[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 172 (Wednesday, October 25, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6802-S6803]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Healthcare
Mr. GARDNER. Mr. President, I come to the floor this afternoon to
talk about the Healthcare Tax Relief Act, legislation I introduced to
delay the health insurance tax that was created by the Affordable Care
Act.
This tax is often referred to as the HIT tax. The HIT tax imposes
fees on health insurance coverage to consumers. It is a pretty simple
business concept that this HIT tax results in. If a fee increases on an
insurance policy and the fee goes up--there is a fee charged to the
company that issues this insurance policy--then that fee gets passed on
to the consumer. It is the consumer, then, who pays the fee in the form
of higher health insurance costs.
As is the case with most excise taxes, whether it is an excise tax on
food or beverage or any other item of personal good, if this health
insurance tax takes effect, costs will be passed on to consumers
directly in the form of higher premiums. That is confirmed by the
Congressional Budget Office.
This is one of the cost drivers that was built into the Affordable
Care Act. This health insurance tax would directly increase the
premiums of the consumer's insurance product. This tax was supposed to
begin a few years back in 2014. It was going to start at $8 billion,
and by 2018 the tax would reach $14.3 billion. However, Congress
recognized that this tax was going to have a significant impact on the
price of coverage and, as a result, suspended the tax from taking
effect in 2017. Without congressional action to delay or stop or
prevent this ObamaCare tax from taking place again, this tax will take
effect in 2018.
According to nonpartisan actuarial analysis conducted by Oliver
Wyman,
[[Page S6803]]
an estimated 157 million Americans will be affected by this massive
tax. Even more middle-income earners across this country, 157 million
Americans and working Americans, are expected to shoulder the weight of
this tax.
Oliver Wyman estimated that premiums will rise by 3 percent in each
year; 2018, 2019, and 2020. That is 3 percent each year. That is 9
percent over 3 years.
To put this in simple perspective, in Colorado alone, premiums in the
individual market rose by 34 percent from plan year 2017 to plan year
2018. Adding an additional 3 percent every year for those 3 years would
leave those on the individual market paying nearly 43.3 percent, on
average, more year to year if combined with the 2018 increases at the
end of that 3-year, 9-percent increase run.
What is more, according to the Department of Health and Human
Services, the average individual market premiums have increased by 105
percent from 2013 to 2017. Think about that. When the Affordable Care
Act passed, when ObamaCare was passed, a promise was made that the
average family would see a decrease in their healthcare costs of $2,500
per family, but, instead, from 2013 to 2017, they saw a 105-percent
increase in costs. If the health insurance tax takes effect, as planned
by ObamaCare, then we would see another 9-percent increase over the
next several years on top of that.
Without congressional action to delay this tax, estimates show that
costs will rise between $200 and $300 annually for individuals and $500
annually for families. That is a $200 to $300 increase for individuals
and a $500 increase annually for families.
To put that into some perspective, 25 percent of Americans don't have
access--emergency access--to $100. In an emergency, 25 percent of
Americans don't have immediate access to $100. Yet here we are talking
about a mandated law--you have to have insurance coverage under the
Affordable Care Act--but this law would then increase costs $200 to
$300 on an individual and $500 annually for families.
Statistics from the Federal Reserve show how much of a hardship this
would create. The Federal Reserve found that 46 percent of Americans
did not have enough money to cover a $400 emergency expense. Yet the
ObamaCare HIT tax would increase family insurance costs by $500. Forty-
six percent of Americans don't have access to $400 in an emergency. Yet
the ObamaCare HIT tax would increase it by $500.
This tax has the potential to push over half of Americans into
financial ruin, and it would be negligent for Congress to allow this
tax to take effect. The financial threat this tax imposes on hard-
working families is a far cry from that bold promise that was made to
reduce costs by $2,500 per family--one of the biggest Pinocchios, so to
speak, of the Affordable Care Act. At a time when we know that almost
half of Americans could not shoulder a $400 emergency expense, it would
simply be irresponsible to allow this ObamaCare HIT tax to take effect.
Furthermore, the impacts of this tax touch our seniors who have
earned their benefits as well. For seniors enrolled in Medicare
Advantage plans--and Medicare Advantage is one of the most popular
aspects of Medicare--premiums are expected to rise by roughly $370 a
year per enrollee if Congress doesn't find a resolution. In many cases,
these are fixed-income individuals who would see their premiums
increase $370 a year because of the ObamaCare HIT tax.
In addition, seniors enrolled in Medicare Part D prescription drug
plans can expect their premiums to increase as well. Hit them on their
Medicare plans and hit them on the prescription drug plans--higher
costs due to this ObamaCare HIT tax.
Even more, the impacts of the health insurance tax have large-scale
consequences in the workplace as well. A study by the National
Federation of Independent Business found that allowing the HIT tax to
take effect could result in job losses for as many as 283,000 people by
2023. This tax could have the impact of costing 286,000 jobs by 2023.
Research and analysis from our most respected actuaries continue to
validate the negative consequences of the health insurance tax.
On behalf of all hard-working Americans, I call upon my colleagues in
the Senate to join me in cosponsoring this commonsense piece of
legislation, the Healthcare Tax Relief Act. Healthcare plans are being
finalized right now for the 2018 rate year, and it is urgent for
Congress to take action so that consumers are not saddled with yet one
more cost that they can't afford.
Mr. President, I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan.