[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 5990]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         TRUMPCARE FLEXIBILITY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Kennedy) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. Speaker, as my Republican colleagues debate 
TrumpCare amongst themselves, they speak so often of so-called 
flexibility. But let's be clear about what that wink and nod to 
insurance companies actually means.
  For working families, flexibility is a cold euphemism for less 
choice; actually, for an impossible choice between caring for a new 
child or aging parent, between lifesaving treatment or your life 
savings, between an inpatient bed or monthly mortgage, desperately 
needed medication or food on your table, between life, and, yes, for 
some, death, because the moment essential health benefits become 
negotiable, they become dispensable.
  And while insurance companies might enjoy that newfound flexibility, 
American families and our loved ones will pay that price.

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