Click here to watch Sen. Barrasso’s speech.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) shared more personal accounts from folks in Wyoming who are losing their health coverage and seeing their health care costs skyrocket due to the President’s health care law. 

Excerpts of his remarks:

“People all around the country are angry. They're anxious, frustrated, bothered. But mostly I'm hearing anger from people in Wyoming.

“And it's not just the web site. I will tell you the web site is just the tip of the iceberg. People are furious when they get letters of cancellation, when they have coverage cancelled and then they see higher premiums.

“People are finding out all across the country because of the health care law they can't keep their doctor. They're hearing stories about fraud, identity theft, higher co-pays and deductibles.

“I bring to the floor today a couple of letters that I’ve had from people in Wyoming. Last week, Veterans Day, I was in Douglas, Wyoming, for the flag-raising ceremony at the American Legion at 7:00 a.m. talking to folks, some whom had gotten cancellation letters.

“Let me just read to you a letter from a family in Douglas, Wyoming, a small community, Converse County.

“They say ‘we just found out that our current health insurance policy with BlueCross BlueShield of Wyoming, which is a $20,000 deductible for our family, will not be allowed after January 1. Only those under age 30 will be able to have catastrophic plans.’ They say, ‘we work, we ranch, we work very hard. We have been healthy. We can't afford and don't believe a lower deductible makes sense for us.’

“So this is a family, they decided what's best for them as a family. Not what the government told them they had to buy, but what worked for them as a family.

“And so they said what they bought is something that made sense for them. ‘Basically we have had insurance to avoid losing our cows, losing our land if something catastrophic happened to us. Don't know what we'll do if you guys don't get this derailed.’

“So, as someone from the Rocky Mountain West, I will tell you in a community of lots of ranchers and farmers, what they're trying to do is insure against this catastrophic loss.

“They go on and say quick side note, ‘we think most people expect health insurance to cover everyday costs. It wouldn't make sense and it would cost too much to get insurance to cover new tires, oil changes, washer fluid, new batteries, regular upkeep for our vehicles. If we only had insurance for big health issues which is of course what they wanted to do. For big health issues, it wouldn't cost as much for all of us in the end.’

“They go on, ‘Obamacare doesn't deal with any of the issues of why health care in America costs what it does. It truly seems to make it all worse. Thank you for what you do. We know you already understand this. We just thought you should know what we are dealing with.’

“That's a ranch family, Douglas, Wyoming, Converse County.

“And then this past Saturday night I was in Lusk, Wyoming, Niobrara County, and I have an email that I’d like to share with you from Lusk, Wyoming. Again, somebody who had cancelled canceled coverage, higher co-pays—all of the things we’re talking about.

“Just for a second, let me just show you the list of the number of people that have been cancelled. 4.7 million Americans have been, had their health insurance cancelled in 32 states and we don't even have the numbers for a number of other states. This is what people all across the country are seeing.

“So I would say let me read this e-mail from Lusk, Wyoming. This is someone who said ‘I have supported the President and the affordable health care act since the beginning.’ He then goes on and he said ‘that all changed on Thursday. All along we have been told if we have insurance and we are satisfied, no changes will be necessary.’ He goes on, ‘this is a misleading statement. I was informed by my company; he said my policy will be cancelled in December. Then they will offer me another policy but with huge changes. My premiums will go up. My deductible will go up. This isn't the same as my current policy. I feel like after decades of paying my own insurance, I'm being penalized.’

“This is somebody that supported the President and the health care law. He said, ‘I won't call it lying, but the President certainly misled a lot of us middle-aged Americans.’ He says, ‘I do have one alternative I'm pursuing. I can buy insurance that doesn't meet the guidelines of the Act. However, I will then be forced to pay a penalty for noncompliance. I can afford my insurance and the penalty. Once again, Americans do not like to be misled from the top led leadership down, it simply helps to solidify the mistrust we have in government. Thank you for your solid leadership.’

“That's why I'm here today on the floor. We need to hear more stories from people around the country. Not just Republicans—Democrats need to hear the stories. I would say tweet us your story at #YourStory.

“Republicans have better ideas about ways we can actually help people can get the care they need from a doctor they choose, at lower cost. This health care law is hurting many, many millions of Americans. We now know the President knew it at the time when he continued to repeat the line which we now know is a misleading line to the American people.

“And very soon we're going to see the line of if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor.

“Millions more will be losing their doctor. And there is great damage continuing to be done. We need to start over.”

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