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“It’s time to reject this one-size-fits-all scheme that would make all of us pay more, to wait longer, for worse care. Instead, let’s work together to give patients the care they need, from a doctor they choose, and do it at lower costs.”

Click here to watch Sen. Barrasso’s remarks.

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) spoke on the Senate floor about how the Democrats’ one-size-fits-all health care proposal will hurt patients across the country.

Excerpts of Senator Barrasso’s remarks:

“I come to the floor of the Senate today to remind people what the far-left Democrats want to do with our health care.

“I’m a doctor. I think it is a right the people have to know what the Democrats are proposing.

“They’re peddling what to me is an extreme, one-size-fits-all health care plan.

“It’s a scheme as I look at it because essentially Democrats want Washington to take over your health care and my health care and the health care of all Americans and actually control all of health care in this country.

“They want to take away private health insurance from 180 million people who get their insurance through work.

“Under this system, the health plans that many people like will be gone.

“Not just for today, not just for tomorrow, forever gone.

“No more individual plans, just Washington’s one-size-fits-all plan.

“Democrats have been lining up to support this socialist scheme all across the country.

“Many leading Democrats running for president have done so – they back it. And 112 Democrats who are members of the House of Representatives are behind it as well.

“Radical Democrats led by Senator Bernie Sanders have decided that Washington bureaucrats – not you, not me, not your doctor – but Washington bureaucrats should call the shots.

“What care do you need? Washington D.C. bureaucrats will decide.

“How soon will you get the care? Washington D.C. bureaucrats will decide.

“Where can you get the care? Washington D.C. bureaucrats will decide.

“The problem with this scheme is it will have a dramatic impact in this country on patient care.

“As a doctor with decades of experience, I know Washington shouldn’t control your medical decisions.

“That should be up to you and members of your family.

“You should make your own decisions after you consult with your doctor, not with a faceless bureaucrat.

“For decades, I’ve given medical health advice on the radio, on television, each time giving one of these reports I close with the line: ‘Here in Wyoming, I’m Doctor John Barrasso, helping you care for yourself.’

“Helping you care for yourself.

“You see, you and your doctor are partners, working together. And a good doctor will focus on what is best for you.

“Doctors in local communities know who their patients are, and they know what their patients need.

“What doctors don’t need is a Washington bureaucrat telling them how to do their jobs.

“The point is to protect patient care and to protect patient choice.

“Now example, Medicare is a medical lifeline for our seniors.

“Still, with 60 million people relying on Medicare, the program is being stretched to the breaking point.

“Waste, fraud and abuse, they have made the problem worse.

“In 2018 the Government Accountability Office found $48 billion dollars in improper Medicare payments.

“The government’s watchdog wants reforms, and we need reforms, to protect our seniors.

“And so we must strengthen this vital program for our seniors.

“Just think if we pack every American into one government system, which is what the Democrats are proposing.

“They call it Medicare for All, which would quickly become Medicare for None.

“One-size-fits-all care will kill the doctor-patient relationship.

“This massive plan is expected to cost a dramatic amount of money. Those who look into this have estimated the cost to be $32 trillion. It’s a hard number to comprehend. And that’s just for the first 10 years.

“So Washington is going to have to find ways, and they will be looking for ways to save money. And we heard what ways they will be.

“The Wall Street Journal notes that any savings would have to come from cutting payments to doctors, cutting payments to providers, cutting payments to hospitals, and restricting care.

“Talking about rationing care, limiting care that you need, that you want, that the government now will say you cannot have.

“The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office looked at this, they agree. They say: ‘The public plan might not be as quick to meet patients’ needs.’

“Democrats of course don’t want you to know about health care rationing. But you need to know. You have a right to know. You deserve to know what they are proposing.

“The care you get will be entirely the government’s call. Because the Democrats’ plan bans all private insurance in the country. If you have it through work, you will lose it.

“But what about paying your doctors directly for services? Well, Washington Democrats, they have a plan on that. They want to put an end to that as well.

“Doctors would have to leave the government-run system, couldn’t take care of any other patients who are on that system, before they could enter into a private contract with individual patients.

“Even the Washington Post newspaper admits the plan has problems.

“The Post recently ran this headline: ‘No Matter What Sanders Says, There’s No Medicare-for-All Without Tradeoffs.’

“I agree. And the tradeoffs could turn out to be fatal.

“Democrats’ one-size-fits-all health care means you will pay more, to wait longer, for worse care.

“As a senator and as a doctor, my focus continues to be on improving patient care.

“Real health care reform is needed in this country. Reforms are needed that lower the costs without lowering the standards.

“Regrettably what the Democrats are proposing lowers the standards and raises the costs. The exact opposite of what is so vitally important for all of us.

“These are the issues that Republicans are working on right now: empowering you to buy coverage that works for you, lowering the cost of your prescription drugs and protecting you when you have a preexisting condition, eliminating surprise medical bills.

“But with Democrats’ one-size-fits-all care, you would lose the insurance you get through work, and you would lose Medicare Advantage if you’re a senior who is one of the
20 million people who gets their insurance through that program.

“You would likely lose the doctor-patient relationship that you have depended on for years and lose the freedom to make your own medical decisions.

“It’s time to reject this one-size-fits-all scheme that would make all of us pay more, to wait longer, for worse care.

“Instead, let’s work together to give patients the care they need, from a doctor they choose, and do it at lower costs.”

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