[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Page 7177]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                               OBAMACARE

  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I would like to get into the numbers on 
something that folks in Wyoming are having to deal with. The number I 
would like to highlight is one. As an accountant, I am sure you thought 
I was going to get much more complicated, but it is important for my 
colleagues to hear that there is one health insurer in Wyoming offering 
exchange plans this year--one.
  In October last year, people around Wyoming read the news that 
WINHealth, one of two major medical insurers operating in the State, 
would close down. That was bad news, and I had constituents who were in 
a tough spot.
  They say that misery loves company, and, unfortunately, we have 
company now. This year, Alaska and Alabama join us--one insurer on the 
State exchanges, thousands of people losing their plans.
  Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wyoming has been working to provide 
options, but the fact remains that we have fewer choices now.
  If I think back to the ObamaCare debate, President Obama and my 
colleagues across the aisle promised that ObamaCare would bring more 
options, security, lower costs.
  The majority leader at the time, Harry Reid, said: [W]e are bringing 
security and stability to millions who have health insurance . . . What 
we will do is ensure consumers have more choices and insurance 
companies face more competition.
  I think it is safe to say that that hasn't quite materialized.
  What we are witnessing is another broken promise, the failure of 
ObamaCare to deliver again.
  Some of my colleagues have been on the Senate floor talking about 
insurance premiums going up, and they are going up, at shocking rates. 
ObamaCare has been quite a comprehensive reform of health care. Now 
your costs are higher, and you may have no choice in your insurer or 
the structure of your insurance plan--sounds like a great deal.
  ObamaCare has weighed down health insurance with unworkable plans, 
high costs, and a risk pool that is significantly sicker than expected; 
and now, somehow, people seem surprised to find that we have insurers 
leaving the market, either by choice or because they have gone 
bankrupt.
  Look at the national carriers that have left the exchanges: 
UnitedHealth, Humana, and Aetna in some States. These folks have looked 
at the exchanges and said, We can't anymore.
  We could look at the co-ops that have closed. Twelve have closed--
more than half.
  Look at the States that may have some counties with only one 
insurance option. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation's tracking, 
more than 650 counties may have just one insurer for the exchanges in 
2017 in Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arizona, and Oklahoma.
  What answer do my Democratic colleagues have for this absolutely 
unacceptable situation? I have mostly heard silence.
  The people we represent deserve more than silence or rhetorical 
finger pointing. They need relief, and they need real, meaningful 
changes that will let people buy health insurance in a free market 
without a government chokepoint at every turn.
  Let's be clear: This is not a failure of the free market. These are 
not open marketplaces that have failed. They are government-run 
exchanges selling government-mandated and government-approved health 
insurance.
  I encourage my colleagues to consider what the option is if we fail 
to roll back this damaging law. What will we be left with?
  I extend an open hand to work with any of my colleagues who want to 
make reforms to our health care system that will truly deliver on the 
promises of more options, security, and lower costs.
  Thank you.

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