[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 10889]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          H.R. 160, THE PROTECT MEDICAL INNOVATION ACT OF 2015

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. PATRICK MURPHY

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 7, 2015

  Mr. MURPHY of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I support passage of H.R. 160, 
the Protect Medical Innovation Act of 2015.
  While I strongly believe the bill should be paid for before becoming 
law, this bill is a great first step of furthering the promise of the 
Affordable Care Act, a law that will cover 32 million lives when fully 
implemented.
  The Affordable Care Act has created jobs, lowered costs, and 
significantly expanded coverage, as it was designed to do. It did away 
with bans on preexisting conditions, allowed young adults to stay on 
their parents' plan, eliminated annual and lifetime limits, and is 
closing the Part D prescription drug donut hole. As the law continues 
to improve the lives and health security of the American people, I will 
look for ways to improve the law. No law is perfect. That is why I 
support the Protect Medical Innovation Act and have cosponsored other 
pieces of legislation designed to keep consumers from feeling the hit 
of unintended consequences. Congress should look for ways to create 
jobs, lower costs further, and encourage states to accept Medicaid 
expansion, which will cover an additional 800,000 working Floridians.
  I am hopeful that with a strong vote in the House of Representatives, 
H.R. 160 will soon arrive at the President's desk, fully offset, to be 
signed into law.

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