Political Quotes

“Mr. President, the cost of health insurance has been a major problem with the Affordable Care Act and with many of the bills which have been advanced to repeal and replace this law. I rise to introduce the Lower Premiums Through Reinsurance Act of 2017. This bill would provide States with the flexibility and support they need to create State-based reinsurance programs for their individual health insurance markets in order to lower premiums while ensuring continued coverage for people with preexisting conditions. I am very pleased to be joined by my colleague and friend Senator Bill Nelson in introducing this bill. Senator Nelson is a former insurance commissioner who comes to this issue with a wealth of knowledge dating to his experience with Florida's innovative homeowners' reinsurance program, developed in the 1990s in the wake of Hurricane Andrew. For my own part, I spent 5 years in State government overseeing a department which included the Bureau of Insurance. Over the past 2 weeks, the Senate HELP Committee, on which I am privileged to serve, completed a round of hearings under the able leadership of Chairman Lamar Alexander and Ranking Member Patty Murray. They looked at the steps we could take in the near term to stabilize the individual market and help to bring down rates. Reinsurance was frequently mentioned as an option Congress should consider and adopt.…”