[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 58 (Wednesday, April 3, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2223-S2224]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                               Healthcare

  Ms. STABENOW. Madam President, I have come to the floor many times, 
and I come to the floor today to say something straightforward. 
Healthcare is personal, not political. Despite all the debates, 
everything that has gone on around healthcare, for every family in 
Michigan and across the country and for every one of us, healthcare is 
personal, not political.
  If your child gets sick in the middle of the night and needs to be 
taken to the emergency room, you don't care who the doctor voted for in 
the last Presidential election.
  If you are diagnosed with cancer or a chronic condition, you are more 
interested in receiving the care you need than the ins and outs of the 
insurance plan that provides that care.
  If your mom or dad needs to move into a nursing home, you want to 
make sure they are happy and that they are treated well, regardless of 
the specific Medicaid reimbursement rate.
  Healthcare is personal to each and every one of us, not political, 
and it affects each and every one of us, whether we watch MSNBC, CNN, 
FOX News, or don't turn on the television.
  That is why, when this administration and Republicans in Congress try 
to take away people's healthcare over and over and over again, I take 
it personally. You know who else takes it personally? The American 
people. Certainly, I know the people of Michigan do.
  Back in November, they sent a message at the ballot box. 
Unfortunately, the administration and Republicans in Congress missed 
the message. They could be working across the aisle right now to expand 
access to care and improve quality and reduce costs. This is something 
I work to do all the time. Instead, they are, once again, trying to 
take away your healthcare.
  If you don't believe me, just take a look at President Trump's 
budget. This administration wants to pay for a huge tax giveaway for 
the wealthiest among us by taking away people's healthcare.
  Let me say that again.
  They are asking us to pay for a budget-busting tax giveaway for the 
wealthy by taking healthcare away from people who depend on Medicare 
and Medicaid. Many of us, when this tax bill passed, said that when 
they were creating almost $2 trillion in deficit, watch out because the 
next thing will be a discussion to say: Oh. Oh my gosh. We have a big 
deficit. We have to cut Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, and 
the other things that directly affect people, with healthcare at the 
top of the list.
  So what happens? Well, the Trump budget would cut $800 billion from 
Medicare over the next 10 years. That is taking away healthcare from 
our seniors, people with disabilities. The Trump budget would cut $1.5 
trillion from Medicaid over the next 10 years. That is taking 
healthcare away from half of all the babies born in America who are 
covered by Medicaid--them and their moms. That is taking healthcare 
away from two in three seniors who get their nursing home care from 
Medicaid healthcare. That is taking away healthcare from everyone who 
has benefited from expanding Medicaid, including low-income, minimum-
wage working people, working families, including more than 650,000 
people in my State of Michigan covered by a very successful program 
called Healthy Michigan.
  Ninety-seven percent of Michigan children can see a doctor when they 
get sick or hurt now because of what has happened with Michigan, with 
Healthy Michigan and other coverage, and the number of people treated 
without insurance has dropped 50 percent, which means instead of folks 
dropping into the emergency room who can't pay and everybody else's 
insurance rates go up to pay for it, people now have their own 
insurance, and those costs have dropped by 50 percent--the number of 
people walking in without insurance.
  What has that meant for the State of Michigan? Taxpayers had more 
than $400 million back into the budget in the State of Michigan last 
year because of the savings because of Healthy Michigan.
  We should be building on this progress. Instead, Republicans are, 
once again, trying to take your healthcare away.
  Between 2010 and 2018, the Republican majority in Congress voted to 
repeal or weaken the Affordable Care Act more than 70 times--70--with 
no replacement. Now the Trump administration has stepped in to help 
because they weren't successful in Congress. We were able to stop that 
because people rose up and said: My healthcare is personal not 
political. People from across the country engaged and we were able to 
stop it in Congress. So now the Trump administration has stepped in to 
do a number of things to sabotage the Affordable Care Act.
  Look at what has happened in the last year. Last February, the Trump 
administration announced it would provide funding to States that want 
to let insurance plans cover fewer services, encouraging fewer services 
to be covered.
  Last April, they issued a rule that, among other things, allowed 
insurers

