Healthcare

Floor Speech

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Mr. President, I rise to join my colleagues in expressing actually a combination of outrage and heartbreak that Washington is still working on yet another partisan plan to take healthcare coverage and guaranteed protections away from families across this country. This is despite a clear message Americans--and Wisconsinites alike--have sent to Congress that they want us to work across the party aisle to make things better and not worse. This latest repeal plan totally ignores that message.

This plan would make things far worse, not better. It would make things worse by allowing insurers to charge older Americans an age tax. That is a worry that Greg from Stoddard, WI, has shared with me. Greg told me that he and his family can't afford for things to get worse. He has no idea how he and other older Wisconsinites will be able to afford higher costs for healthcare. Greg's sons, both of them, have diabetes, and they are already struggling with the skyrocketing cost of insulin.

It would make things worse by dramatically weakening guaranteed protections for those with preexisting conditions, allowing insurers to cut coverage for essential health benefits and charge more for needed care. As someone who was branded with those words ``preexisting condition'' as a child, I understand how this repeal would hurt Wisconsin families and families throughout America.

It would make things worse by eliminating the premium tax credits and cost-sharing reduction payments that help thousands--thousands--of Wisconsinites afford healthcare coverage, and estimates show this particular plan offered in the Senate could significantly cut funding for my home State of Wisconsin by almost $3 billion in the year 2027.

On top of this latest repeal plan, it has to be added that the Trump administration continues to play dangerous political games and engage in sabotage against the Affordable Care Act and Wisconsin's healthcare system, and it does so at the expense of families seeking affordable insurance. Instead of working to lower healthcare costs, the Trump administration continues to threaten to withhold the critical cost- sharing reduction payments that help reduce deductibles and out-of- pocket costs for Wisconsin families. Instead of giving healthcare providers certainty and working to stabilize the healthcare marketplace, the Trump administration is laying the groundwork for higher premiums next year.

In addition, just last week, the administration slashed funding to States for their outreach and education efforts to help more people sign up for healthcare. Wisconsin's trusted Navigator Programs had their funding cut, without explanation, by almost 50 percent, despite a long record of actually exceeding their enrollment goals. This would mean fewer people in rural Wisconsin will receive the support and assistance they need to obtain affordable healthcare coverage.

Instead of making things worse, we should be making things better by getting the job done on bipartisan solutions that lower costs, that expand coverage, and make healthcare more affordable. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions--the HELP Committee--is trying to do just that.

Chairman Alexander and Ranking Member Murray have shown great leadership in bringing us together to work across party lines on solutions that work for the American people. Our committee has heard from leaders from across the country. These are leaders and experts who play different roles in the healthcare system, and they are telling us how we can work together to make things better.

We have had a set of four hearings over the last 2 weeks, and throughout these hearings we have received a consistent message. That message is that now is the time to work together to stabilize the health insurance market and to make healthcare more affordable.

I believe we need to be doing more to increase the enrollment of younger and healthier adults in the marketplace. We should be exploring bipartisan solutions to increase outreach and coverage for those over
6.1 million young adults who are still uninsured. Slashing the funding
for outreach, education, and assistance to them will further destabilize the market and lead to higher costs for everyone.

It is past time to stop this partisan nonsense. I urge my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to do just that by ending these partisan attempts to take people's healthcare away and make them pay more for less care.

The people of Wisconsin--frankly, the people across this country-- have sent a clear message. They have sent a clear message that they don't want us to take people's healthcare away, and they have sent a clear message that they want us to work together, to work across the party line to make things better, not worse.

I believe that if parties can look past this partisan debate, if we can do the people's business, then we can find common ground. Let's do that by getting the job done on bipartisan solutions that stabilize and strengthen the healthcare marketplace. Let's do that by getting the job done on solutions that would lower healthcare costs for all American families.

Thank you.

I yield the floor.

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