Max Baucus: “John Adams, America's first Vice President--and second President--and whose bust sits right above us looking over the…”

“John Adams, America's first Vice President--and second President--and whose bust sits right above us looking over the Senate every day, once said: Facts are stubborn things. And whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence. It has been more than 3 years since President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law. In that time, its opponents have made every effort to misinform the American public about this law and the vital benefits it provides the American people. But as Adams said, facts are stubborn things, and I want to make sure the facts about the Affordable Care Act do not get lost amongst the criticism and false claims. So here are the facts. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, 100 million people have received free preventive care, more than 7 million seniors have saved nearly $9 billion on prescription drugs, and 25 million people who lacked health insurance will finally be able to get the coverage they need. The Affordable Care Act has also helped slow the growth in health care costs. National health care spending grew by 3.9 percent each year from 2009 to 2011--the slowest rate on record. I can remember not too many years earlier the annual rate increase in health care costs was in the neighborhood of 6, 7, 8, 9 percent a year. It is a dramatic reduction. That means we will save huge sums of money down the line.…”