[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Page 4186]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   REPEALING AND REPLACING OBAMACARE

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, now on another matter, in election 
after election, the American people have made their voices clear: They 
want an end to ObamaCare. In my home State of Kentucky, ObamaCare 
premiums are up by as much as 47 percent, and almost half of the 
counties only have one option for an insurer on the exchange. The pain 
individuals and families are feeling across the country is palpable. 
They have watched their bills skyrocket and their options disappear. 
ObamaCare has made a mess all across our country.
  Again and again, Kentuckians have called for relief from this 
partisan law. Republicans have heard their call, and we have adopted a 
three-pronged approach to stabilize the healthcare market and help it 
grow into the future.
  The first prong is the legislation currently being considered by 
committees over in the House. Yesterday, the Congressional Budget 
Office underlined some important things we have been saying about the 
House bill. It will ultimately drive down premiums by 10 percent, in 
their estimation. It will provide further relief to the middle class by 
cutting taxes--a tax cut of $883 billion. It will also reduce the 
deficit by $337 billion, according to CBO.
  That is only considering one part of our three-pronged approach. It 
does not take into account the other actions Congress, the Governors, 
or the executive branch can take to further provide relief, lower 
costs, and improve access. Obviously that means the CBO's statistics, 
on average, are premature and may not represent the final number of 
Americans covered under the plan.
  Last night, we confirmed Seema Verma to head the Centers for Medicare 
and Medicaid Services, known as CMS. In that role, Administrator Verma 
has very broad authority to regulate how ObamaCare interacts with the 
Medicaid Program.
  ObamaCare spent years raiding Medicare funds and putting Medicaid on 
an unsustainable path. Now she has the ability to work with States on 
much needed reforms.
  The Secretary of Health and Human Services, Dr. Tom Price, just met 
with Senate Republicans to discuss what he is doing to lessen the 
burdens of ObamaCare on the American people.
  ObamaCare gave significant regulatory flexibility to the Health and 
Human Services Secretary, as well as the CMS Administrator. Secretary 
Price and Administrator Verma now have the ability to make serious 
policy shifts to benefit the American people.
  With the three-pronged strategy, we can begin to put the troubles of 
ObamaCare behind us. We can work together to make the health care 
marketplace more accessible and affordable.

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