On the recordJanuary 9, 2017
I rise today in support of the amendment Senator Hirono and I are offering to protect Medicare and Medicaid for the millions of Americans who currently count on these programs for health coverage. This week, some of our colleagues are beginning the process of repealing the health care law. I want to be clear. I don't think it is a perfect law. In fact, I have long agreed with many of my colleagues in saying it has work to do, and for years we put forward ideas on ways we can work together to improve it. The repeal strategy we are debating this week, however, is not about improving the health care system. It is about taking people's health care away. And make no mistake, the consequences are very real. A repeal strategy, particularly with no alternative, would throw our health care system into chaos, taking away coverage from nearly 30 million people, increasing premiums on working Hoosiers and families across this country, and threatening to take us back to a time where anyone with a preexisting condition could not get coverage. It doesn't have to be this way. If we are serious about improving health care in this country, we can do this work together. That is what the American people expect. Just as Hoosiers go to work every day to make life better for their families, they expect us to come to work and do the same thing. At the very least, they expect us to do no harm.…
Source
govinfo.gov




