[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 3]
[House]
[Pages 3807-3808]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                THE HALF-BAKED FEDERAL HEALTH EXCHANGES

  (Mr. BURGESS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, it was 3 years ago tomorrow night that the 
President's affordable health care law, or bill, was pushed through 
this House of Representatives.
  On Friday, in CQ Healthbeat, an article was published where the 
Department of Health and Human Services acknowledges that come October 
1 there is ``some possibility'' that States will not be able to launch 
their health care exchanges.
  Mr. Speaker, we're 6 months away, and the insurance exchanges are the 
very centerpiece of the functioning of this health care law, and 
they're essential for the President's law to operate.
  The Federal Government has spent 3 years, well over $3 billion, 
assisting the States in implementing these exchanges; but the 
administration is now left only with the hope that it is ``not a Third 
World experience.'' A Third World experience.
  It doesn't end there. Henry Chao, a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid 
Services official overseeing the exchange technology, said in the same 
article when discussing back-up plans should the exchanges not be 
operable come October, ``We are having discussions, but they are not 
fully baked yet.''
  October is just around the corner. ``Not fully baked yet'' doesn't 
even sound like it's in the oven.

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