[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 158 (Tuesday, October 3, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6276-S6277]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                               Healthcare

  Mr. President, the American people are relieved that the latest 
version of TrumpCare went down in defeat last week. We won this battle 
because millions of people made their voices heard, but the danger 
remains. We cannot grow complacent.
  The President and his allies in Congress are hoping that in our 
relief, we will move on and pay attention to other things. With this 
President, I have to say, and this administration, there is always a 
fresh outrage to contend with. After his latest failure, the President 
has turned to sabotage and neglect to accomplish his goal of denying 
millions of people access to healthcare under the Affordable Care Act.
  The danger is real. The President's continued threats to eliminate 
cost-sharing reduction payments that help reduce out-of-pocket costs 
for consumers under the ACA, for example, are already destabilizing 
health insurance in Hawaii and across the country.
  This year, HMSA and Kaiser--two of Hawaii's largest providers of 
health insurance--proposed large rate increases for customers on the 
exchange in response to the uncertainty posed by the President's 
threats to eliminate the cost-sharing payments. These companies have 
been told to submit two rate proposals, one if cost-sharing remains in 
place and the other if these cost-sharing provisions are eliminated.
  If the President eliminates cost-sharing payments, Hawaii residents 
could see an 8-percent increase in their premiums on the individual 
markets. This translates into millions of dollars more that Hawaii 
residents will need to pay. This is irresponsible, unacceptable, and 
completely within the President's power to prevent.
  Unfortunately, the President isn't the only member of his 
administration intent on sabotaging the Affordable Care Act. The 
Secretary of Health and Human Services resigned in disgrace last week, 
but the work he set in motion at the Department to make it more 
difficult for people to sign up for insurance continues apace.
  The administration has already shortened the open enrollment period 
from 90 days to 45 days and proposed massive cuts for advertising and 
call centers during this shortened window. To make matters worse, they 
are taking healthcare.gov down for so-called maintenance at peak times 
on the weekends so people have even less time to sign up for coverage.
  The sabotage doesn't end there. The administration is also calling 
for a 40-percent cut in funding for navigators who help vulnerable 
communities find and secure coverage. In the past, organizations in 
Hawaii like We Are Oceania and the Legal Aid Society have received 
navigator grants to help enroll low-income Hawaii residents, COFA 
citizens, individuals with disabilities, and other underserved 
communities in programs under the ACA.
  Last week, I had the opportunity to meet with Josie Howard, We Are 
Oceania's program director. Josie and her team navigate a multitude of 
language and cultural barriers to help COFA citizens who have been 
unfairly disqualified from Medicaid to enroll in the exchange. 
President Trump's determination to sabotage the ACA undermines the hard 
work Josie and organizations like We Are Oceania are doing to expand 
healthcare access to underserved communities.
  We need to keep fighting back against the President's sabotage 
campaign, but we can also work together in Congress to improve our 
Nation's healthcare system and renew programs that millions of people 
depend on every year in our country.
  On Saturday, Congress allowed funding for the Community Health Center 
Fund--CHCF--to lapse without being renewed. CHCs across the country 
will be forced to lay off staff, reduce hours of operations, scale back 
investments, or even close, denying healthcare coverage or services to 
millions of people in need all across the country.
  Through the ACA, the CHCF provided increased funding for community 
health centers across the country to modernize facilities, hire new 
staff, and expand services in underrepresented communities. If Congress 
does not renew the program, community health centers will face a 70-
percent cut in their Federal funding, and this will have a devastating 
impact for community health centers in Hawaii, like Malama I Ke Ola in 
Wailuku on Maui.
  Thanks to the CHCF funding and the ACA's Medicaid expansion, Malama I 
Ke Ola has been able to expand the services it provides to Maui 
residents and improve outcomes for thousands of people--particularly in 
the area of women's health.
  In the years following the passage and implementation of the ACA, 
Malama I Ke Ola has worked to expand OB-GYN services at the clinic. 
With increased funding, the clinic has purchased new, high-definition 
ultrasound machines, hired new physicians, and upgraded its prenatal 
care facilities. The center recently signed a new contract with the 
University of Hawaii to provide overnight fetal medical services at the 
clinic instead of having to refer patients to large public hospitals on 
Oahu. Keeping these patients on Maui not only reduces overall 
healthcare spending but also allows patients to stay close to home and 
their families.
  If Congress does not renew CHCF funding, this program--and hundreds 
of

[[Page S6277]]

others across the State and country--will be at risk.
  Congressional inaction has also threatened the future of the 
Children's Health Insurance Program--or CHIP--which provides health 
insurance to 9 million low-income children and mothers across the 
country and 27,000 in Hawaii. We should act as soon as possible to pass 
a bipartisan reauthorization that Senators Hatch and Wyden negotiated 
in the Senate Finance Committee.
  It seems as though every day the President tweets something new and 
outrageous to distract us from the true issues facing our country, 
whether it is the Mueller investigation or his decision to rescind DACA 
and place hundreds of thousands of DACA Dreamers at risk for 
deportation. This is a tactic the President has used to great effect 
during our many debates on healthcare. The President hopes we will be 
paying more attention to his attacks on NFL players or demeaning 
comments about the mayor of San Juan instead of his dangerous proposals 
to take healthcare away from millions of people in our country. We have 
to keep paying attention and keep our eyes on the ball. We have to keep 
speaking up and fighting back.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Hoeven). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.