[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 11048]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   AFFORDABLE CARE ACT REPEAL EFFORTS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Cohen) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, the passage and implementation of the 
Affordable Care Act is the culmination of an American political journey 
that started a century ago with Teddy Roosevelt in 1912 with the Bull 
Moose Party--also a Republican--and picked up years later by Harry 
Truman and other Presidents, including Richard Nixon, another 
Republican. The most recent groundwork for reform was laid in part by 
the former Republican Presidential candidate, Robert Dole, as an 
alternative to Hillary Clinton's plan, and by the present Republican 
Presidential nominee, Mitt Romney. I commend them for championing the 
concept of the individual mandate back when it wasn't quite as 
unpopular on their side of the aisle.
  The history of reforming our Nation's health care system is a strong 
one that has historically been championed by lawmakers on both sides of 
the political spectrum, until this Congress. My colleagues on the other 
side of the aisle have wasted hours upon hours debating and voting upon 
the various versions of the legislation that would repeal the 
Affordable Care Act.
  My colleagues know that these initiatives are fruitless. They know 
that voting over and over and over again--more than 30 times total--on 
measures to repeal the Affordable Care Act is a waste of time, but they 
keep calling for these votes. Do you want to know why? Because they 
want to distract the American public from the fact that they are so 
committed to unseating our President, Barack Obama, that they haven't 
passed any effective jobs-creating legislation since they took over the 
majority in this House in 2010.
  The Supreme Court of the United States upheld the constitutionality 
of the Affordable Care Act, and it's time to face the facts. Earlier 
today, a gentleman from Virginia said, Oh, it was just 5-4. Bush v. 
Gore was 5-4. We accepted that the person who got the least votes and 
lost Florida was President of the United States for 8 years, but the 
consequences we still have to face.
  The Affordable Care Act is the law of the land. As a result, millions 
of Americans who were previously uninsured or underinsured have access 
to affordable, high-quality health care. In fact, the number of 
Americans uninsured is equal to the population of 25 of the 50 States.
  Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, millions of Americans and small 
businesses have already benefited from lower health care costs, 
increased access to preventive care, and stronger patient protections.
  Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, 12.8 million families will receive 
rebates that total over $1 billion from insurers next month, in August, 
because the law requires companies to provide value for their premium 
dollar. Never before has that happened.
  Community health centers in my district have received over $10 
million to deliver health care services to underserved and impoverished 
Memphians, and 170,000 households in my district will get a premium 
credit so they can afford quality health insurance coverage.
  Women no longer are considered a preexisting condition, and insurance 
companies can't charge them more, which they did, by 40 percent.
  Medicare beneficiaries now have access to preventive care and 
services without any copay.
  And 64,000 people in my district will go from uninsured to insured.
  32.5 million seniors nationwide received one or more preventive care 
treatments in 2011.
  The doughnut hole is being closed; 50 percent discounts on covered 
brand-name generics.
  Annual and lifetime caps on health care coverage are now illegal, 
meaning insurance companies can't kick you off the plan just because 
you get cancer or are in an accident or have a heart attack.
  Our children are now protected because insurers are prevented from 
denying coverage to children under 19 for preexisting conditions. This 
means up to 17 million children with preexisting conditions are now 
protected from discrimination.
  Young adults can remain on their parents' insurance until they're 26, 
providing some protection in this uncertain job market.

                              {time}  1050

  It's now affordable for small businesses to provide insurance to 
employees. The tax credits cover up to 35 percent of the cost of 
coverage and will go up to 50 percent in 2014. In fact, in 2011, 
360,000 small employers used the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit 
to help them afford health insurance for 2 million workers.
  One of the most misleading arguments by my colleagues concerns that 
penalty that will be assessed on those financially-able Americans who 
choose not to purchase insurance, thereby not taking responsibility for 
their health care. Responsibility. That's one of the keynotes of the 
Republican side.
  But if an uninsured person in my district gets into a car accident or 
comes down with an aggressive illness, they're taken to a public 
hospital in Memphis called The MED. The MED treats everybody because 
they have to, and when The MED takes cares of those people, the 
property owners, the responsible people, pay for it through higher 
property taxes, or you pay for it with your insurance, if you have it, 
because it's uncompensated care if you go to a non-public hospital.
  The time and effort put in by nurses and doctors and assistants at 
The MED aren't free. The medical devices and supplies that The MED used 
to treat those uninsured people aren't free. Every single resident of 
Shelby County pays for those services when a person seeks emergency 
services there, and the taxes go up.
  People who choose not to buy insurance for themselves and their 
families, even with the Federal Government providing incentives and 
credits, are irresponsible free riders, and it's the free riders that 
the other side's trying to talk about, not the conscientious and 
responsible people who take control of their own lives and their own 
destinies.
  Not taking responsibility for the health of yourself and your family 
is reckless. The free riders have been a burden on our national health 
care system for far too long, and it's time they take responsibility 
for their actions and their health. This penalty, which will be equal 
to no more than the estimated cost of an insurance premium, is the way 
we do it.
  It's long past time we implement the health reform initiated by Teddy 
Roosevelt and championed by people of both parties. It's time Americans 
realize and take advantage of their right to quality healthcare. And 
it's long past time my colleagues stop playing partisan politics and 
start working on behalf of the American people, not giant corporations, 
once again.

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