[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16489]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      OBAMACARE AND RECONCILIATION

  (Mr. LaMALFA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, after 2 years, the full impact of ObamaCare 
on rural areas is clear: higher costs, fewer hospitals, fewer insurance 
options, and fewer doctors.
  Insurance premiums in rural northern California average 25 percent 
more than in southern California, and the region will be hit with 
premium increases of an additional 29 percent this year. About 50 rural 
hospitals across America have closed, and over 280 more are now on the 
brink of closure.
  Finally, in much of my district, costly ObamaCare mandates have left 
my constituents with just one option for insurance, a plan that many 
doctors in the region won't even accept.
  Mr. Speaker, the debate is over. ObamaCare is destroying the ability 
of rural Americans to receive and afford health care. Along with the 
EPA, unmanaged or closed-off Federal lands, it looks like the President 
has a war on rural America.
  It is high time that we end this failed law and focus on meeting the 
needs of those with preexisting conditions and those without health 
care, not simply increasing cost to those who already have insurance.
  The budget reconciliation that just passed today will need only 51 
Senate votes. It will help rural America on the ACA by opening up more 
options to people for their health care. It will repeal the ACA taxes 
and individual employer mandates, which, again, will help give more 
options to rural America, and it will defund Planned Parenthood, which 
many people are demanding. Indeed, this is a big step for good and 
responsible healthcare choices.

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