On the recordFebruary 2, 2016
We have heard a lot of talk about premiums going up. The dirty little secret, which every Member of this House knows or should know, is that premiums have been going up consistently for a very long period of time. The issue is: How fast do they go up? If you look at this chart, you will find that, for employer-sponsored insurance, which is what most Americans are on, premium increases were huge between 2000 and 2010, before the passage of the Affordable Care Act, 9.5 percent. After the passage of the Affordable Care Act, those premium increases have dropped substantially, 4.8, now 2.7. When Members of Congress get up here and talk about premiums going up, ask yourself the question: How fast are they going up? Because before the Affordable Care Act passed, it was through the roof, and they have dramatically slowed. I said our Republican colleagues did the repeal part, but not the replace part. So they want to take out the part that has slowed down the premiums and go back to the day when you had skyrocketing premium increases. So we need to talk in a fact-based conversation here on the floor of the House of Representatives. I reserve the balance of my time.
