[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 9944-9945]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

  Ms. BALDWIN. My colleagues and I gathered here on the floor today to 
share some good news--something we unfortunately don't get to hear 
quite enough on the Senate floor. I am here today with Senators Murphy 
and Stabenow to talk about how the Affordable Care Act is working to 
strengthen and improve the economic security and the health security of 
our families all across the United States.
  Before the Affordable Care Act, over 50 million Americans were 
uninsured, and seniors paid higher out-of-pocket costs for their 
prescription drugs. Insurance companies wrote their own rules and 
jacked up premiums. They denied coverage to people with preexisting 
health conditions. And in too many cases they dropped your coverage 
because you got sick, got older or had a baby.
  Making the Affordable Care Act the law of the land marked a critical 
turning point that was essential to stopping these predatory practices 
and to giving our families the quality, affordable health care they 
deserve and they need. Now the story has changed.
  As my colleagues have noted, we have seen a historic reduction in the 
number of uninsured since Congress passed the Affordable Care Act in 
2010. Thanks to the law, over 16 million previously uninsured Americans 
have received health coverage. This year more than 10 million 
individuals have an affordable, quality health plan through the law's 
new health care marketplaces. Nearly 8.7 million people are benefiting 
from the health insurance cost assistance provided under the new law.
  I want to make it clear that the law's important benefits are making 
a real difference in my home State of Wisconsin. In Wisconsin, over 
180,000 people have a quality insurance plan through our Federally 
facilitated Affordable Care Act marketplace.
  More than 90 percent of these Wisconsinites are receiving support to 
make their coverage more affordable. More importantly, the insurance 
companies don't get to make their own rules anymore.
  Because of the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies can no longer 
deny coverage to the more than 2 million Wisconsinites who have some 
type of preexisting health condition. Insurance companies can no longer 
charge copays or deductibles for critical preventative services such as 
contraception or cancer screenings for over 1 million Wisconsin women. 
Thanks to the new law, 89,000 Wisconsin seniors on Medicare will see 
their prescription drug doughnut hole closed by 2022. In the meantime, 
these same seniors on average have saved $913 each on prescription 
drugs.
  I could continue on to share more numbers that prove that the ACA is 
working for our families in Wisconsin and in States across the country. 
But the real proof, the real story is about the faces and the people 
behind these numbers. It is about real people, real Wisconsinites, who 
are realizing the benefits of this law every day--real Wisconsinites 
such as Doug from Colgate, WI. At age 62, Doug was worried about 
becoming uninsured. He and his wife had been insured through her 
employer, but she was about to apply for Medicare. Fortunately, Doug 
was able find an affordable health plan on the Affordable Care Act 
marketplace. He did not have to lie awake at night worrying about being 
denied coverage due to his recent heart surgery or another preexisting 
condition.
  There are real Wisconsinites such as Kim of West Allis. Kim runs a 
small costume shop. She lost Medicaid coverage when her son turned 18 
years old. She went without medical care because she could not afford 
it, even though Kim's doctor had found an indication of cancer during a 
hysterectomy. But then she signed up for the affordable coverage on the 
Affordable Care Act's marketplace that costs only $79 a month. And when 
she renewed her coverage this year, her premium dropped to $20 a month. 
Without this coverage and the premium tax credits, she wouldn't have 
been able to afford the extra checkups she needed to keep track of the 
possibility of the cancer emerging.
  Joelisa is a real Wisconsinite. She is a community health worker. 
Joelisa lost her health insurance when she switched jobs but was able 
to quickly find a new plan through the ACA marketplace. The plan cost 
only $87 per month with premium tax credits--a tremendous tax savings 
from her $500 monthly premiums through her previous job. Joelisa's 
health care coverage helps her manage several chronic conditions, 
including a metabolic syndrome that carries a high risk of progressing 
to diabetes, and it also makes sure that her daughter gets 
immunizations and stays as healthy as possible.
  One part of this story has not changed, and that part is that our 
colleagues on the other side of the aisle don't want the Affordable 
Care Act to work. In fact, they continue to root for its failure. They 
don't want you to know about Joelisa's lower health insurance premiums 
or about Kim's affordable plan that is helping her prevent cancer.
  Regrettably, what they do want is crystal clear. They want to repeal 
the law and turn back the clock to the days when only the healthy and 
wealthy could afford the luxury of quality health insurance. Since its 
passage, Republicans have spent countless days trying to repeal the 
Affordable Care Act by any and all means. They have tried to repeal the 
law in Congress by voting over 50 times--that is 5-0--to repeal all or 
parts of the Affordable Care Act. They have also tried to repeal the 
law by advancing politically motivated lawsuits, including the most 
recent one that would rob millions of Americans of the health insurance 
they have today. In Wisconsin alone, this would mean that over 160,000 
hard-working Americans would see their taxes increase if they were 
stripped of their health insurance subsidies. That is enough to fill 
historic Lambeau Field twice. It is one thing to say the numbers, it is 
another thing to imagine the number of Wisconsinites that affects.
  It is not only Wisconsin families who would be impacted by this 
devastation but also families in our neighboring States--neighboring 
States with Federal exchanges--such as Michigan, Illinois, and Iowa.
  Republicans have tried to say they have an answer, but their answer 
is really nothing more than another tired attempt to dismantle and 
repeal the Affordable Care Act. One of these proposals was put forth by 
a Republican colleague from my home State of Wisconsin. It would 
eliminate the health insurance subsidies in all States, including the 
federally facilitated and State-run marketplaces. His proposal would 
rob over 166,000 Wisconsin constituents of their premium support. His 
plan would attack the health care security of Kim and Joelisa. 
According to the American Academy of Actuaries, it would expand the 
ranks of the uninsured and raise premiums.
  Naturally, his proposal would hand over the reins to the insurance 
companies and allow them the freedom to take us back to the days when 
they offered bare-bones plans without essential health care coverage. 
In Wisconsin, this means going back to the days when there were no--
none, zip, zero--individual health care plans in the entire State that 
offered maternity coverage for families. We cannot go back, we must not 
go back, and we will not go back.
  We know the Affordable Care Act is providing access, affordability, 
and quality in the State of Wisconsin. We also know that in the United 
States of America, health care should be a right guaranteed to all and 
not just a privilege reserved for the few. That is what we have fought 
for, and that is what we are going to continue to fight for as we move 
the Affordable Care Act forward.
  I wish to once again thank my colleagues, Senator Stabenow and 
Senator Murphy, for joining me on the floor this afternoon.
  We have a case that is about to be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

[[Page 9945]]

There has been effort after effort in the Congress of the United States 
to repeal or defund all or part of the Affordable Care Act, but it is 
providing lifesaving coverage and good news for Wisconsinites and 
people across America.
  I yield back my time.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak in 
morning business for up to 1 hour.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. SESSIONS. I thank the Chair.

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