[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6389]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        HEALTH CARE JEOPARDIZED

  (Mr. PETRI asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, over the past 18 months, the President 
repeatedly said about his health care plan, If you like your current 
health insurance, you can keep it. The majority of Americans knew this 
was nonsense, and now the Department of Health and Human Services 
confirms it.
  A study just released by that department's chief actuary for Medicare 
concludes that the financial incentives in the new health care law will 
lead many employers to stop offering health care coverage altogether. 
That means about 14 million people with job-based insurance today will 
lose it, and instead will be required by law to obtain coverage 
individually.
  Further, seniors in my State of Wisconsin have become big fans of 
Medicare Advantage plans. But the chief actuary for Medicare estimates 
that the President's and the majority party's Medicare cuts will reduce 
Medicare Advantage enrollment by 7 million people.
  But there is more. The Medicare actuary reports that under the new 
health care law, 15 percent of all hospitals, nursing homes and other 
providers could be operating at a loss by 2019 which will jeopardize 
access to care. Doctors are threatening to drop out of Medicare because 
cuts in Medicare reimbursement rates mean they can't even cover their 
costs, much less make a living.
  Sadly, these few problems are just the tip of the iceberg, as will be 
revealed in the months and years ahead as the health care law takes 
effect.

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