Orrin Hatch

I believe we can come together again to provide some relief through elimination of these and other onerous Obamacare taxes that drive up costs for consumers and hamper innovation.

The law will effectively force more of those middle-income individuals to drop their coverage.

BCBSA commends Chairman Hatch, Ranking Member Wyden, and other members of the Senate Finance Committee for holding this important hearing on issues impacting health-care cost and coverage.

Let us put our differences aside and work together on meaningful changes.

In my view, an Obamacare bailout that is not accompanied by real reforms would be inadvisable.

CHIP is a critical part of our country's health-care infrastructure.

We applaud your working together to examine solutions that will ensure that this program will continue to provide funding for low income children.

Let's do the hard work now, colleagues, and uphold this body's promise to America's kids and their families.

CHIP adds a level of security to their health care above and beyond Medicaid.

It's important for Congress to take action soon. There's no kicking this can down the road with a short-term bill.

I'm confident that in short order Congress can pass a strong and bipartisan extension of CHIP that will last for many years.

Congress created CHIP with one goal in mind: to make sure no American child falls through the cracks of a health-care system with far too many.

I ask you to extend funding for CHIP with the enhanced match rate for the next 5 years.

We greatly appreciate the joint statement by Chairman Hatch and Ranking Member Wyden, released on the 20th anniversary of the program.

If Congress doesn't act to provide additional Federal funding, a number of children who would likely be eligible for CHIP will go uninsured once Federal funding is exhausted.

CHIP has helped children whose families have incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid, but too low to afford private health insurance.

We thank Chairman Hatch and Ranking Member Wyden for working together, in a bipartisan fashion, on legislation to ensure the continuation of CHIP funding for the long term.

While it isn't perfect, and while, in my view, some of the subsequent changes to the program have been regrettable, I believe that, overall, people consider it to be a success.

CHIP was needed to help many families make that transition.

CHIP, from the outset, was a bipartisan program that enjoyed, and continues to enjoy, broad bipartisan support.

Twenty years ago, Senator Ted Kennedy and I came together to create the Children's Health Insurance Program, or CHIP.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to those who have been impacted over the past few days by Hurricane Irma.

I agree with the distinguished Senator from Texas. I thought his remarks were very much on point and very good. ____________________

This will be critical over the next few months.

It will be critical that the Department of Commerce work with Congress.