Republicans and the majorityir about their effort to rip apart our Health Care System and jeopardize the protections for people with preexistinghrow of millions of people off of their this now, it is deeply troubling ates this point that we have less exd than 24 hours to the expected vote come we dont even know which version of repeal republicans hope to pass. The do republican support the Better Care Reconciliation Act, a bill that according to the Congressional Budget Office would cause 22 million more americans to become uninsured, which would drive up Health Care Costs and dismantle the Medicaid Program. Do they support the ted cruz amendment which would bring back junk insurance plans that offer virtually no protection and drive up outofpocket costs for Vital Services . Or will they rally behind their backup option, a plan to repeal the Affordable Care act and replace it with nothing . Thats nothing. An approach that would add 32 million more americans to the ranks of the uninsured, and cause average premiums in the nongroup market to double. Or will it be Something Else entirely . We dont know. This is reckless. It is irresponsible. The American People deserve better. But lets be clear. A vote for the motion to proceed is about to move forward with considerably any one of these bills. And all of these bills are terrible. They jeopardize lifesaving care and treatment for millions of American Families, especially those with existing conditions. They care part our safety net and give tax breaks to powerful corporations. Let me remind my republican colleagues that a vote in support of the motion to proceed will have real world consequences for your constituents, who may lose their Health Insurance. Perhaps these are people youve met, people, many of whom may be losing sleep out of justified fear that their children or their parents, their loved ones, or they themselves are at risk of losing their health care. I have talked to so many people in my state about these dangerous proposals. Theres christie. Christie is a young farmer in greater minnesota whose husband and two kids relied on medicaid to access care when their farm was struggling. Theres sandy whose mom is in a nursing home who doesnt know how she will pay for aroundtheclock care that her mother needs if medicaid, which covers more than six in ten nursing home residents nationwide, scales back coverage. And then there is sherry, who said that if it were not for medicaid, her son brandon who has Cerebral Palsy and hydrocephalus probably wouldnt be here. I met brandon. I think hes 19, 18, 19. He was born 15 weeks early in the metro, minneapolis. About a pound and a half. They took him to the mayo clinic in rochester. The mayo clinic said we cant handle him. So they sent him back to minneapolis to joliet childrens hospital, which could. They told brandon said parents, hes going to require a Million Dollars in care the first day to save his life. Brandon has had i think 37, 38 surgeries. He spoke at a meeting we had on medicaid a couple weeks ago in minnesota. And he stood. He had a walker. He has just gotten an a in his First College course. He was actually in the way the last person in the room i was worried about, because his resilience, this guy, this kid is going to be amazing. I dont think he would be here if we didnt have the kind of medicaid we have and the kind of medicaid that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are talking about, eliminating in a way that will affect so many people that ive met across my state. This is one of those votes that will go down in history. Its one of those votes that all of us will be answering for whatever we go for the rest of our lives. Former republican senator from minnesota David Rumberger outline some of the reasons why senators should not vote for this consequential legislation, an excellent oped piece that he wrote that was in usa today today. Senator Durham Berger again, republican from minnesota, someone who i talked to a lot about health care wrote this piece. Saying dont vote for mr. Health care bill. I would ask unanimous consent to add this ad to the record. Without objection. Thank you, mr. President. You know, there are not many votes like this in a senators career. Us so lets just leave this out. Open debate on bills that would undermine protections for people with preexisting conditions. This could happen in one of two ways. This vote could open debate on the potential cruz amendment, which would allow Insurance Companies, as long as they offer a. C. A. Compliant plans on the exchanges, to also sell barebones, skimpy plans outside of the exchanges with almost no consumer protections. Under this amendment, insurers would be able to deny coverage and charge higher rates to women, older adults, and individuals with preexisting conditions. To my republican leakers do you know someone whos pregnant to my republican colleagues, do you know someone who is pregnant . Ho do yodo you know someone whos diabetes, asthma, depression, cancer, multiple sclerosis, Substance Use disorders, arthritis, dementia, sleep apnea, parkinsons . All these people could be denied coverage