[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 14393]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            SUPPORT THE EMPLOYEE HEALTH CARE PROTECTION ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
West Virginia (Mrs. Capito) for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, later today, the House will consider the 
Employee Health Care Protection Act, and I urge my colleagues to 
support this important piece of legislation.
  As I traveled West Virginia during the August recess, I heard from 
small business owners and workers across the State that their health 
insurance premiums are increasing. I also heard that their deductibles 
are increasing quite rapidly.
  Given that the Obama administration's own Centers for Medicare & 
Medicaid studies found that 11 million small business employees will 
see their premiums increase due to ObamaCare, it was sad, but not 
surprising, that businesses in West Virginia and around the country are 
feeling the pinch of this law's misguided policies.
  Yesterday a report issued by the American Action Forum found that the 
Affordable Care Act regulations are reducing small businesses' pay by 
$22.6 billion annually, and the rising premiums spurred by the law have 
cost our Nation's economy more than 350,000 jobs.
  In my State of West Virginia, more than half of our private sector 
workers are employed by small businesses. Making sure that health 
insurance on the small group market is affordable is important to both 
the family budgets and to make sure those small businesses can continue 
to grow and provide jobs.
  We saw last fall the tremendous problems and uncertainty that 
occurred when roughly 5 million Americans who purchased insurance on 
the individual market received cancelation notices, but recent 
testimony at the House Energy and Commerce Committee has indicated that 
millions more workers who have employer-sponsored plans could get 
similar notices starting as early as this year.
  If a worker is forced to change health insurance policies, their new 
plan might not include their doctor or their community hospital. This 
is another example of overreaching government that is taking away the 
freedom of individuals and businesses to make the health care decisions 
that best fit their unique circumstances.
  The bill the House will consider today is very simple. If a plan was 
offered on the group health insurance market in 2013, that plan can 
continue to be offered for the next 5 years. Any worker covered by one 
of these plans will not be fined under the individual mandate. The 
Employer Health Care Protection Act keeps the President's promise that 
people who like their insurance, health insurance, can keep it.

                              {time}  1030

  It also provides more affordable alternatives for small businesses 
whose health care costs are soaring. This bill is a commonsense step 
forward.
  There is still much more work that needs to be done. We need to go 
back to the drawing board and enact true health care reform. We should 
build on the good ideas, like helping those with preexisting conditions 
and allowing children to remain on parents' benefits until the age of 
26. These are good things.
  We should get rid of bad ideas like the job-killing employer mandate, 
the individual mandate, and regulations that have cost many Americans 
the insurance plan and the doctor that they choose. We should enact 
meaningful medical liability reform, we should help spur association 
health plans, and allow insurance to be sold across State lines to 
broaden competition in the individual insurance market.
  We need to come together to fix our broken health care system. But 
today, the least we can do is keep the promise that the President made 
to the American people and allow current plans to continue to be 
available. I ask my colleagues to support the Employee Health Care 
Protection Act.

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