[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Page 9068]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         HEALTHCARE LEGISLATION

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, 7 years ago, Senate Democrats and the 
Obama administration forced ObamaCare on the American people, but 
ObamaCare never actually lived up to what Democrats had promised. From 
rising costs to shrinking choices and collapsing markets, the problems 
associated with ObamaCare grew across the country as the years passed, 
leaving the American people to literally pick up the pieces.
  ObamaCare's years-long legacy of failure will only get worse unless 
we act. Consider the latest examples of how it is threatening to hurt 
more Americans. In Washington State, people in two counties just 
learned they could have zero insurance options under ObamaCare plans 
next year. Thousands of Ohioans across 18 counties just found out they 
could also be left with absolutely zero choices under ObamaCare. Iowans 
could be left without a single major insurance option to choose from 
statewide as well. And in Nebraska, nearly 100,000 residents learned 
they could be left with just one insurance option on the ObamaCare 
exchanges next year or potentially none at all.
  At the rate things are going, Americans living in nearly half of all 
counties could be left with just one or even zero insurance options 
under ObamaCare next year. Think about that. Millions of people in 
nearly half of all the counties across America are at risk of having no 
options or a single option of insurance plans because of ObamaCare.
  Worse still, as choices continue to drop, premiums keep rising, often 
by double digits, meaning those lucky enough to have a choice under 
ObamaCare may not even be able to afford the plan they select. It is a 
fact underlined by reports released just this afternoon by the Centers 
for Medicare and Medicare Services, or CMS. These reports show that 
hundreds of thousands of Americans who selected an ObamaCare plan ended 
up canceling their coverage after just a few weeks, and the most common 
reason they cited for doing so was because it was too expensive. Is it 
any wonder? As another groundbreaking report revealed last month, 
premiums have on average doubled--and in some cases even tripled--in 
the vast majority of States on the Federal exchange since ObamaCare's 
full enactment in 2013.
  You would think the Democrats would want to work with us now to clean 
up the years-long mess they created. Instead, they are defending the 
status quo or trying to shift the blame for the failures of their own 
law--a law Democrats designed, a law Democrats forced on our country, a 
law Democrats defended year after year as it hurt Americans over and 
over. There is just no serious way to try to spin these years of 
ObamaCare failures at this late date.
  It is also clear that the status quo is simply unsustainable and 
demands action. That is why Republican Senators have been working hard 
on solutions that could help rescue American families who have been 
hurt by this law's failures. Members will keep working this week 
because bringing relief from ObamaCare may not be easy, but it is 
necessary. We are going to keep working hard to get this done.
  Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________