under the cruz amendment, just as they were prior to the a. C. A. The cruz amendment would also bring back annual and lifetime limitlimits coverage exclusionsd more. When i was campaigning in 2008 and i would go around minnesota, cafes, v. F. W. Halls, bars, thered be a flyer ered be a flyer vfw halls. Bars. There would be a flyer up for a family who had gone bankrupt because someone had gotten sick. This would be bring back those annual limits, those lifetime limits. Do we really, really want to go back to that . The cruz amendment is intended to deceive. The amendment is designed to make people think that it would lower premiums since it would allow insurers to offer stripped down plans that dont comply with the acas consumer protections. Protections. But what it actually does is skyrocket the price for people with preexisting conditions like epilepsy, Crohns Disease, and stroke. While eviscerating the quality of insurance for those who dont yet need or know they need such coverage. In fact, Americas Health insurance plans, which is the National Advocacy and trade association of companies that sell Health Insurance to americans and the Blue Cross Blue Shield association has said that this proposal is, quote, simply unworkable in any form and would undermine protections for those with preexisting medical conditions, increase premiums and lead to widespread termination of coverage for people currently enrolled in the individual market, unquote. The fact is that these high deductible, barebones plans are a dangerous ripoff and many people wont even realize what garbage insurance they have until it is too late. But here is the thing. Even if the cruz amendment were removed from the bill, the Better Care Reconciliation Act would still undermine protections for people with preexisting conditions. Thats because the bill would allow and even incentivize states to wave aca protections, coverage for basic essential Health Benefits. If you are allowed to offer plans that dont cover basic services, like mental health, Prescription Drugs, and maternity care, then you have a back door channel to charge people who need these services more than those who dont. And not only that, states that seek waivers and end the agenda tee of essential Health Benefits bring us right back into the world of annual and lifetime limits, the world where your care would end not because your doctor said so, but because the Insurance Company would stop paying for it. This could be true, even for people who get their Health Insurance through their employer. And in fact, even if you work in a state that hasnt taken this waiver, your employer could have gotten their Health Insurance from a state that hadnt. In short, with or without the cruz amendment, the Better Care Reconciliation Act breaks President Trumps promise to protect people with preexisting conditions. Second, a yes vote tomorrow is a vote to end medicaid as we know it. Medicaid is a lifeline, providing Health Insurance and access to care for more than 70 million americans. Thats that one in every five americans, that includes seniors, pregnant women, people with disabilities, families with children. You know, the senator was right about this being a lottery. Any of us can be in an accide accident, any of us can be diagnosed at any time, any of us could have a child whose diagnosed at any time with something unexpected. Health care really should be a rig right. I dont understand people who ta take who say im healthy, my kids are healthy, why should i suffer . Im the victim here. Nothings happened to me. Why should we have a system where im paying for people with preexisting conditions . Really . Is that, is that the attitude that my republican colleagues are taking . cause that seems to be the log logic. Medicaid has been a bedrock of our Health Care System since 19 1965. It was and is a federal promise made to states and to all americans over 50 years ago and most of all, medicaid works. But the Better Care Reconciliation Act would gut it. It would end the programs coverage guarantee, leaving states to either roll back coverage or slash other vital programs in order to meet their citizens needs. And finally, mr. President , a vote to support the motion to proceed to this bill is a vet to drive up peoples total Health Care Costs. The republican plans decrease or eliminate acas the acas tax credit, which helps people afford their insurance. That was part of the construct. And it dramatically hikes premiums for older americans, although ones younger than me, im now 66. But from 60 to 64. And it drives the deductibles and other out of pocket costs that many people have to pay in order to receive care. Americans dont like these proposals. In fact, new polling shows that only 17 of americans think that they and their families will be better off under the republican plan. Thats 17 . What americans want is for republicans and democrats to Work Together to build on and improve the Affordable Care act. So why do my republican colleagues continue to push forward on these terrible bil bills . It doesnt have to be this way. There is another option. This body can reject