Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor about the 5th anniversary of Obamacare. He spoke about how Americans now face higher premiums, more taxes and fewer choices over their health care.
Excerpts of his remarks:
“Five years ago today, President Obama signed his health care bill into law.
“Since then, Americans have watched their paychecks shrink because of the law.
“Hard working American taxpayers have paid billions of dollars in higher taxes, because of the law. They’ve had less health care choice because of the law.
“So what does the president say about all of this?
“What does the president say to the millions of Americans who’ve had to suffer—suffer through a long list of costly and appalling side effects of the president’s health care law?
“Well, last week he gave a speech in Cleveland, and he said, ‘It’s working even better than I expected.’
“He repeated the same this weekend, saying ‘It’s working even better than I expected.’
“Has the president not seen what’s happened to workers’ paychecks over the last five years?
“Maybe the president missed an article by the Associated Press last Wednesday.
“The headline was: ‘Health Care Law Paperwork Costs Small Businesses Thousands.’
“The article says: ‘Complying with the health care law is costing small businesses thousands of dollars that they didn’t have to spend before the new regulations went into effect.’
“It gives an example of Mike Patton, who has a flooring company in San Francisco Bay area. Now, all of the extra Obamacare paperwork is costing him about $25,000 a year.
“To pay for it, the article says, Mike had to ‘cut back on workers’ bonuses and raises.’
“He told the Associated Press, ‘They understand it didn’t emanate from us … They’re just disappointed that $25,000 could have gone into a bonus pool.’
“Mike Patton’s employees will get less money in their paychecks, because of all the complex and costly red tape of Obamacare.
“Is that ‘even better’ than the president expected?
“People are getting smaller paychecks, and they’re also paying higher taxes because of this health care law.
“According to the latest estimate by the Congressional Budget Office, Obamacare will increase Washington spending on health care by $1.7 trillion over the next decade.
“About half of that is for subsidies in the Obamacare exchanges, and about half is to pay for all of the people who have been dumped onto a broken Medicaid system.
“The $1.7 trillion has to come from somewhere – and a lot of it is coming from hardworking American taxpayers.
“Obamacare included more than 20 tax increases – on things like medical devices, prescription drugs, and even on the very insurance policies that Washington Democrats said everyone has to buy.
“Why so many taxes? Why is Obamacare so expensive?
“Well, an outrageous amount of the money has been wasted over the last five years.
“Just the other day there was another example, this one came out of Massachusetts.
“There was a Boston Herald article, last Wednesday, March 18. The headline was: ‘Health Connector officials spent $170,000 on perks.’
“The article talks about federal taxpayer money that was given to Massachusetts to set up the state’s Obamacare exchange.
“It says: ‘Massachusetts Health Connector officials behind the state’s failed health care website have racked up more than $170,000 in taxpayer-funded expenses, including a Boston Harbor summertime boat cruise, luxury hotel stays, ‘appreciation’ meals for staffers and contractors — and a $285 Obamacare cake commemorating the launch of the Affordable Care Act.’
“According to the article, ‘the Connector’s staff and board members scored numerous perks even as they spent hundreds of millions of dollars to fix the state portal during its botched Obamacare rollout.’
“What does the state have to say about this? About the kind of waste and misuse of taxpayer money?
“Well, the article actually quotes a spokesman for the exchange saying, ‘we were happy to do it.’
“Does President Obama think that kind of waste is ‘even better’ than he expected?
“It seems like the American people see headlines like this every day – and every day they see more ways that the president’s health care law has failed us over the last five years.
“I’ll give you just one more example, and that’s one of the ways that Obamacare has meant less choice for Americans when it comes to their own health care.
“Now President Obama promised that you could keep your doctor.
“Millions of Americans over the past five years have lost access to their doctors, because insurance plans have had to limit the network of doctors that those patients can see.
“Now that can create real problems for people trying to use their coverage to actually get medical care.
“Now there’s a woman, Pam Durocher, from Roseville, California. There was an article by Kaiser Health News on February 18 that told her story.
“The headline is: ‘Even Insured Consumers Get Hit With Unexpectedly Large Medical Bills.’ And she’s insured.
“The article says: ‘After Pam was diagnosed with breast cancer, she searched her insurer’s website for a participating surgeon to do the reconstructive surgery.’
“The article says she did her homework, so ‘she was stunned to get a $10,000 bill from the surgeon.’
“I panicked when I got that bill,’ said the 60-year-old retired civil servant.’
“It turns out that the surgeon had two offices, and only one of those was in the very narrow network of the insurance plan.
“The office Pam went to wasn’t in the network, so she got a bill for $10,000.
“According to this article: ‘Consumer advocates say that the sheer scope of such problems undermine promises made by proponents of the Affordable Care Act that the law would protect against medical bankruptcy.’
“It says that ‘Advocates believe a growing number of consumers are vulnerable.’
“Advocates of the health care law, people that voted for it, advocates of the law believe a growing number—the fifth anniversary of the health care law—a growing number of consumers are vulnerable.
“President Obama said that was exactly the type of situation his law was supposed to prevent. Instead, it’s exactly the kind of situation that his devastating health care law has created.
“The Obama administration is bragging, bragging about the number of people covered by Obamacare.
“Is this what those people have to look forward to?
“Does President Obama really think that making people like Pam panic means his law is working ‘even better’ than he expected?
“It may be better than he expected – but it is a lot worse than what the American people expected.
“It is also a lot worse than what they were promised.
“As a doctor who practiced medicine for 25 years, I know that Americans have always wanted affordable care instead of expensive, Washington-mandated coverage.
“The American people expected health care reform to give them the care they need, from a doctor they choose, at lower cost.
“Five years ago, too many Americans are paying higher premiums. Here we are five years later, Americans are paying even higher premiums and finding it harder to see their doctor.
“This isn’t what President Obama promised – and it’s not what the American people deserve.
“In the coming months, the Supreme Court will rule on if the president violated his own law with an unauthorized spending and taxing scheme.
“This will be a major blow to a law that has failed Americans for more than five years – and an opportunity to finally focus on affordable health care.
“Republicans are committed—committed to helping the millions of Americans who have been hurt by this law.
“We are working on a plan that will deliver freedom, flexibility, and choice to Americans.
“Five years later, the law has been bad for patients, it’s been bad for providers, and it’s been terrible for the American taxpayers.
“This anniversary today is not a cause for celebration, it is a call for action.”
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