Obamacare

Floor Speech

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Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I go home every weekend to talk to people. I was home last weekend for Veterans Day and was in the Target store in Casper and ran into a small business owner of a small electric company he runs. He has about four people who work with him. He is somebody on whom I have operated. He is a former patient of mine. He told me he was one of those 4 million Americans who had gotten that letter that they had lost their insurance.

He said: The President promised this would be easier to use than amazon.com. I can't get on. He said it would be cheaper than your cell phone bill. Well, that has not been the case. He said that the President said: If you like what you have, you can keep it. Clearly, that is not the case. He said: What is wrong? What is wrong with this? How can we fix it?

I got another letter from a rancher that I need to read. She is from New Castle, WY. She says:

We are ranchers who buy our own health insurance. Currently, we pay $650 a month for an 80/20 policy with a $3,500 deductible. Our maximum family out-of-pocket is $10,000 a year. We do not carry maternity insurance because we have completed our family. I am 45 years old. I have had a hysterectomy.

I recently called my insurance agent out of fear our policy could be canceled. Well, he said it would be canceled at the renewal time.

She said that he told her that their policy did not meet ObamaCare's requirement because of maternity coverage and they would have to choose a policy from the exchanges. Now, remember, she has had a hysterectomy. She does not need or want or will ever use maternity coverage.

She said the insurance agent quoted her rates for a comparable policy at $1,300 to $1,600 per month. Remember, they are now paying $650. She said the insurance agent also told her they could take a bronze policy--much less coverage than they currently have--for $900, which is still $250 a month higher than they would have to pay, but the out-of-pocket cost then was much higher, much more difficult for the family.

She said:

We are being forced out of a good policy, which we pay for with hard-earned money and which we choose, into a dangerous financial and health care situation with less coverage and which puts my husband and I, who are proud of our sustainability, onto what we consider the welfare rolls by needing a government subsidy to afford a plan that we do not want or need.

She said:

To say that we are angry is an understatement. Why is this happening? Why can Obama force me into this? We feel helpless. What are we supposed to do, just follow like sheep until we are either bankrupt or welfare recipients?

This is not what President of the United States promised the American people. It is not what every Democrat in this body who voted for this health care law promised the American people. The American people deserve better. They deserve to be able to get the care they need from a doctor they choose at lower costs. None of that has come true under this health care law.

I yield the floor.

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