“Today, Democrats will vote to protect a broken system of higher costs, rampant fraud, and big checks to big insurance companies. Republicans will vote for a plan that lowers healthcare prices and empowers patients to choose the care and doctors that are best for them.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Senate Majority Whip, today spoke on the Senate Floor ahead of a vote on the Health Care Freedom for Patients Act, legislation introducedby Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La).
Senator Barrasso emphasized that Republicans are working to lower healthcare costs and increase patient choice. In contrast, Democrats are voting to bailout Obamacare by extending the Biden COVID Bonus Payments without any reforms to address waste, fraud, abuse, and corruption.
Click HERE to watch Senator Barrasso’s remarks.
Sen. Barrasso’s remarks as prepared:
“$83 billion. That’s how much Democrats want to send, and will vote today to send, to bail out the failed Obamacare healthcare system. They want to send taxpayer dollars directly from the Federal Treasury to insurance companies to prop up Obamacare.
“Obamacare has failed. It has failed so badly that Democrats continue to use taxpayer dollars to hide its failures. That is what this Biden COVID Bonus scam is all about. These are the juicy, extra subsidies that are expiring at the end of this year. You may recall that in 2021 the Biden COVID Bonuses were rushed through by Democrats as temporary, emergency measures.
“Democrats created the Biden COVID Bonuses without a single Republican vote. Why did they create them? Because Obamacare is unaffordable. Democrats knew it but wouldn’t admit it. In 2022, they extended the Biden COVID Bonuses – again, without a single Republican vote. Now, the tax-and-spend radicals who run the Democrat Party want to extend the Biden COVID Bonuses. They want to do it for another three years. They want to do it with zero reforms. All because Obamacare continues to fail to make healthcare affordable.
“The choice today is simple. Do you want to send more taxpayer dollars as welfare to insurance companies – or do you want to make healthcare affordable for patients?
“Let’s start with the Democrat bill. The Democrat plan forces Americans to pay $6,000 out of pocket before their insurance kicks in. It continues the same failed Obamacare policies that raised premiums for American families by 220 percent since the law passed.
“There are zero reforms in the Democrat plan. They refuse to include reforms that would stop the waste, fraud, abuse, and corruption that is endemic under Obamacare. This month, Government investigators uncovered $21 billion in fraud on the Obamacare exchanges. There are 20 million people on Obamacare. That pencils out to over $1,000 of fraud for each and every enrollee. Democrats want this failed system to continue unchecked and unchanged for another three years.
“Worst of all, Democrats want to send tens of billions of dollars every year from the government into the bank accounts of big, very profitable insurance companies. Insurance company stock prices have risen by 500 to 1,000 percent since Obamacare was passed. Democrats want to make them even richer. This isn’t a serious plan. It is a disaster. We cannot afford it.
“Republicans have a better approach. We start with the simple principle: healthcare should work for patients, not big insurance companies. Our plan sends money that was going to insurance companies directly into people’s pockets and purses. That’s where the money belongs. It does this by expanding Health Savings Accounts so they can be linked up with Obamacare plans.
“Our plan reduces payments to insurance companies by $30 billion. Our plan lowers healthcare premiums by 11 percent. Our plan puts patients in the driver’s seat once again. That means real freedom to get the healthcare that works best for them and their families. Our plan restricts federal Medicaid funding to states
that give health insurance to illegal immigrants.
“At the same time, it requires states to verify citizenship prior to coverage under Medicaid. Our plan upholds Hyde Amendment protections – protecting Americans’ rights of conscience. Our plan is fully paid for. It’s an end to the Democrat era of runaway spending to cover up Obamacare’s high prices.
“I’m a doctor. I practiced medicine in Wyoming for 24 years. I can tell you this. When patients have more freedom and more choices, care improves. When patients have more freedom and more choices, costs go down. That’s what Republicans are voting for today. I want to thank Senator Mike Crapo of Idaho and Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana for leading this effort. This plan will directly lower healthcare costs for hardworking families.
“The contrast is clear. Today, Democrats will vote to protect a broken system of higher costs, rampant fraud, and big checks to big insurance companies. Republicans will vote for a plan that lowers healthcare prices and empowers patients to choose the care and doctors that are best for them. Republicans are committed to delivering what Americans deserve: the care they need, from a doctor they choose, at a price they can afford.”
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