Orrin Hatch

We have had 4 consecutive years with deficits above $1 trillion, and it looks like we are into the 5th now.

I know it is hard to concede that point, Doug, but we sure would like to have you back when we have enough time to really ask you all the questions that we would like to ask.

I do not think one can artificially put some cap on Medicare and Medicaid expenditures separate and apart from total health care expenditures.

Debt that is high by historical standards, and heading higher, will have significant consequences for the budget and the economy.

By the end of this fiscal year, CBO projects that the debt held by the public will reach the largest percentage of GDP since 1950.

Now, to listen to some, you would think that policies that incentivize desirable behavior, like charitable giving and retirement savings, are somehow akin to potentially wasteful government spending and they should be removed or scaled…

Four trillion dollars in tax increases is obviously an enormous impact on the economy.

Let me just say, Don, that these are two of the best people in the Senate.

That would be helpful.

I said from the start it is not perfect, but it is certainly better than what we have been doing, spending more money for health care, not getting better results, and not covering everybody.

We ought to be able to agree with Governors and States to implement these exchanges, to implement them well.

It just seemed too risky for us to move forward.

We know we need to reform those programs in ways that save some money, do not savage old people, and save the programs for the long haul.

I just want to personally thank you all for helping us to understand this better.

I am counting on that.

I just do not see how it is going to work, and I do not see how it is going to work in an efficient, cost-saving way.

This is no small amount. We all know the costs will be passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices.

As we are seeing now, I had good reason to be. We are already feeling the impact of the law as the cost of insurance premiums continues to go up.

The CMS guidance document on partnership exchanges provides an aggressive time schedule of only 10 months between the plan application process and the first day of coverage.

It was bad policy when we debated it, it was bad policy when the Democrats rammed it though the Senate, and it is still bad policy today.

If the point of the health care law was to reduce costs and increase access, these estimates show that it appears to have already failed.

Unfortunately, the exchanges, as designed in the law, will do neither. They will actually increase health care costs.

The President promised that his plan to reform the health care system would reduce premiums by $2,500 for individuals.

If we do not seize the advantage of this opportunity to address it through setting up the exchanges, running them well in a cost-effective way, getting better health care results for less money, we have really missed a terrific opportunity.

We need to do tax reform. We are going to need you to weigh in rather heavily.