Heidi Alexander: “I want to thank the Senator from Maine for her lucid and heartfelt description of what is before us. She has been an…”

“I want to thank the Senator from Maine for her lucid and heartfelt description of what is before us. She has been an exceptional leader, and she continues to be. She looks for ways to get results. She sees people--the plumber I talked about making $60,000, the stylist, a farmer--the person who is working and paying all of his or her insurance with no subsidy help and who sees the real prospect coming that when the rates are announced October 1, they may not be able to afford any insurance, and they can see we have a solution for that. Now, this isn't a Republican solution or a Democratic solution. This is a solution that began to be developed almost the day Republicans failed to repeal and replace ObamaCare. I walked across the aisle to see if we could do what the Democrats were asking. Let's fix what we have temporarily so nobody is hurt. As we have explained this afternoon, we did that. We have a proposal that is the original Alexander-Murray proposal, developed in four hearings, in which more than half the Senate participated, which at one point the Democratic leader said every single Democrat would vote for. It takes an existing part of the Affordable Care Act and makes it work--that is the innovation waiver-- gives States more flexibility to create more choices and lower cost choices without changing the essential health benefits, without changing the guarantee for preexisting conditions. It is really a modest change, but it is a significant change.…”