[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Page 11805]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              HEALTH CARE

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I want to take just a little bit of time to 
say a few things about the health care bill. The shrill cries from the 
other side have lessened in recent weeks, and obviously for good 
reason. The New York Times reports today--I won't read the whole column 
but I will read quite a bit.
  It says less than ``15 percent of adults younger than 65 now lack 
health insurance, down from 20 percent before the Affordable Care Act 
rolled out in January.''
  In fact, we have information from the Gallup organization today that 
came out after this New York Times article that the rate is down to 
13.4 percent. It is the lowest quarterly average recorded since Gallup 
began tracking the percentage of uninsured Americans. That is pretty 
good.
  The Gallup poll says:

       The uninsured rate has decreased sharply since the 
     Affordable Care Act's requirement for most Americans to have 
     health insurance went into effect beginning 2014.

  So in the fourth quarter of 2013 the average was 17.1 percent, and 
now it is down to 13.4. This is remarkable.
  Carrying on with the information from the New York Times, people who 
got new coverage--we heard all the cries about how upset people were 
with the new health insurance, but they are very happy with the new 
product; 73 percent of the people who bought health care plans and 80 
percent of those who signed up for Medicaid said they were either very 
satisfied or somewhat satisfied. That is 73 percent with their new 
health insurance; 74 percent of newly insured Republicans like their 
plans; 77 percent of people who had insurance before, including members 
of the much-publicized group whose plans got cancelled last year, were 
happy with their new coverage.
  A survey also said that a majority of people are using their new 
insurance. They like it. They are glad they have it.
  People who have the insurance are going to a doctor, they are going 
to the hospital, and most people seeking new primary care doctors found 
the process easy and had to wait less than 2 weeks for an appointment. 
Sixty percent said they wouldn't have been able to afford the care 
without the new coverage.
  These statistics are really staggering.
  The article closes by saying:

       There is a reason to think that the good feelings may 
     linger. . . . An Associated Press poll in January found that 
     73 percent of all Americans with insurance before the rollout 
     of the law were satisfied.

  So we are doing overall very well. My Republican colleagues come to 
the floor and say: Oh, this is just awful, people are so upset.
  It simply is not true.
  This is not my opinion. It is statistics and facts.

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