Keep Your Health Plan Act of 2013

Floor Speech

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Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this bill which will undermine the providing of health care at affordable prices for millions and millions and millions of Americans.

We said to those Americans that prior to the adoption of this act if they had a policy, they could keep it. That was accurate. It didn't say that the insurance companies would have to continue to offer it, which, as I understand it, that side of the aisle wouldn't be for in any event. The fact of the matter is that statement was correct.

Subsequent to that, there were policies offered and insurance companies knew and policyholders should have known because it was in the law that they would be subject to minimum requirements. Why? Because as The Heritage Foundation said when it originally came up with this idea, everybody ought to take personal responsibility.

I have heard a lot of talk on your side of the aisle, Mr. Speaker, about personal responsibility. I believe in that.

The Upton bill, as everybody knows, will skew the risk pool and encourage adverse selection. Anybody who knows anything about insurance knows that if you have adverse selection, the prices for those who need insurance will go up very substantially while, yes, the prices for those who don't need insurance will go down very sharply. Quite frankly, if all of us knew we would never be in an automobile accident, we wouldn't have to have automobile insurance, except, of course, the law in almost every State requires us to have it so that others will be protected as well.

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Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman.

Ladies and gentlemen, this bill is offered by people who, according to their own rhetoric, want to repeal the Affordable Care Act. That is a fair position; but now they are trying to do so with a Trojan horse they call ``the Upton bill'' that, in effect, will fix what people are concerned about. The fact of the matter is it will not fix that problem, but what it will do is undermine the ability of millions and millions and millions of people to have health security.

I would urge my colleagues to defeat this Trojan horse. I would urge my colleagues to say to the American people, look, we are prepared to work together.

The President has offered a compromise which will have the effect of not opening up the policies to everybody, but to those people that had a policy. That is a reasonable step to take. That is a step that, perhaps, we can take together and get accomplished.

Let's reject this bill and let's stand with the millions of people who want affordable, quality health care for themselves and their families.

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Mr. Speaker, the Affordable Care Act is good for our country, and it is already benefiting millions of people.

Today, those who are uninsured can sign up for affordable plans through the state and federal marketplaces--and over 1.5 million Americans have already applied for coverage. In spite of that, Republicans remain fixated on repealing this law--rather than working with us to improve it.

Today, we are witnessing their latest assault on health care reform, with their 46th vote to undermine the Affordable Care Act. Once again, instead of providing a solution, their bill will only create more problems.

This stands in sharp contrast with the approach of President Obama and Democrats, which is to work together to make improvements where needed.

In that vein, President Obama announced yesterday that insurers can continue to sell 2013 plans through next year to those Americans who are already enrolled in an individual market policy. And the administration will require insurance companies to be more transparent by sharing information with consumers about other coverage options through the marketplaces--many that provide better benefits at a lower cost.

The President's plan will also mitigate the risk of premium increases that could result from the grandfathering of these insurance policies. That is something the gentleman from Michigan's bill does not do--which means that his bill will lead to higher premiums and greater uncertainty for all consumers.

And his bill would undermine the health care reforms that are yielding real benefits for millions of Americans.

I urge my colleagues to oppose this legislation.

Instead, let's work together to make sure the Affordable Care Act is implemented effectively and that Americans will continue to benefit from it.

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