Breaking the Gridlock Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. HARIDOPOLOS. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to be here this afternoon to talk about what is so important to all of us, and that is healthcare, not just health insurance.

A clean, 3-year extension brought by the minority would send $110 billion directly to insurance companies.

As the chairman just mentioned, a recent GAO report showed that 23 out of 24 fraudulent enrollees were approved and received taxpayer subsidies directly to insurance companies. The GAO even reported that they were not required to provide documentation, such as Social Security numbers or income verification. It was money sent directly to insurance companies from taxpayers.

Democrats said healthcare would be affordable, yet since the implementation of this bad idea, premiums are up 80 percent. At the same time, nearly 20 percent of the individual market claims are denied by insurance companies.

In 2024, 87 percent of the revenue made by insurance companies selling ACA exchange claims came from taxpayer dollars.

To quote an article from The Wall Street Journal, Democrats sold ObamaCare on the false pretenses that it would make healthcare affordable. Let me say that again: false pretenses. Extending the subsidies would perpetuate that fraud.

We passed a bill before Christmas that would reduce costs by 11 percent, and that was from the CBO. The CBO said that, and we are not exactly the biggest fans of that unique organization. Our plan would actually fight fraud, which was highlighted in the GAO report.

Finally, we would actually give choice to individuals as opposed to this one-size-fits-all debacle. We want healthcare, not a plan to simply fund insurance companies.

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