[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 8403-8404]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         HEALTHCARE LEGISLATION

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, a new report released last night from 
the Department of Health and Human Services reveals startling new 
numbers showing just how substantial premium increases have been under 
ObamaCare. According to that report, average annual ObamaCare premiums 
have increased by nearly $3,000 since 2013, the year that most of the 
healthcare law's mandates and regulations actually went into effect. In 
other words, it is now clear that average ObamaCare plans on the 
exchanges more than doubled from 2013 until now. That is an increase of 
105 percent, or nearly $3,000. These figures are based on the Obama 
administration's own data, but these exorbitant costs are just one part 
of the problem, to say nothing of the shrinking choices of insurers 
offering plans on the ObamaCare exchanges across the country.
  Last week, our colleague from Iowa, Chairman Grassley, came to the 
floor and shared with us the story of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, a 
bridge in Washington State that was, as he put it, ``set to fail from 
the very beginning.'' He told us how the bridge was built on a ``flawed 
design,'' how it ``self-destructed,'' and how it eventually 
``collapsed.'' Much like that bridge, he said, ObamaCare is becoming 
``its own bridge to nowhere with no insurance plan on its exchanges.'' 
Boy, he is right about that.
  As time goes on, more Americans are finding themselves with fewer 
ObamaCare insurance options to choose from on the exchanges. Take a 
look at the map behind me, and you will see what I mean. On this map: 
Fewer choices: Number of insurers on the ObamaCare exchanges in 2017. 
What does it reflect?
  In more than 1,000 counties across 26 States, families have only 1--
just 1--ObamaCare option to choose from in the marketplace. ObamaCare 
customers in five States have only one insurer left on the exchanges. 
As a recent article predicted, ``insurer choice in the ACA marketplace 
could hit an all-time low'' next year in 2018.
  Let that sink in for a minute. Families across the country could 
experience ``an all-time low'' when it comes to their choices for 
ObamaCare plans next year. In other words, things are likely to only 
get worse. Still, despite all the news reports and the studies and the 
personal stories shared by constituents, some of our colleagues simply 
refuse to face the realities of this failed law.
  Consider what we saw just yesterday, when a group of Democratic 
Senators held a press conference, essentially advocating for the 
ObamaCare status quo in rural America. But in case our friends missed 
it, I want to share a recent headline that reveals what ObamaCare's 
status quo has actually meant for families in these regions of the 
country. Here is what it read: ``Rural Shoppers Face Slim Choices, 
Steep Premiums On Exchanges.''
  The article went on to cite a study showing that ObamaCare customers 
living in less populous areas of the country in 2017 ``frequently had 
just one or two insurers from which to pick, and often faced 
significantly higher premiums than did people in more urban areas.''
  Much like that dilapidated bridge Chairman Grassley described, 
ObamaCare is self-destructing all around us. We know things are likely 
to get worse unless we move beyond the failures of ObamaCare. In his 
home State of Iowa, more than 70,000 people are facing the harsh 
reality that they may be left with absolutely no options--none--on the 
ObamaCare individual market--zero.
  Many Virginians recently learned they could also have fewer choices 
on the ObamaCare exchanges next year. In fact, people in 27 of the 
State's 95 counties could have just one option for coverage through the 
ObamaCare marketplace in 2018. Tennesseans in 16 counties are in a 
similarly distressing situation, as they, too, are likely to have just 
one choice when it comes to signing up for insurance through the 
ObamaCare exchanges next year.
  So these are just the latest developments in ObamaCare's dwindling 
options, which over the years have continuously pushed too many people 
off their plan and left them with fewer choices. Take one Knoxville, 
TN, woman who recounted her experience in a recent news article. In 
2015, she signed up for an ObamaCare plan with one major insurer, but 
by the end of the year, that company pulled out of the marketplace, 
leaving her to find a new plan. In 2016, she was forced to sign up for 
an ObamaCare plan with another insurer. Again, at the end of the year, 
that company left the marketplace, as well. Now in 2017, she signed up 
with yet another ObamaCare plan with yet another insurer, and--you 
guessed it--at the end of this year, that insurance company will also 
exit the ObamaCare marketplace, leaving the Tennessee mom to find an 
alternative option one more time. Unfortunately, her story is not 
unique. As insurers on the exchanges continue to propose premium 
increases and announce their intentions for participation next year, we

[[Page 8404]]

can expect even more troubling news to roll in.
  These families deserve relief from ObamaCare--a failing law with 
limited, even nonexistent, choices that continue to shrink on the 
collapsing marketplace.
  These families deserve relief from ObamaCare--a failing law with 
skyrocketing premiums that have risen by double-digit rate increases 
all across our country.
  These families deserve relief from ObamaCare--a failing law with 
mandates that require people to buy plans that aren't right for their 
families, even if there are no suitable choices to pick from, even if 
they are too expensive to actually use.
  How much more will it take for our Democratic colleagues to realize 
that we have to move beyond the failures of ObamaCare? The only way 
these families are going to get the help they need--and that so many 
have called for--is if we actually take action. The Republican Senate 
has been clear what we aren't OK with standing by and allowing this 
system to crash completely, dragging down even more families along with 
it.
  We know that--just like that collapsing bridge--ObamaCare wasn't 
built on a sturdy foundation, nor were its policies truly built to 
last. Just like the bridge, it may have looked really good from the 
outside. We all remember the lofty claims our Democratic colleagues 
made about the law, but it never lived up to the fanfare. I know it is 
a disappointing reality for our friends across the aisle who championed 
the failed healthcare law. We know it is not the outcome they had hoped 
for, but the status quo is simply unacceptable.
  We expect the Congressional Budget Office to release an updated score 
of the bill the House passed later today. It is a technical procedural 
step. Beyond likely reiterating things we already know--like that fewer 
people will buy a product they don't want when the government stops 
forcing them to--the updated report will allow the Senate procedurally 
to move forward in working to draft its own healthcare legislation.
  So whatever CBO says about the House bill today, this much is 
absolutely clear: The status quo under ObamaCare is completely 
unacceptable and totally unsustainable. The prices are skyrocketing. 
Choice is plummeting. The marketplace is collapsing, and countless more 
Americans will get hurt if we don't act. No one should be comfortable 
with that. I know I am not, and I certainly hope our Democratic 
colleagues aren't either.
  So instead of continuing to hold press conferences in what ultimately 
can only be described as a defense of the ObamaCare status quo, I would 
ask our Democratic colleagues to come to terms with the situation 
Americans are facing, to stop the empty rhetoric, to join us in finally 
helping those who have been hurt by this failing law.

                          ____________________