Mr. Speaker:
Today, we are continuing debate on a bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Now, one thing I would like to point out is that everyone who has come here to the House floor to speak about repealing this law HAS health insurance. Let’s be clear: every single one of them has it, and their families have it! Apparently since they don’t have to worry about losing their own health insurance, they are not concerned whether or not their fellow Americans have access to health care as well.
Providing health care access for ALL Americans has been a goal of every single President and Congress since the days of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt over the last 75 years. And following the Supreme Court’s ruling just over a week ago, our nation has finally attained this goal.
Millions of Americans have already come to rely on the wide-ranging and lifesaving benefits of the Affordable Care Act. And let us call this Obamacare because President Barack Obama does care! The President cares deeply about the health and well being of every American, and their access to affordable care.
Before Congress passed the Affordable Care Act, nearly one in five citizens in the wealthiest country on earth had little or no hope of affording insurance or getting access to regular healthcare.
And when fully implemented, the Affordable Care Act will cover an additional 30 million Americans and 3.8 million African Americans who otherwise would remain uninsured.
Already under the Affordable Care Act :
· 17 million children with pre-existing conditions can no longer be denied coverage.
· 105 million Americans no longer have a lifetime limit on their coverage.
· 32.5 million seniors received free preventive services in 2011.
· 54 million Americans in private plans have received free preventive services.
· 6.6 million young adults up to age 26 have obtained insurance through their parents’ plan.
· 5.2 million seniors and disabled people saved an average of $704 each on prescription drugs.
· 360,000 small businesses received tax credits to help them afford coverage for 2 million workers.
· 13 million families will receive insurance premium rebates averaging $151 in 2012.
And in my congressional district, Florida’s third, 6900 young adults in the district will now have health insurance, and 6200 seniors received prescription drug discounts worth $3.6 million, an average of nearly $600 per senior citizen! And 20,000 children and 80,000 adults now have health insurance that covers preventive services without paying co-pays, co-insurance or deductibles.
The Republican Party is constantly complaining about how this law will raise taxes, but I reply to them: the American taxpayer is already paying a hidden tax right now, every single time one of the millions of our citizens who lacks health insurance receives emergency care! That cost is passed on to paying customers through higher fees and premiums, a cost known as ‘cost shifting.’ So the question is: how do we begin to bring our country’s health care costs down? And this law is the first step in achieving this.
In closing, you can fool some of the people some of the time but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.