Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act Of 2009 - Continued

Floor Speech

Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, on Monday the Congressional Budget Office sent a letter to the Senator from Indiana, Mr. Bayh, that provides a very comprehensive analysis of what health insurance premiums will look like as a result of this 2,074-page bill before us, introduced by Senator Reid. Listening to that discussion, I am starting to wonder if anyone actually read the letter. I hear a lot of people saying this letter proves that premiums will go down under the Reid bill, even though that is not what the letter says. I am here to tell my colleagues what the letter really says.

The letter makes it very clear that premiums will increase on average by 10 to 13 percent for people buying coverage in the individual market. Since it seems to fly by everybody what this letter actually said about increasing premiums, I brought down a chart to show everyone in case they missed it.

The letter from the CBO says very clearly that for the individual market, premiums are going to go up 10 to 13 percent. My colleagues keep saying premiums are going to go down, conveniently forgetting, then, to mention this 10- to 13-percent increase. They prefer to talk about the 57 percent of Americans in the individual market who are getting subsidies. It is true that government is spending $500 billion in hard-earned taxpayer money to cover up the fact that this bill drives up premiums faster than current law. So we might as well repeat it: Premiums will go up faster under this bill.

Supporters of this bill are covering this increase in cost how? By handing out subsidies. If you are one of the 14 million who doesn't happen to get a subsidy, you are out of luck. You are stuck with a plan that is 10 to 13 percent more expensive and also, simultaneous with it, an unprecedented new Federal law that mandates that you purchase insurance. If you don't purchase insurance, you are going to pay a penalty to the IRS every time you file your income tax. Some may say this is just the individual market. It only accounts for a small portion of the total market. If you are comfortable with 14 million people paying more under this bill than they would under current law, let's look at the employer-based market.

The Congressional Budget Office analysis says this bill maintains the status quo in the small group and large group insurance market. Is that something to be celebrating? Are expectations so low at this point that my friends on the other side of the aisle are celebrating that this bill will increase premiums for some and maintain the status quo for everyone else? I am being generous in using the phrase ``status quo'' because this bill actually makes things worse for millions of people. This bill is so bad that my friends on the other side of the aisle are trying to convince the American people that this is just more of the same, when that doesn't happen to be the case.

Whatever happened to bending the growth curve? If that is too Washingtonese for people, the goal around here of a bill at one time was to make sure the inflation in insurance didn't continue to go up so much that it would go the other way.

Then what about the President's promise that everyone would save $2,500? According to the Congressional Budget Office, almost every small business will pay between 1 percent more to 2 percent less for health insurance. That means, of course, that compared to what businesses would have paid under current law, this bill will either raise premiums 1 percent or decrease them a whopping 2 percent. It doesn't sound like this bill is providing any real relief or, for sure, not providing $2,500 savings for every American, as President Obama repeatedly pledged during the campaign. Larger businesses will pay the same or up to 3 percent less for health insurance. Once again, that doesn't sound like relief; it sounds like more of the same.

In fact, the Congressional Budget Office has confirmed that between now and 2016, premiums will continue to grow at twice the rate of inflation. I thought Congress was considering health reform to put an end to unsustainable premium increases.

So this bill cuts Medicare by $500 billion, raises taxes by $500 billion, restructures 17 percent of our economy, and spends $2.5 trillion. Yet some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are celebrating that they have achieved the status quo when, in fact, the situation will be worse. I always thought the status quo was unacceptable. I thought businesses could not afford the status quo. I thought the status quo was killing American businesses, killing jobs, and making this country less competitive. But Member after Member keeps coming down to the floor to celebrate spending $2.5 trillion on the status quo. We could have done that for free. Am I missing something? Did people really read the same letter I did from the CBO?

When President Obama visited Minneapolis in September, he didn't sound as though he was celebrating maintaining the status quo. On the contrary, I have a chart with one of his quotes:

I will not accept the status quo. Not this time. Not now. .....

Some Members seem to disagree. Some Members are celebrating that they are making things worse for millions of Americans and maintaining the status quo for everyone else.

Here is what Vice President Biden said:

The status quo is simply unacceptable. Let me say that again--the status quo is simply unacceptable. Rising costs are crushing us.

That doesn't sound like a call for more of the same. Once again, Members on the other side of the aisle seem quite comfortable investing $2.5 trillion in more of the same. That is taxpayer dollars we are talking about.

