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Floor Speech

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Mr. KELLY. Mr. President, in just a few weeks, millions of Americans will start the process of picking new health insurance plans, and I believe a number of them are going to see the cost of their health insurance double. This is, unfortunately, not a mistake. It is the price of Washington failing them. And it is not just a number on a bill. It is the first sign for these families that their lives are going to be much harder.

We are now 8 days into a government shutdown, but, make no mistake, this debate isn't about something happening here in this building. It is about the price Americans pay for their healthcare--because if we don't work together to extend the Affordable Care Act's premium tax credits, millions of families will see their health insurance costs skyrocket overnight.

Last year alone, 309,000 Arizonans used these tax credits, saving them an average of more than $400 per month. Many of them would need to pay hundreds of dollars more per month. Some will see their costs more than double.

That is money that a lot of families simply do not have. That means cutting groceries, skipping a car payment, or saying no to the next time that their kid asks to join a school activity, like a Little League team.

For a lot of folks, it will mean losing coverage altogether because they just cannot afford it. So, now, these families are going to be one accident or one illness away from financial ruin.

This uncertainty could also mean that insurers exit the marketplace, leaving people with limited coverage options.

These are not hypotheticals. Over the last week, I have spent time on the phone with Arizonans who have reached out to my office to share what these tax credits mean for them and what also happens when they go away. I want to share a few stories from these folks, who are already bracing for the worst--because if anyone here is still wondering what this debate is about, this is it.

So I talked to a guy named Rusty, from Tucson. He is a cancer survivor. He runs his own small business in Tucson. He also takes care of his mother, who is in memory care. He told me:

I've been using the Marketplace for years. Last year, I paid $277 a month for my plan. I've now been told my premiums could jump to between $450 and $600 a month.

That will not be sustainable short term or long term.

The premium tax credit has made it affordable for those of us who need health insurance but can't go out to the general market.

I have to have health insurance--

He said-- but [there's] really no way I can afford what is about to happen.

Rusty is not asking for anything extraordinary. He is asking to keep what is already working for him: the ability to afford care while he works hard and contributes to his community.

Robin, who is 60 years old, lives in Northern Arizona and is trying to save for retirement. She said--and this is a quote from Robin:

These subsidies have been crucial in making health insurance affordable. I am struggling to pay for my living expenses as is.

My work has not been enough to provide me with a full-time salary, and although I do have some other form of income, it is still not enough for me to live on should my healthcare subsidy disappear.

I feel like many of us, middle class Americans--

This is Robin-- who are caught up in a trap of helplessness because we do not qualify for other benefits, and yet we do not make enough in order to sustain a healthy quality of life, considering how everything that we need to live on has increased in price.

The expiration of these subsidies could lead to significant increases in healthcare costs and potentially make it difficult to maintain coverage.

Now, Robin doesn't qualify for Medicaid, but she does work hard. She just wants to be able to afford health insurance until she reaches Medicare eligibility. And Robin said she is not looking for a handout; she is looking for a hand up.

Cricket, who is 63, is a realtor from Phoenix. She is self-employed and not yet eligible for Medicare. So for the past 8 years, she has relied on the Affordable Care Act for her health coverage. And if the tax credits go away, her coverage will become unaffordable. She told me--this is a quote from Cricket:

Without it, I would have faced bankruptcy.

If premiums rise or these subsidies go away, I could lose my home and everything I've worked for.

Health care shouldn't be a privilege, it's a right.

Daylene--this next story should remind all of us of what is at stake in this fight. Daylene, from Casa Grande, was diagnosed with congestive heart failure 20 years ago, when she turned 40. Doctors told her that she might live 1 or 2 years. She said, because of these credits, she has been able to afford her insurance and medication that literally keeps her heart beating. She wrote to us:

My monthly cardiac drug costs alone would be over $2,000 without my insurance from ACA.

She continued to tell me that these credits gave her more than healthcare. It gave her freedom to leave an abusive marriage because, before that, she relied on her husband to afford her healthcare.

That is what this is about. When people can't afford healthcare, they stay in situations they shouldn't stay in just to keep their coverage: a job they don't want; a city they do not want to live in, maybe farther from family; and, in the worst case, an abusive relationship-- because they need affordable coverage.

Survival, dignity, and freedom--that is what we are talking about here when we talk about affordable health insurance and care.

In Arizona, people like Rusty and Cricket and Daylene and Robin, they do not have lobbyists. What they have is faith that when they write their Senator, someone will listen. I am not just listening, I am fighting for them and thousands more across my State who are in the same exact position.

These are hard-working people. They are doing everything right. They are not asking for special treatment. They are small business owners who have to purchase their own plans. They are older Americans who aren't yet eligible for Medicare and folks who live in rural Arizona and don't get healthcare through an employer.

There are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of these people across the country. They are asking for all of us here in this body to work as hard for them as they do for their families. And what makes this so frustrating is how simple the solution is. We can vote today to extend these tax credits and reopen the government. But so far, Donald Trump and my Republican colleagues would rather use people's healthcare as leverage than sit down and work with us to protect it.

Arizonans are counting on us to do what is right, not for political points but for people's lives. That is our job, and I am here ready to work on this with my Democrat and Republican colleagues across the aisle in this Chamber and in the House of Representatives and in the White House. So let's get this done.

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