[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 9914-9915]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    BETTER CARE RECONCILIATION BILL

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I would like to read a few headlines from 
the past couple of weeks.
  From the Detroit Free Press: ``ObamaCare rates in Michigan could 
skyrocket as much as 31 percent in 2018.''
  This is from the Associated Press: ``New Mexico health insurer 
proposes 80 percent premium hike.''
  From the Washington Examiner: ``CMS: 47 counties won't have ObamaCare 
coverage in 2018.''
  From Bloomberg: ``Anthem to Leave ObamaCare Markets in Indiana and 
Wisconsin.''
  From the Washington Free Beacon: ``Last Insurer in Delaware Requests 
Rate Hike of 33.6 Percent for 2018.''
  These headlines should probably be shocking--an 80-percent premium 
increase; 47 counties without an insurer--but they are not. Insurers 
leaving the market, huge premium hikes, lack of coverage--that is par 
for the course for ObamaCare. Unfortunately, too many Americans have 
gotten used to those types of headlines. I have lost count how many 
times I have come down to the floor to read similar headlines.
  While these headlines may not be shocking anymore, they are still 
disturbing. Behind these stories are tens of thousands of struggling 
Americans who can no longer afford the ObamaCare premiums, Americans 
who are losing their healthcare plan again, Americans who are worried 
they won't have any coverage options at all for 2018. ObamaCare may 
have been well-intentioned, but good intentions are not enough.
  ObamaCare was fatally flawed from the beginning, and it is rapidly 
imploding. We can do one of two things: We can just wait around for the 
exchanges to collapse completely, as our colleagues across the aisle 
seem inclined to do, or we can act. Sitting around waiting for the 
exchanges to collapse might be the easier path, but we can't do much 
good for the American people if we are sitting on the bench and 
watching.
  Republicans promised the American people that we would rescue them 
from the burdens of ObamaCare, and we intend to keep that promise. Last 
week, Senate Republicans released legislation to start undoing the 
damage caused by ObamaCare. It is called the Better Care Reconciliation 
Act.
  To start with, our bill provides relief to individuals and families 
by repealing ObamaCare's burdensome individual and employer mandates. 
Under our legislation, Americans will no longer be forced to buy 
insurance they don't want or can't afford. Employers will no longer be 
faced with the choice of reducing worker hours or not hiring more 
employees simply to avoid the Federal Government's heavy hand.
  Our bill also repeals the burdensome ObamaCare taxes. Taxes have 
consequences. When you raise taxes on everything from lifesaving 
medical devices, such as pacemakers, to health insurance itself, which 
ObamaCare did, it is no surprise that these things get less affordable. 
Our goal with this bill is to make healthcare more affordable and more 
accessible for all Americans. Repealing ObamaCare taxes is one part of 
that.
  Stabilizing the rapidly collapsing ObamaCare markets is another part.

[[Page 9915]]

Premiums on the exchanges are spiraling out of control, and insurers 
are fleeing the marketplace. The Better Care Act will help stabilize 
the markets and check premium increases.
  The Better Care Act provides funding to help States implement 
solutions to help make healthcare more affordable for their low-income 
and high-risk residents.
  Giving States flexibility was an important priority for us in 
drafting the Better Care Act. ObamaCare, of course, took the opposite 
approach, attempting to impose a one-size-fits-all solution on every 
State in the Union. But the problem with that is that it is pretty much 
impossible for a massive Federal bureaucracy to hand down one 
comprehensive solution that will somehow meet the needs of everyone in 
this country, not to mention that top-down, one-size-fits-all solutions 
are seldom the most efficient or affordable. Bureaucracy costs money, 
after all.
  Our goal in drafting the Better Care Act was to make sure the States 
had the flexibility to address the needs of their specific populations. 
So we provide a State innovation fund to help them meet the particular 
needs of their residents. We also empower States by simplifying the 
waiver process by which they can seek relief from some of ObamaCare's 
demands and by allowing them to encourage a greater variety of 
healthcare solutions. We give States more flexibility when it comes to 
meeting the needs of their residents who rely on Medicaid.
  In addition to giving States the flexibility to design affordable 
healthcare solutions and to encourage innovation, our bill also 
provides help directly to Americans who are most in need. The Better 
Care Act provides advanceable and refundable tax credits to Americans 
making from zero to 350 percent of the Federal poverty level. The 
credits are adjusted to ensure that those in the most need get the most 
help.
  Among other things, these credits will provide help to low-income 
Americans around the country who currently receive no healthcare 
assistance. In many States, thousands of Americans are unable to 
qualify for Medicaid but don't earn enough to get ObamaCare subsidies. 
That leaves these families with no assistance when it comes to 
purchasing health insurance. The Better Care Act fixes this.
  The Wall Street Journal reports: ``The Senate bill would extend 
eligibility for premium subsidies to about 2.6 million more adults with 
income below the federal poverty line, according to estimates from the 
Kaiser Family Foundation.''
  Since ObamaCare became law, I have heard from so many South Dakotans 
struggling under the law's mandates and the massive healthcare costs it 
has imposed. This bill is going to bring them relief. No more ObamaCare 
mandates, protection for those with preexisting conditions, more 
affordable premiums, a more stable insurance market, assistance for 
low-income families, more flexibility to contribute to health savings 
accounts, increased flexibility for States to meet the needs of their 
Medicaid populations, more funding for hospitals that provide care to 
low-income South Dakotans, relief from ObamaCare taxes and, for the 
first time ever, 37,000 South Dakotans living below 100 percent of the 
poverty level will have assistance in getting health insurance on the 
individual market. This bill will give South Dakotans and all Americans 
access to better and more affordable healthcare.
  The Better Care Act is the product of weeks of dialogue and 
collaboration among the Members of our conference, and I am 
particularly grateful to Senators Alexander, Enzi, and Hatch, who have 
helped provide outstanding leadership throughout this process.
  As I said earlier, Republicans made the American people a promise. We 
promised we would provide relief to the millions of Americans suffering 
under ObamaCare, and this bill delivers on that promise. I hope we will 
have the opportunity soon to vote for this legislation because it is 
time to give the American people access to real healthcare reform.
  I yield the floor.
  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.
  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Hoeven). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  The Senator from Michigan.

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