On the recordFebruary 9, 2017
I rise tonight actually to support the confirmation of my friend and fellow Georgian and our next Health and Human Services Secretary, Dr. Tom Price. I have known Dr. Price personally and worked with him for quite some time. He is a remarkable individual, and we should take comfort in his nomination to this important position because he has years of service and years of experience working with our Nation's health care system. He has been a practicing physician, a state legislator, and a Member of the House of Representatives. Dr. Price knows that government intrusion has already negatively impacted patient care in the last few years. He has years of professional experience as a physician and he is seen as a leading voice in health care policy. My colleagues across the aisle oppose him, they say primarily because of his opposition to the Affordable Care Act. Well, the truth is, ObamaCare is collapsing under its own weight today. In my State of Georgia, this year alone, after double-digit increases last year, premiums are up 33 percent this year. Nationwide, premiums are up 26 percent. So the other side talks about it being affordable. People back home--I am getting letters every week about the fact that people are withdrawing from ObamaCare because of the increase in premiums, and most insidious are the increases in deductibles. Some two-thirds increase--67 percent--increase in deductibles.…
