[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 172 (Wednesday, October 25, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H8155]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1215
                    HEALTH INSURANCE OPEN ENROLLMENT

  (Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, we are one week away from the 
open enrollment period--an opportunity for Americans to purchase health 
insurance for 2018.
  President Trump ended the cost sharing reduction--the CSR--payments, 
which reduce out-of-pocket costs for low-income working families.
  A Congressional Budget Office analysis says ending these payments 
would likely increase premiums by 20 percent next year and by 25 
percent by 2020.
  In the Senate, there is a bipartisan agreement, led by Senators 
Alexander and Murray, to stabilize the marketplaces by funding the CSR 
payments and increase resources for open enrollment outreach.
  Last night, unfortunately, a couple of the Members in the majority 
added partisan objectives to the bill, cutting mandates, which will 
keep costs low, and adding anti-abortion restrictions to CSR payments.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge the majority to drop the poison pills and work 
with Democrats to bring the Alexander-Murray bill to the floor as soon 
as possible to stabilize markets and lower costs for American families. 
The failure to fix the health reform will cause millions of Americans 
to lose healthcare, and, that is, ``No Care TrumpCare.''

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