[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 115 (Wednesday, July 10, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4764-S4765]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, today I wish to discuss Americans' access 
to healthcare and patient protections that are carelessly being 
threatened by President Trump and his administration, specifically, his 
decision to not uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 
ACA, which is the law of the land.
  This week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the fifth circuit began 
reviewing appeals to a December decision in the case Texas v. U.S., in 
which the entire ACA was ruled unconstitutional. Republican attorneys 
general from 18 States argue that the ACA is unconstitutional because 
our Republican colleagues repealed the individual mandate as part of 
their 2017 tax bill. Instead of defending the ACA and fighting for 
Americans with preexisting health conditions, President Trump took the 
unprecedented step of not defending current law, and the Department of 
Justice revised its position to support full repeal of the ACA, 
continuing the administration's sabotage of affordable access to 
healthcare through all avenues of Executive action.
  If Republicans successfully overturn the ACA, hundreds of millions of 
Americans will lose access to affordable healthcare and the monumental 
consumer protections created through the ACA. This includes the 133 
million Americans with preexisting conditions, 17 million people who 
gained insurance through Medicaid expansion, 12 million seniors who pay 
less for prescription drugs, and over 2 million adult children who will 
no longer be able to stay on their parent's health insurance.
  I am particularly worried about the 2.5 million Marylanders with a 
preexisting condition, 320,000 of whom are children. Before the ACA, 
insurers denied health coverage to Americans with preexisting health 
conditions.
  The most common preexisting conditions are pregnancy, cancer, 
diabetes, high blood pressure, behavioral health disorders, high 
cholesterol, asthma, and heart conditions. Patients with preexisting 
conditions must know their health insurance coverage is there for them 
when they are healthy, but particularly when they become sick. The ACA 
took the important step to ensure this, by protecting all patients 
against arbitrary, sudden loss of insurance. This security would, of 
course, be eliminated if the ACA is overturned.
  In addition to these important consumer protections, the Affordable 
Care Act increased access to care for millions of people who previously 
were uninsured or underinsured. Through Medicaid expansion, 13 million 
low-income Americans now have dependable, comprehensive healthcare, 
including 300,000 Marylanders. We must protect the Medicaid expansion 
population and other uninsured or underinsured populations from the 
Trump administration's efforts to eliminate their access to affordable 
care.
  The numerous reckless attempts by the Trump administration to 
sabotage the ACA disregard how much good healthcare reform has done for 
all Americans. Before we passed the Affordable Care Act, too many 
people fell through the cracks with inadequate insurance coverage, 
annual and lifetime coverage caps, or limits to preventive health 
services. Too many declared bankruptcy because of high healthcare costs 
or skipped prescribed care or medications because of the costs.
  The ACA ensured that many of those people now have access to higher-
quality coverage. Core elements of the law require companies to cover 
adults and children with preexisting conditions, prevent insurance 
companies from setting annual and lifetime limits, and

[[Page S4765]]

allow young adults can stay on a parent's health plan until the age of 
26.
  If the Affordable Care Act is struck down, insurers could bring back 
annual and lifetime limits on coverage, adults covered by Medicaid 
expansion would lose vital health services, young people would be 
kicked off their parent's insurance, and issuers could sell skimpy 
plans that don't cover essential health benefits like prescription 
drugs, emergency room visits, mental health and substance use, and 
maternity care.
  The unprecedented actions by the Trump administration to not defend 
the ACA jeopardizes the healthcare of all Americans. I believe that 
accessible, affordable healthcare is a human right. Securing this right 
has always been a challenge. Democrats will continue to fight for 
consumer protections and increased access to care that have been 
guaranteed through the Affordable Care Act. As President Trump refuses 
to defend the Affordable Care Act, he risks the health and well-being 
of millions of Americans.
  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, today I wish to again express my 
support for the Affordable Care Act, ACA.
  We must continue fighting to protect the safeguards that were put in 
place by the ACA, which prohibits abusive practices that previously 
kept healthcare out of reach for millions of Americans, like denying 
coverage to people with preexisting conditions. About half of all 
Americans have preexisting conditions and could be forced to pay 
significantly higher premiums or lose access to coverage altogether if 
the ACA is overturned. At least 21 million people could lose their 
health insurance if the ACA is struck down. In my State, Minnesotans 
would see a loss of $364 million in premium tax credits, and roughly 
272,000 people would lose their coverage.
  Earlier this year, I came to the Senate floor to read 100 letters 
from people in my State and across the country who explained what the 
ACA has meant to them. These stories are just a small window into the 
positive impact of the ACA and how so many people would suffer if its 
protections were eliminated.
  Instead of striking down this landmark legislation, we should build 
on its strengths, defend the critical consumer protections that it 
provides for so many, and make it stronger. We cannot go back to a time 
when people who are sick can be denied health insurance coverage. This 
is not the time to look back and try to tear things down; we should 
look ahead and work to strengthen our healthcare system moving forward. 
It is for this reason that we must and will continue to fight against 
efforts to take away healthcare protections from millions of Americans.

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