Senate Continues Work To Move Beyond Obamacare’s Failures
‘Our legislation contains important reforms to move our country forward in all of these areas. These are the kind of reforms Americans deserve. Not the status quo of Obamacare, not a multi-billion-dollar Band-Aid, not a piling-on of even more Obamacare — but real, patient-centered reforms that can finally move us beyond the pain of Obamacare. The only way we’ll get there is with continued hard work, and that’s just what we intend to do.’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) made the following remarks on the Senate floor today regarding the Better Care Reconciliation Act:
“Obamacare has been hurting the people we represent for many years now. That’s why the Senate has been working hard to move beyond its failures. Costs were supposed to go down under Obamacare. But they skyrocketed. Premiums have already increased on average by more than 100% on the federal exchange. Next year, they could rise by as much as 50% or more in states as diverse as Georgia, New Mexico, and Maryland.
“We have to tackle this problem. The revised discussion draft we released last week contains many different reforms designed to make insurance more affordable and flexible so it’s something Americans actually want to buy. It gives Americans more choices for managing their care. It also takes aim at Obamacare taxes that target the Middle Class and drive up premiums: taxes on everything from health insurance to over-the-counter medication.
“Choice was supposed to go up under Obamacare. But it plummeted. Americans living in 70 percent of counties have little or no options for Obamacare insurance today. Next year, nearly 40 percent fewer insurers have filed to offer plans. Many Americans face the real possibility of having no options at all and could find themselves trapped, forced by law to purchase Obamacare insurance but left by Obamacare without any means to do so.
“We have to tackle this problem. The revised discussion draft is designed to stabilize the collapsing insurance markets and encourage more insurers to participate. It will transfer many health-care decisions away from Washington bureaucrats and politicians and put them back with Americans and their doctors. It will also give Americans the freedom to decide their own health care, allowing them to purchase the insurance they actually want — rather than just forcing Americans to buy what Obamacare is selling. There are other health-care problems that need to be tackled as well. We need to strengthen Medicaid, for instance, so it can deliver better care at a better cost today and remain available to future generations tomorrow.
“Our legislation contains important reforms to move our country forward in all of these areas. These are the kind of reforms Americans deserve. Not the status quo of Obamacare, not a multi-billion-dollar Band-Aid, not a piling-on of even more Obamacare — but real, patient-centered reforms that can finally move us beyond the pain of Obamacare. The only way we’ll get there is with continued hard work, and that’s just what we intend to do.”
Related Issues: Obamacare, Health Care
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