[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Page 11677]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              HEALTH CARE

  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, today I would like to address two 
topics. One is that within the hour President Obama is going to be 
delivering remarks about his health care law. I would like for all 
Americans to pay close attention to the President's remarks and see if 
he continues to make promises he knows he cannot keep.
  Is he going to once again say that if you like what you have, you can 
keep it? Well, if so, we know that is not true. Just ask the unions 
that recently wrote a letter to Majority Leader Reid and to Nancy 
Pelosi about how this law is not allowing them to keep the insurance 
they have.
  Is the President going to call it affordable and say again that 
premiums will decrease by an average of $2,500 per family? Well, if so, 
we know that is not true. Just ask the folks in Ohio, where the average 
individual market health insurance premium in 2014 is going to cost 
about 88 percent more.
  Is the President going to say again that the law is working as it is 
supposed to work? Well, if so, we know that is not true. Just ask the 
administration why they decided to delay the disastrous employer 
mandate that is making it harder for employers to hire new workers and 
for Americans to find full-time jobs.
  Is the President going to say this law is good for young Americans? 
If so, we know that is not true. Just ask the young, healthy adults who 
will see insurance rates double or even triple when they look to buy 
individual coverage starting next year.
  It is time for the President to level with the American people. This 
law has been bad for patients, it has been bad for providers--the 
people who take care of those patients, the nurses and the doctors--and 
it is terrible for taxpayers. We need to repeal this law and replace it 
with real reforms that help Americans get the care they need from a 
doctor they choose, at lower cost.

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