McConnell: Obamacare is a Direct Attack on the Middle Class
‘What we’re seeing with Obamacare may be shocking, but it’s not surprising, because these are the inevitable consequences of this partisan law — a partisan law littered with broken promises.’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor today on how Obamacare is hurting people across the country:
“Let me start by stating the obvious: Obamacare is a direct attack on the Middle Class.
Premiums are shooting up by double-digits…
“Co-pays are spiking and deductibles are skyrocketing.
“Co-ops are collapsing and insurers are withdrawing.
“We all know the statistics.
“They’re shocking.
“And yet, they still do not truly capture the toll this partisan law is taking on the Middle Class.
“Because behind every premium increase headline is a family budget stretched to its limits and behind every co-op collapse is agonizing uncertainty about where a family will find insurance. This is what too often gets lost in the debate over Obamacare, especially amongst our Democratic friends, perhaps because it helps them rationalize away the pain of this law. But this is not some theoretical discussion, these are people’s lives that their law is hurting.
“That’s why I shared the story of the mom in Louisville who said her family’s health care costs would consume nearly a fifth of their budget this year. ‘I wish someone would explain to us,” she wrote, “how a hard working middle class family paying this much for health insurance became a loser under Obamacare.’
“That’s why I shared the story of the Campbellsburg man who just lost the health insurance he’d had for many years. “Instead of something affordable,” he wrote, “I [now] face the possibility of struggling to purchase an Obama[care] health plan that costs two to three times what I had been paying.”
“That’s why I shared the story of the small businessman in Lexington who may have to end his decades-long practice of providing insurance to his employees at no cost — thanks to, as he wrote, “the cynically named Affordable Care Act.”
“I shared stories from other states too.
“There’s the New Jersey man with chronic health issues who lost access to his doctors the moment Obamacare placed him on Medicaid. “You have a card saying you have health insurance,” he said, “but if no doctors take it, it's almost like having one of those fake IDs.”
“He reminded us that having health insurance under Obamacare is not the same thing as actually having health coverage.
“There’s the woman from Ohio who lost her plan after Obamacare forced out her insurer. “They fine you if you don’t have insurance,” she said, “then they take your options away.”
“She put words to the frustrations of millions.
“I explained how Obamacare is chasing out insurers in states like Ohio, Arizona, and Alabama…throwing thousands off their plans all over again.
“I explained how Obamacare’s co-ops are failing in states like New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Connecticut… massively disrupting coverage for thousands more.
“I explained how Obamacare is shooting premiums up by almost unimaginable amounts in states like Minnesota, Illinois, and Montana…forcing more Americans to make impossible financial decisions.
“So I invite Democrats to recognize that Obamacare’s human toll is evident from north to south, east to west.
“That includes states like California, where — according to what the Democratic Leader told us yesterday — Obamacare is supposedly “working wonderfully.”
“But is it really?
“Is it “wonderful” that premiums in California are set to spike by more than three times the average of recent years? Is it “wonderful” that Obamacare is causing huge double-digit increases in the Golden State while reducing access to doctors and hospitals at the same time? The Los Angeles Times quoted a left-wing activist summarizing the situation this way: “We’re paying more for less.”
“Indeed, before those massive increases had even been announced, polling showed Californians more concerned about the cost of healthcare than whether they even had insurance. Two-thirds reported that they worried “very much” about rising health costs, and a majority credited Obamacare for causing costs to go up “a lot” for average Americans.
“It’s similar to what Americans said nationwide, when they cited health care as their biggest financial worry.
“That was ahead of wages, college costs, even job loss.
“No wonder even some on the Left have taken to calling Obamacare the “Unaffordable Care Act.”
***
“What we’re seeing with Obamacare may be shocking, but it’s not surprising, because these are the inevitable consequences of this partisan law — a partisan law littered with broken promises.
“Democrats said that premiums would be lower.
“Remember?
“Democrats said that co-pays and deductibles would be affordable too.
“…They were wrong.
“Democrats said that Americans could keep their health plans.
“Remember?
“Democrats said that Americans could keep their doctors.
“…It wasn’t true.
“Democrats said that Obamacare wouldn’t touch Medicare. Democrats said that taxes wouldn’t increase on the Middle Class. Democrats said that shopping for Obamacare would be as a simple as shopping ‘for a TV on Amazon.’
“…Wrong. Wrong. Wrong again.
“Democrats have broken one promise after the next on Obamacare but now — get this — they’re asking Americans to trust them to “fix” the same mess they created.
“They say they have the perfect solution too. It’s more Obamacare.
“No, really…Seriously…I’m not kidding…
“Democrats actually think they can pull another fast one on the American people. They’re actually pushing government-run Obamacare 2.0 as some kind of solution. And they’re doing it with a straight face.
“So look.
“We already know what we could expect from a Democratic-run Congress next year on Obamacare.
“More broken promises…More stonewalling…More of the same…
“Obamacare’s attack against the Middle Class is a nationwide phenomenon. It’s hurting the very people we were sent here to represent. And the only way to deliver true relief for the Middle Class is to finally build a bridge away from Obamacare.
“That’s why we passed a bill to repeal this partisan law and sent it to the President — because the Middle Class deserves better than the pain of Obamacare.
“And I think even President Obama, if he’s being honest with himself, should be able to recognize that too. Here’s what he said himself last month, “Too many Americans still strain to pay for their physician visits and prescriptions, cover their deductibles, or pay their monthly insurance bills; struggle to navigate a complex, sometimes bewildering system; and remain uninsured."
“That’s not the description of a law that’s working. It’s time to leave this failed experiment in the past and move toward the real care Americans deserve.”
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