[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 10137]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         ACA'S ONGOING COLLAPSE

  (Mr. ROTHFUS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ROTHFUS. Mr. Speaker, every day there are more stories about the 
Affordable Care Act's, or ObamaCare's, ongoing collapse.
  Insurers have been dropping out of the ACA's markets for 3 years now. 
It is estimated that two out of every five, or 40 percent, of all 
counties in the country will have only one insurer on the exchanges, 
and many markets may soon have none at all.
  The House passed compromise legislation to provide the American 
people, especially those in the individual market, with more 
flexibility and choice and fewer Washington mandates, all while putting 
Medicaid, a critical safety net program, on a sustainable path.
  Critics of this legislation have responded with hyperbolic, 
irresponsible rhetoric, and no solutions, other than higher taxes, more 
spending, and more Washington control.
  Some ACA defenders are actually calling for a single-payer system, 
which would result in unbearably high taxes, even tighter grips from 
Washington, and unsustainable spending. It would destroy innovation, 
create scarcity, degrade quality, and drive up costs. Even the liberal 
California legislator seems to have abandoned the single-payer fantasy 
this week.
  Instead of careening toward single payer, let's keep the promises we 
made to repeal and replace ObamaCare and meet the expectations of those 
who sent us here.

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