If I asked most Iowans how they would feel about government spending $2.5 trillion and premiums would still increase as fast or faster, they would say that was a pretty bad investment. Well, I will not argue with what our constituents would say on that point. I agree with them.

This Congressional Budget Office letter tells me that we are debating a pretty bad investment. Our constituents want lower costs. That is their main concern. But this bill fails to address that concern because it raises premiums. Despite offering new ideas throughout the committee process and on the floor of the Senate, Republicans are being accused of supporting the status quo. CBO has spoken, and it is pretty clear that my colleagues are not only OK with the status quo, they are OK with making things worse: higher taxes, higher premiums, increased deficit, less Medicare. They are celebrating that they spent $2.5 trillion to raise premiums for 14 million people, not bending the growth curve of inflation in health care, and not cutting costs. Don't take my word for it. Read the letter. Read the letter from the Congressional Budget Office. I have copies I will pass out if anybody wants them. I have this chart that demonstrates that point.

I also wish to take a few minutes at this time to correct some inaccurate comments made earlier by some of my colleagues. When we are talking about 17 percent of the economy and something that touches the lives of every single American, I want to make sure we have an honest and accurate debate. This morning I heard at least three Members on the other side of the aisle say that Medicare Advantage is not part of Medicare. This is totally false.

But don't take my word for it. I would like to have Members turn to page 50 of the handbook,''Medicare and You.'' Presumably it has the date of 2010 on it. It is sent out every year. In fact, I think I have two copies of this in my household. If anybody wants to save paper and not waste taxpayer money, they can get on the Internet and tell them only to send one to their house next year. I have done that.

This book says, for those who say Medicare Advantage is not part of Medicare:

A Medicare Advantage plan is another health coverage choice that you may have as part of Medicare.

I repeat, despite what Members were saying earlier, the ``Medicare and You'' handbook says very clearly: Medicare Advantage Plans are part of Medicare. So if you are cutting Medicare Advantage benefits, you are, in fact, cutting Medicare benefits.

Next, I hear a lot of Members talking about guaranteed benefits versus statutory benefits. I can't speak for my other 99 colleagues, but the seniors in Iowa who have come to rely upon the free flu shots, eyeglasses, and dental care that Medicare Advantage provides don't care if they are guaranteed or if they are statutory. Seniors in Iowa just want to know they will still have these benefits after health reform is passed.

The Senator from Connecticut challenged any Member to come down to the Senate floor and point out where this bill will cut benefits. He even read a section from page 1,004 of this 2,074-page bill that talks about how the Medicare Commission cannot cut benefits or ration care. I have read page 1,004. What Senator Dodd failed to mention is that this section only refers to Parts A and B of Medicare.

It fails to provide any protection to Medicare Part D, the prescription drug benefit, or the Medicare Advantage Program that covers 11 million seniors.

Are we now going to start hearing that Medicare Part D is not part of Medicare either? In fact, on page 1,005, it specifically says the Medicare Commission can ``[i]nclude recommendations to reduce Medicare payments under parts C and D.''

I have asked CBO, and they have confirmed this authority could result in higher premiums and less benefits to seniors. In fact, this is what Congressional Budget Office Director Elmendorf said, and we have that on a chart for you to see the quote I am going to read: ``A reduction in subsidies to [Part D] would raise the cost to beneficiaries.''

Lastly, I wish to raise an issue about access to care. I keep hearing my friends on the other side of the aisle talk about how these cuts will not affect seniors. They say they are just overpayments to providers. Well, in my opinion, if you cannot find a doctor or if you cannot find a home health provider or a hospice provider to deliver care, then that tends to be a very big problem. I would even consider that a cut in benefits or hurting access to care.

But, once again, do not take my word for it. In talking about similar cuts to Medicare in the House bill, the Office of the Actuary at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said providers that rely on Medicare might end their participation, ``[p]ossibly jeopardizing access to care for beneficiaries.''

So let's be accurate and let's be honest. Medicare Advantage is part of Medicare, and this bill cuts benefits seniors have come to rely upon. The Medicare Commission absolutely has authority to cut benefits and to raise premiums, and this bill will jeopardize that access to care.

Those are all facts. They are not my facts but facts taken directly from the language of this 2,074-page bill and from reports of the Congressional Budget Office and the Office of the Actuary at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

I yield the floor.

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