Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. HERN of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased this bill is coming to the floor today.

Every patient's health needs are unique, and every person's situation is different. This is why it is so important to expand and protect the different options available to individuals, and this bill does exactly that. It gives the decisionmaking process back to the American people.

I am honored that this package includes my bill, the CHOICE Arrangement Act, which makes it easier for small businesses--something that I know something about after 35 years in business--to offer healthcare coverage. It gives individuals more options to choose health plans that work for them.

CHOICE accounts put individuals in the driver's seat when it comes to picking their healthcare plan and lets their employer financially support their decision. This empowers people in one of their most personal decisions, their healthcare.

Over the last 15 years, healthcare has become unaffordable for everyone, including 164 million Americans covered by employer-sponsored plans. Yet, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle continue to ignore these individuals in their healthcare conversations.

The gentleman from California just stated, ``This is for 4 million,'' what they are talking about. We want to lower the healthcare costs for over 300 million people in America.

Premiums are rising for all Americans, whether you are on the exchange or an employer-sponsored plan, whether you are a Democrat or a Republican, whether you are healthy or you are unhealthy.

We should be focused on making healthcare affordable for all Americans and include those on the exchange, employer-sponsored plans, Medicare, and Medicaid.

The provisions of this bill are a start to doing so by giving Americans what they need: lower costs, more choices, and increased transparency.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.''

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