[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Pages 17636-17637]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              HEALTH CARE

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, in recent weeks we have seen a lot of 
hand-wringing on the other side of the aisle over ObamaCare--a little 
shock here, a little dismay there, and more than a little feigned 
outrage. What we haven't seen, of course, is anything even approaching 
a good answer as to why the President told the American people one 
thing and then did the other or a solution to the national crisis of 
millions--millions--of Americans, some with very serious medical 
conditions heading into the holiday season having just been told they 
would lose their health care plans.
  The folks who voted for this law and the President whose name it 
bears did everything they could to keep these folks in the dark about 
the realities of ObamaCare for more than 3 years--3 long years. But the 
problems we are seeing shouldn't come as news to anyone, least of all 
our Democratic friends, because what we have seen are the utterly 
predictable consequences of ObamaCare.
  The fact is a lot of folks warned about these kinds of consequences 
coming to pass, but the President's political machine just steamrolled 
anybody who spoke up--ran right over them. They laughed it all off, 
dismissed everyone else as naysayers and cynics, when all the while 
they basically knew--they knew--we were right.
  Countless independent experts, health care professionals, and 
insurance authorities across the country all warned--all of them 
warned--about what we are seeing right now. So did many of us. If only 
the Democrats who run Washington had listened. But the President needed 
their votes for a bill he hoped would define his legacy, so they 
gambled that their constituents would just learn to live with ObamaCare 
and forget the false promises. That was the gamble. In other words, 
Washington Democrats were specifically warned about the consequences we 
are seeing, and they voted for ObamaCare anyway.
  Republicans repeatedly warned about Americans losing their health 
plans--repeatedly. We repeatedly warned about Americans losing access 
to doctors and to hospitals. We repeatedly warned about rising costs 
and skyrocketing premiums. Check the Congressional Record. We warned 
and we warned and we warned about each of these.
  Frankly, we shouldn't have had to do that. It doesn't take an actuary 
to figure this stuff out, and the issues my constituents now have to 
put up with as a result of this law are just simply unacceptable.
  Kimberly Maggard from Nicholasville wrote that the health plan 
available to her through the ObamaCare exchange--now listen to this--
would cost more than her family's house payment and car payment 
combined. Kimberly Maggard from Nicholasville in my State wrote that 
the health plan available to her through the ObamaCare exchange would 
cost more than her family's house payment and car payment combined.
  Here is what she said:

       We are just average Kentuckians working and living paycheck 
     to paycheck without

[[Page 17637]]

     any assistance from government programs. I really don't know 
     what we will do if they have to pay that amount out for 
     insurance. We might lose our home . . . our transportation . 
     . . my daughter might have to drop out of college . . . the 
     list goes on and on. What are we supposed to do?

  Harriet White from Rockville said that ObamaCare is negatively 
impacting her family's finances and quality of care. Here is what she 
said:

       The sad truth is that like my coworkers, my deductible has 
     doubled along with my premiums. The only way to be able to 
     adjust is for us to either reduce or stop our 401(k) 
     contributions. This is hardly affordable health care.

  Here is what Larry Thompson from Lexington said:

       [The] health plan that I've had for 10 years just got 
     cancelled, and the least expensive plan on the exchange is 
     the 246 percent increase--that means hundreds of extra 
     dollars per month we don't have.

  Look, all of this is completely and totally unacceptable, and so many 
of ObamaCare's consequences were basically predicted by Republicans 
years ago--years ago.
  So it is no wonder vulnerable Democrats are dashing for the exits, 
performing political contortions that would make Houdini blush. But 
here is the issue: Until these folks are willing to face reality, I 
doubt it will matter.
  One of our colleagues on the other side was asked back in 2009 if she 
would accept ``100 percent responsibility'' and ``100 percent 
accountability'' for the failure or success of any legislation she 
voted for. She said she would. So she and her colleagues now have a 
choice. They can keep trying to distance themselves from ObamaCare in 
public while simultaneously protecting it from meaningful change in 
private--to keep standing by as this train wreck unloads on the middle 
class--or they can simply accept that they were wrong to ignore all the 
warnings, and then work with Republicans to repeal and replace 
ObamaCare with real bipartisan health care reform. That is the choice.
  If Washington Democrats are looking for a political exit, that is the 
only meaningful one available--the only exit. If they are looking for 
the best policy outcome to do right by the people who elected them, 
they will reach the same conclusion. That is the good news.
  I hope they will get there soon because we have already seen 
Washington Democrats travel through just about every one of the stages 
of grief: Denial at first, claiming the law's only problem is that it 
was just too popular; then anger, pointing fingers of blame at 
contractors, Republicans, of course, the media--really anyone but 
themselves, then bargaining, proposing nips and tucks to a law that 
needs an overhaul instead.
  For the sake of our country, let's hope they just speed right along 
to acceptance--the acceptance that ObamaCare can't work and won't work, 
and that their constituents deserve better. When they do, Republicans 
will be right here, just as we have always been, ready to work with 
them to start over with real reforms that decrease costs and improve 
access to care. That is what our constituents wanted all along, and 
that is just what we should give them.

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