[[Page S2224]]

to hike premiums 15 percent without justification.
  In June and August, they expanded access to Association Health Plans 
and what are called short-term plans, which we also call junk health 
plans because they are a lot cheaper, but they don't cover much, and 
people don't realize that until they get sick. These plans don't have 
to cover prescription drugs or mental health or maternity care.
  By the way, as the person who led that fight in the Senate Finance 
Committee, I can tell you that the vast majority of insurance plans 
prior to the Affordable Care Act did not cover maternity care and 
prenatal care, which is pretty basic as part of healthcare for women. 
Remember when being a woman was considered a preexisting condition? 
That is what we meant. These plans are bringing that back, which means 
if you are a woman, you have to pay more to be able to get basic 
healthcare, and that is wrong. We did away with that 10 years ago.
  In July, the Trump administration slashed funding for programs that 
help people enroll in health insurance coverage and began steering 
people toward the junk plans. So instead of giving people information 
through healthcare.gov and encouraging people to find out what would be 
the cheapest plan that would be effective and cover what they need, 
they made it harder to sign up for comprehensive coverage and pushed 
people toward these junk plans.
  In October, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced 
that healthcare.gov would be shut down for 60 hours during open 
enrollment season for ``maintenance,'' so you couldn't even get online 
to be able to sign up for more affordable, comprehensive insurance that 
actually would cover things you and your family need.
  In November, the Trump administration released information for States 
on how they could use waivers to undermine consumer protections. 
Consumer protections are things like not getting dropped if you get 
sick. Prior to the Affordable Care Act, so many times people said to 
me: I have paid for insurance all my life and never needed it. I 
finally need it, and I got dropped after I got sick. What do you mean 
it only covers 1 day in the hospital or doesn't cover maternity care? 
What do you mean the insurance company can cap the number of cancer 
treatments I need? Isn't that up to my doctor?
  Well, it is now, and it has been under the Affordable Care Act. 
Instead, we are in a situation where they are trying to get States to 
waive consumer protections and put decisions back in the hands of 
insurance companies.
  Thanks to all of this sabotage, it is estimated that comprehensive 
health insurance costs 16.6 percent more this year than it otherwise 
would.
  Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to complete my statement, 
which will be about 2 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Ms. STABENOW. Thank you very much.
  It is estimated that comprehensive health insurance costs 16.6 
percent more this year than it otherwise would because of all of this 
sabotage, upheaval, and chaos in the healthcare markets.
  In case those sabotage attempts were too subtle, last week the 
Department of Justice announced that it agrees--the Trump 
administration now agrees with the Federal judge in Texas who said that 
the entire Affordable Care Act must be struck down. There would be no 
more coverage for preexisting conditions, no more consumer protections, 
no more capacity to have your child on your insurance until age 26, no 
more capacity to be able to expand what we are doing for minimum wage 
workers, et cetera.
  In other words, if they can't take away your health insurance through 
the legislative process, they are trying to do it now through the 
courts, which also goes to what is happening now in terms of changing 
the rules so they can more quickly put judges through and pack the 
courts with folks who will agree with taking away people's healthcare.
  What is the Republican alternative to the ACA? Unfortunately, these 
folks still don't have one. Don't worry. President Trump now says that 
he is going to have a ``really great'' healthcare plan after he is 
reelected in 2020. Just wait.
  By the way, to emphasize the fact that Senate Republicans support 
what President Trump is doing, they passed a budget resolution out of 
committee last week through a partisan vote--only Republican votes--
that includes repeal of the Affordable Care Act with no replacement in 
place.
  In the meantime, the Affordable Care Act could be struck down by the 
courts, and more than 20 million people who gained health coverage 
through the Affordable Care Act could be out of luck.
  Let me say, in conclusion, that just this week I heard from one of 
those 20 million people. Lisa from Norton Shores graduated with a 
marketing degree in the middle of a recession and worked a low-wage job 
at the local hospital for 8 years. When a part-time, temporary job 
opened up at a local marketing agency, the Affordable Care Act allowed 
Lisa to take the job and get the experience she needed for a career in 
her field. She was able to get healthcare separately from her job. That 
job led to another marketing job with a local company--this one with 
benefits.
  A few years later, the original marketing agency offered Lisa a full-
time job. Once again, the ACA allowed her to take it. Lisa wrote this:

       It was only through the Affordable Care Act that I have 
     been able to pull myself up to be a contributing member of 
     society. It has allowed me to rise to my capabilities.

  She added that if the ACA is overturned, ``I will have to leave this 
job for a position that includes health insurance. It would kill this 
awesome small business I work for. . . . This will be a top priority 
for me when I vote in 2020.''
  Lisa and millions of other people are sending a message. The only 
question is, Are folks listening?
  Thank you.
  I yield the floor.