[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 86 (Wednesday, May 22, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3035-S3036]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                   Unanimous Consent Request--S. 1556

  Mr. President, as in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent 
that the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee be discharged 
from further consideration of S. 1556; that the Senate proceed to its 
immediate consideration; that the bill be considered read a third time 
and passed; and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and 
laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  The Senator from Tennessee.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Reserving the right to object, this is the latest 
Democratic attempt to raise the cost of healthcare paid for out of your 
own pocket by taking away an ability to provide lower cost health 
insurance that preserves preexisting condition protection and the 
essential health benefits. These short-term health benefits were 
available under President Clinton. They were available under President 
Bush. They were available under President Obama right until the last 
few months of his office, when he cut them down to 3 months long.
  President Trump has simply said that you may now have them up to a 
year and renew them for 3 years. If you live in Fulton County, GA, your 
insurance costs will be 30 percent less against the typical ObamaCare 
bronze plan and even more against the silver plan.
  This is the latest Democratic attempt to increase the cost of what 
you pay for healthcare out of your own pocket. Their next attempt will 
be Medicare for All, which, if you have health insurance on the job, 
will take that health insurance away.
  I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  The Senator from Wisconsin.
  Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. President, I am certainly disappointed that my 
Republican colleagues have chosen to object to protecting people with 
preexisting conditions.
  It is my contention that some of the very opposite impacts, because 
of these junk plans, are occurring than what my colleague has recited. 
In fact, I hardly consider them insurance plans. Many have argued that 
they are not worth the paper that they are written on. They don't cover 
many essential benefits. They are not required to cover people with 
preexisting health conditions. They can drop people. They can charge 
outrageous prices. What we found--and the reason that the Obama 
administration went from yearlong plans to 3-month plans--is that they 
saw the distortion in the markets. They saw that people who had 
believed that they might not get sick--healthy, often younger people--
were availing themselves of these plans, making the Affordable Care----
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, will the Senator yield for a question?
  Ms. BALDWIN. I would yield to one question, and then I want to wrap 
up my comments.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, is the Senator of Wisconsin not aware 
that the short-term healthcare plans do not change the law of 
preexisting condition?
  Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. President, these short-term plans do not have to 
cover preexisting conditions. I can tell you, as I have inquired--
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, may I----
  Ms. BALDWIN. I yielded already for a question. But I want to say----
  Mr. ALEXANDER. She gave the wrong answer, Mr. President.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wisconsin has the floor.
  Ms. BALDWIN. It may not be to the Senator's liking, but I was going 
to tell you about the plans that I read the fine print on from the 
State of Wisconsin. Now that these short-term plans are renewable for 
up to 3 years, in these junk plans, you can see the fine print. Many 
times they start with this: We will not cover a preexisting condition. 
Every single one of them refuses to cover maternity care. That means 
none of these junk plans cover that essential benefit. Most of them 
don't cover

[[Page S3036]]

emergency room care. Most of them don't cover prescription drugs. So 
regardless of how the law impacts people who have other types of 
insurance, I feel strongly that these junk plans are very distorting of 
the market and not worth the paper they are written on for those who 
have chosen to take that route.
  Last fall, we heard all my colleagues across the aisle say, often 
repeatedly, that they support protections for people with preexisting 
health conditions. Today I just offered an opportunity for Democrats 
and Republicans to come together to protect people's access to quality, 
affordable healthcare when they need it the most, but there was an 
objection.
  I say to the American people that we must not lose sight of the fight 
right in front of us. We have a President who time after time has 
sabotaged our healthcare system, raised healthcare costs, and pushed 
these junk insurance plans that don't have to cover people with 
preexisting conditions. We have an administration that is asking a 
court to strike down the Affordable Care Act and its protections for 
people with preexisting conditions in their entirety.
  The choice for the American people could not be more clear. We want 
to make things better, and my Republican colleagues refuse to join us 
in this effort, which would be to prevent this administration from 
making things worse.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.