Medical Bills Are Too High

Floor Speech

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Mrs. McBATH. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak out on the rising costs of healthcare, which are putting undue burdens on the American people. I thank my colleague Representative Jennifer McClellan for consistently continuing to elevate the voices of the Congressional Black Caucus members as we talk about the stories of our communities and the stories of our people and those who we represent, highlighting the needs of those in our Nation who are suffering right now.

I thank our chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Yvette Clarke, for her earnest, continued work to also make sure that the Congressional Black Caucus is standing on the front lines and trying each and every day to make sure that we are defending people's rights to exist in this country freely and fairly without these undue burdens.

Earlier this year, we watched as this Republican congressional leadership reached historic new lows in their inability to work in a bipartisan fashion to meet the needs of the people who we were elected to serve.

For 43 days, Speaker Johnson refused to come to the table and extend the healthcare subsidies which will prevent premiums from skyrocketing for the millions of Americans who get their insurance from the Affordable Care Act marketplace. That is approximately more than 70,000 people, constituents, in my district alone.

During that same time, we watched President Trump and his administration play politics with Federal food assistance, jeopardizing benefits for hungry families.

I heard a story in my district in Georgia from Rich about the impact that these cost increases would have on his livelihood. I have heard many stories, but this one really struck me.

He writes: I am the self-employed, sole provider for a family of four where two of us have preexisting conditions. If the Republicans get their way and remove the subsidies, my very basic catastrophe plan- style HMO will literally increase tenfold. I am currently spending 39 percent of my income on healthcare, including the subsidized ACA policy. Removing subsidies will ultimately lead me to financial bankruptcy.

There are more stories just like this, and they are a window into how the chaos and unpredictability of this administration is making it harder on working families to succeed and thrive.

Since January, we have dealt with the uncertainty and the chaos that has been brought by this second Trump administration. From the unpredictability of the tariffs, the rising costs of healthcare, and the increasingly unattainable goal of homeownership, what is going on in Washington should concern every single American in this country.

Congress and the Trump administration should be doing more to lower costs and improve outcomes for our hardworking families.

As I have continued to do since I first came to Congress, I have been committed to addressing the concerns of the families who I am very honored to represent. No family in this country should ever be forced to choose between paying their insurance premiums or for prescription drugs over paying their mortgage. That is unconscionable, and that is most definitely un-American.

We must identify solutions to put the dream of homeownership back into reality for young Americans, and we must make it less expensive for Americans to get the skills necessary to provide a decent life for themselves and for their families, but they can't do that if they are sick. They can't do that if they can't go to work. They can't do that if they can't pay their bills, such as their hospital bills or other medical bills.

I am a two-time breast cancer survivor myself, and not a day goes by that I don't think about how egregious not extending these ACA tax subsidies is to the American people. I am a lucky person.

I am very grateful that I had the ability to have private insurance, group insurance, where I could pay for all of my healthcare and didn't have to sit there and worry about how I was paying the bills while I was getting healthy and well.

There are people all over this country who, if they ever get sick, that is the absolute demise of their ability to be able to live in this country and care for their families, and that is un-American.

I am so grateful to Chairwoman Clarke and my fellow CBC member, Representative McClellan, for convening us again tonight as we look ahead to the year 2026. I truly look forward to working with every single one of my colleagues to build a better life for the hardworking families that we are privileged to represent, but I honestly pray every single day that everyone here, every one of us in this Chamber, truly is committed to the same ideals.

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