*Administration of Donald J. Trump, 2017 *

**The President's Weekly Address **

*July 14, 2017 *

My fellow Americans, next week, the Senate is going to vote on legislation to save Americans from the Obamacare disaster. Obamacare has wreaked havoc on American lives, and if we don't replace it, the calamity will only get worse, and I mean, get worse by a lot.

Here is just one story, representative of so many others. Carrie Couey and her husband are cattle ranchers. They have six children, and the youngest is autistic. Her family's rates under Obamacare skyrocketed, eventually costing the Coueys three times more than their previous plan. They were dropped from health insurance four times under Obamacare.

When I met with Carrie in March, she told us that her family couldn't afford the equipment they needed to do the jobs while paying these crushing insurance premiums. Americans like Carrie and her family desperately need relief from this terrible, terrible law.

The Democratic politicians who passed Obamacare made many big promises, but they turned out to be lies, absolute, total lies. They promised Obamacare would reduce premiums by $2,500 dollars. Instead, premiums have skyrocketed by numbers that nobody can even believe, sometimes, many, many thousands of dollars. They promised that if you like your plan, you could keep your plan; instead, millions of American families saw their plans canceled.

They promised Obamacare would offer better options for American families, but in the past 2 years, half the insurance companies have pulled out and left the individual market. And today, Americans in one-third of all counties have only one insurer to choose from on the exchanges, and they, probably, will shortly have no insurers at all.

The Senate health care bill stops the Obamacare disaster, expands choice, and drives down costs, and I want to tell you, the Republican Senators are working very hard to get something that's going to be really, really good, the opposite of the big lie which was Obamacare.

The bill would reduce premiums by 30 percent or more by 2020. It allows States freedom to escape even more of Obamacare's rules and create innovative health care solutions for their citizens. In other words, we'll be taking something away from the Federal Government and getting it back to the States, who can better provide and who know better what to do.

It provides generous funding for people with expensive health conditions, which will lower premiums in the individual market. The bill doubles the amount that Americans can contribute to tax-free health savings accounts and allows you to use those accounts to pay your premiums.

This plan provides States with the much-needed flexibility to better manage their Medicaid programs. It maintains Medicaid coverage for every single elderly American, disabled American, and American child who is currently on the program. It also expands the opportunity for people on Medicaid to purchase a private plan with Federal financial assistance.

And with these much-needed, long-term reforms to strengthen the safety net for our neediest citizens, the Obamacare repeal-and-replace plan would significantly reduce the Federal deficit. So it would be good for the Federal Government, it will cost you less money by a lot, and it will be a much better plan. You can't do better than that. When I ran for President, I made a commitment to the American people to repeal and replace Obamacare. I am pleased to report that we are very, very close to ending this health care nightmare. We are so close.

The legislation working its way through Congress provides the choice and control people want, the affordability they need, and the quality they deserve in health care. It's a commonsense approach that restores the sacred doctor-patient relationship. And you're going to finally have great health care at a lower price.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.

NOTE: The address was recorded at approximately 11 a.m. on July 12 in the Cabinet Room at the White House. In the address, the President referred to Rifle, CO, resident Carrie D. Couey, her husband Kelly, and their children Tyrel, Clinton, Cassidy, Marvelle, Tanna, and Cabe. He also referred to H.R. 1628.

*Categories:* Addresses and Remarks : Weekly addresses*.*

*Locations: *Washington, DC.

*Names:* Couey, Cabe; Couey, Carrie D.; Couey, Cassidy; Couey, Clinton; Couey, Kelly; Couey, Marvelle; Couey, Tanna; Couey, Tyrel*.*

*Subjects:* Budget, Federal : Deficit and national debt; Health and medical care : Affordability and costs; Health and medical care : Health insurance reforms; Health and medical care : Health savings accounts, tax-free; Health and medical care : Insurance coverage and access to providers; Health and medical care : Medicare and Medicaid; Health and medical care : Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

*DCPD Number:* DCPD201700469.