[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 181 (Wednesday, November 13, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6530-S6531]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                               Healthcare

  Mr. President, I am here to talk about a few patients from 
Connecticut. We on the Democratic side are trying to put a face to this 
campaign that the President is engaged in to try to weaken and 
ultimately eliminate the Affordable Care Act. Right now there is a 
court case proceeding through the appellate courts that, if successful, 
would immediately end the Affordable Care Act, which provides insurance 
to 20 million Americans and makes sure that everybody in this country 
with a preexisting condition doesn't get charged more. The President 
has weighed in on behalf of that lawsuit. He hopes it will succeed.
  If it does succeed, we are going to have a humanitarian catastrophe 
in this country if 20 million people lose their insurance and, once 
again, insurance companies are allowed to charge you more if you have a 
sickness or a sick child. We want to make sure we put a face on who is 
going to be affected if President Trump's sabotage campaign against the 
Affordable Care Act succeeds.
  I know my colleagues have remarks and are lined up to speak, so let 
me be as brief as I can. I want to tell you the story of just a couple 
of patients from Connecticut. I am going to cheat and

[[Page S6531]]

make this ``Patients of the Day.'' These are folks who reached out to 
my office to tell me their story.
  Jason is from South Windsor, CT. He says:

       I am 54 years old and I have been purchasing insurance 
     since I entered the workforce at 22 years old. I have 
     arthritis that is manageable with medication. Without that 
     medication and care from my physician, I would not be able to 
     function. I would have difficulty with simple tasks like 
     walking and shaking hands.
       There is no question that I rely on my insurance. If I were 
     denied coverage because of my preexisting condition, it would 
     be devastating.

  Jason is one of the tens of millions of Americans who, without the 
protections from the Affordable Care Act, would likely not be able to 
get insurance. He is perhaps months away from that reality.
  Lisa, from New Britain, writes on behalf of her grandkids. Because 
some young kids can't speak for themselves, their parents and 
grandparents speak for them. Lisa is the proud grandmother of two 
little girls who were born with cystic fibrosis. She worried that if 
her son ever had to switch jobs and change insurance plans or if the 
preexisting condition clause was struck down by the courts, he would be 
denied coverage because of their preexisting condition. She says:

       The girls are doing so well and thriving with the current 
     treatment and medicine they are on. People with cystic 
     fibrosis are now living longer than ever because of medicine 
     available to them. We've worked so hard in keeping them 
     healthy. If this policy of allowing insurance companies to 
     deny people with preexisting conditions or capping lifetime 
     maximums is allowed, you would be taking the lives of our 
     family members.

  Finally, Giuseppina, who is a concerned sister in Bridgeport writes:

       My youngest brother was born 2.5 months premature in 1977. 
     He spent two months in the hospital and reached his lifetime 
     limit from my father's employer-provided insurance before he 
     left the hospital! In January of 1978, he was diagnosed with 
     hydrocephalus due to underdevelopment or birth trauma.
       Due to the massive medical debt accrued from his multiple 
     surgeries and hospital stays, my family had to receive public 
     assistance. . . . My father used to cry when he went food 
     shopping.

  I want you to remember that reality. Remember the reality of millions 
of families who went bankrupt, who lost all their savings, who went on 
public assistance because they had massive medical debt due to the fact 
that they lost coverage because of a preexisting condition or lifetime 
or annual caps.
  All of that can come back if the Affordable Care Act is struck down. 
It is important for us to come down to the floor and remind folks about 
the human face of healthcare repeal and the consequences if we don't 
stand together and at least try to make a plan for what will happen if 
the lawsuit is successful and the Affordable Care Act is struck down by 
the court system.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri.
  Mr. BLUNT. Mr. President, on that topic, of course, all Members of 
the Senate have said they are preserving the coverage of preexisting 
conditions. It is sort of like the same speech our friend from 
Connecticut said he was tired of hearing about supporting the troops 
when you don't do everything you can to pass the Defense bill. It is at 
least as old as that--maybe older--and often as tiring.