[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.