these longhanded and really illthought out proposals, and allow for an open, bipartisan process under regular order where we can Work Together and do the things the American People actually sent us here to do, expand coverage, lower costs and improve care. We should have bipartisan hearings where we hear from nonpartisan expert witnesses about the challenges facing the Affordable Care act so we can Work Together to fix what isnt working about the aca. What we do know from the last few years is that coverage matters. This is important. Coverage matters. Just having coverage matters. The health care isnt about, really, about these big heroic emergen emergency there are some of these, but what a person is about those events. What its really about is having coverage and getting continuous care throughout your life. Rigorous studies have shown that for every 300 to 800 adults to get coverage, one life is saved per year. And research, summarized by awa awandy and his colleagues finds that Health Coverage expansion has improved peoples access to care. Improved their financial security, meaning fewer bankruptcies and medical bill sent to collections, improved chronic disease care and outcomes, improve selfreported health and more. Overall Health Insurance has been shown to help americans live longer, healthier lives. Now is not the time to roll back our progress. I urge my republican colleagues to think about what a vote for proceeding on this, this terrible legislation would mean for the American People. Paul wellsstone said that politics isnt about winning, it isnt about money, it isnt about power, its about improving peoples lives. Our constituents sent us here to improve their lives. So, i urge my republican colleagues to vote no. Let us Work Together to fix what needs to be fixed about the Affordable Care act and do all that we can to make sure that people have access to affordable, High Quality Health Care when they need it. Thank you, mr. President , and i would yield the floor to the senator from New Hampshire. Thank you, mr. President. Senator from New Hampshire. Thank you, mr. President and thank my colleague from minnesota for his words and his advocacy on behalf of the people of his state and all across our country. Mr. President , i rise today to join my colleagues to once again speak out against the Senate RepublicanHealth Care Bill and the dangerous impacts it would have for the people in my home state of New Hampshire and americans from all walks of life. Mr. President , this week, Senate Republicans are pressing ahead with plans that would increase Health Insurance costs, give americans worse Health Insurance and strip away Health Coverage from millions of americans. Yet, despite statements is that a vote will come tomorrow or in a matter of days, senator Republican Leadership will not tell even its own members what proposal we will vote on, let alone hold a hearing on the impact of the bill. As version after version of this bill has emerged from behind closed doors, somehow each time its even worse than the last. And every version will be devastating for people across New Hampshire. These days would lead to higher cost for work coverage. In fact, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said we would see higher deductables than the ones we already see. This proposal would decimate the Medicaid Program and end Medicaid Expansion. It would take coverage away from millions. The Congressional Budget Office has projected that between 22 and 32 Million People would lose coverage, depending on which bill we vote on. We know that rising Health Care Costs are squeezing hardworking people across america. Ive made clear to my colleagues across the aisle that im willing to work with anyone who is serious about working together, to build and improve on the Affordable Care act. To lower costs, but unfortunately, these Senate Republican bills would do just the opposite. Over the past month, ive heard from people all across New Hampshire. Theyve shared their most personal stories, their frustrations, and their fears about what will happen if this bill becomes law. Last month senator shaheen and i held an emergency hearing in concord to hear from our kets about how proposals put forward by Senate Republicans would impact them. We held those emergency hearings at 2 p. M. On a friday afternoon in the summer with just a days notice, yet, hundreds of people showed up. And more than 50 people got up and shared their most personal of stories about the importance of health care. Of how theyve benefitted from the important protections provided under current law, including maternity care, Prescription Drug coverage and coverage for substance disorder. And one was maura from New Hampshire. The Affordable Care act, this is her quote, a Financial Life saver. A Financial Life saver for her family. She explained to us how when she signed up for Health Insurance hundred dollars Affordable Care act, her premiums dropped 750 a month because of subsidies. As maura described it, she and her family were able to put the extra 750 a month towards child care, food and their mortgage. On another recent vis