom from Berea, KY, who recently 
wrote my office. She is a full-time student trying to make ends meet. 
When she began searching for a plan on the ObamaCare exchanges, she saw 
a startling picture: high premiums and a staggering deductible. She 
wrote:

       At this rate, I would honestly be better not to take health 
     insurance at all and hope for the best.
       Americans like myself need something better.

  Some families, instead of bracing for another double-digit increase 
next year, are considering not buying health insurance at all. Because 
of the ObamaCare mandate, they are forced to buy insurance they just 
can't afford.
  The elimination of the mandate will restore to Americans the freedom 
to choose the healthcare plans that are right for them, instead of 
being forced to purchase something that may not meet their needs. The 
American people, just like this Kentucky mom, deserve a better 
healthcare system than ObamaCare.
  The Senate Republican conference is focused on addressing the issues 
I mentioned as we work toward strengthening Medicaid and preserving 
access to care for patients with preexisting conditions.
  The Kentuckians' stories I have read this morning are just a sample 
of the pain felt by so many across my State, just as Americans from 
States across the country continue to share similar concerns with their 
Senators. ObamaCare's years-long legacy of soaring prices, shrinking 
choices, and total failure will continue to get worse unless we act.
  The ObamaCare status quo is simply unsustainable. It is hurting 
Americans, and it will continue to do so unless we act. The American 
people are demanding relief, and we intend to deliver it to them. That 
is why Senate Republicans are continuing to work toward smarter 
healthcare solutions that will finally allow us to move beyond this 
failed law.
  I want to repeat what I said yesterday. A discussion draft will be 
made public tomorrow. Every Member of the Senate will have it, and it 
will be posted online for everyone to review.
  For the past 7 years, ObamaCare has continued to hurt the people we 
represent. For the past 7 years, Republicans have offered ideas for a 
better way forward. Soon we will finally have the chance to turn the 
page on this failing law.

                          ____________________