Political Quotes

“Mr. President, we have the opportunity today to take immediate action to lower the cost of health insurance by as much as 40 percent and to increase the affordability of insurance for millions of Americans who purchase plans in the individual market. I commend Senator Alexander, the chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, for his extraordinary leadership and hard work in this area. I am also very pleased with the work that has been done by Representative Greg Walden, the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Representative Costello. We have come together, along with a substantial number of our colleagues, including Senators Graham, Rounds, Isakson, and Murkowski, among many others, on this very important insurance stabilization and rate reduction package. Let me begin by outlining the major provisions of what it is that we are proposing, because there has been, unfortunately, a lot of misunderstanding and, dare I say, misinformation. First, our legislation, based on the Alexander-Murray bill, would fund the cost-sharing reduction subsidies for 3 years. These are vital for Americans who have incomes that are below 250 percent of the poverty level. CSRs provide government assistance to help them pay for their deductibles and their copays. Second, our proposal also improves the ability of the States to take further steps to lower insurance premiums for their citizens.…”