Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Mrs. SHAHEEN. Madam President, I rise this morning in opposition to the reconciliation bill that we are considering today. There are a number of reasons I have concerns, but one of the most important has to do with its repeal of the Affordable Care Act. The Affordable Care Act, while it is not perfect, is working. More Americans than ever before have access to health care.

In New Hampshire, almost 45,000 people have received health insurance through the exchange. Most of those people did not have health care coverage before the Affordable Care Act, and the majority of these people are getting insurance premium support to make it more affordable.

In New Hampshire, another 44,000 people are getting coverage through Medicaid expansion. The Governor and the State legislature worked long and hard to come to a bipartisan agreement--a Democratic Governor and a Republican legislature--on how to expand Medicaid in a way that works for New Hampshire. The reconciliation bill that we are considering today would turn back the clock on all of that work. It would repeal Medicaid expansion, and it would eliminate coverage for so many of the people who need it the most.

In short, this bill would wreak havoc on the lives of families and individuals, people such as Deborah from Conway, NH. She and her husband own a small business. They work hard, and they live within their means. But for 17 years, they have been without health insurance, and they have had to forego health care services because of costs.

As a result of Medicaid expansion, Deborah was recently able to go to the doctor for her first physical in 18 years. Imagine that; it was her first physical in 18 years. During that exam, she discovered that she has high blood pressure and that she is at risk for cancer. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, she is able to take the preventive measures. She expects to live a long, healthy life and is probably going to save money because she has received this preventive care. We cannot turn our backs on people such as Deborah and her family.

Finally, the reconciliation bill would defund Planned Parenthood, which would deny access to 12,000 women in New Hampshire access to health care providers they trust and to services they need. For many of those women, Planned Parenthood is the easiest, most affordable, and best way for them, and--in many cases--the only way for them to get the care they need. I proudly stand with the millions of women who rely on Planned Parenthood, and I will continue to oppose any attempt to defund such an important component of our health care system.

While I remain gravely concerned about the underlying bill, I am pleased to join Senators WYDEN and MURRAY today in offering an amendment to address an issue that is vitally important to New Hampshire, to northern New England, and to much of the country, and that is this epidemic of heroin and opioid abuse.

In New Hampshire and across this country, drug abuse has reached epidemic proportions. Each day 120 Americans die of drug overdoses. That is two deaths every hour.

In New Hampshire we are losing a person a day due to drug overdoses. Drug overdose deaths have exceeded car crashes as the No. 1 cause of fatalities in the United States. We just had a report come out that shows that for the first time in years, the lifespan of White Americans is going down. It is going down for one reason that was cited, and that is because of drug overdoses. Mental health illness and drug abuse is a national public health emergency, and it is time for us to act.

What the amendment we are offering will do is to take important steps to provide critical resources for the prevention, intervention, and treatment of mental illness and substance abuse disorders. The amendment will ensure that any health insurance plan purchased on the exchange is held to mental health parity and addiction equity standards, and it will make it easy for consumers to know what benefits are covered and the insurance plan's denial records.

Importantly, the amendment makes it easier for patients to receive medication-assisted treatment drugs--drugs such as methadone, naltrexone and naloxone, commonly known as Narcan, and it prohibits lifetime limits on those drugs.

Our amendment also strengthens Medicaid coverage of services to prevent and treat mental illness and substance abuse disorders. Again, not only do we have this epidemic, but we don't have enough treatment beds, we don't have enough treatment facilities, and we don't have enough providers to assist and support those people who are trying to get clean. For years, Medicaid has been prohibited from reimbursing medically necessary care to patients in residential or treatment facilities with more than 16 beds.

Historically, this has been a barrier for patients who need these treatments for drug abuse and who have limited access to that treatment. Our amendment would enable more people to receive these services by allowing reimbursement for these facilities in States that have expanded Medicaid, such as New Hampshire. The amendment will also provide additional Medicaid Federal funding to help States provide community treatment programs and health homes for those in need of help.

Finally, this amendment provides over $15 billion of needed funding to States and municipalities to help address the public health emergency in those States and communities that are the frontlines of this crisis.

Through the substance abuse prevention and treatment block grants and the community mental health service block grants, this service is targeted to those most at risk for substance abuse and mental illness, giving the States flexibility to develop and fund programs that work best for them. This prevention, intervention, and treatment of substance abuse and mental health disorders have the potential to make the difference in millions of lives.

The amendment is fully paid for by closing tax loopholes. With the tools provided in this amendment, we can change the lives of those struggling with mental illness and substance abuse disorders, and we can turn the tide of this national public health epidemic.

I thank you all, and I hope that as we consider this reconciliation bill, we will have the opportunity to vote on this amendment and that there would be support to address the critical crisis we are facing because of heroin and opioid abuse.

I yield the floor.

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Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, we are facing a public health emergency in New Hampshire and States across the country. Heroin and opioid abuse are at epidemic levels. This is important because it affects every State that is represented on the Senate floor. Each day, 120 Americans die of drug overdose; that is 2 deaths every hour. In New Hampshire we are losing one person every day from drug overdose. Drug overdose deaths have exceeded car crashes as the No. 1 cause of fatalities in this country.

This amendment recognizes that this is a public health emergency and that we need to provide additional resources to address it.

It does three things. First, it ensures that all health plans bought on the exchange cover mental health and addiction-related benefits. Second, it eliminates the Medicaid coverage exclusion that currently prohibits reimbursement for critically important inpatient facilities that treat mental illness. That is the 16-bed limit on those inpatient treatment facilities. Finally, it provides much needed funding to help States, municipalities, and their implementing partners prevent and treat mental illness and substance use disorders.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The time of the Senator has expired.

Mrs. SHAHEEN. This is a public health emergency. This amendment is fully paid for. I urge my colleagues to support it.

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