Hearing of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions Committee - Opening Statement by Sen. Murray, Hearing on the Affordable Care Act

Hearing

Thank you, Chairman Alexander.

Thank you to our witnesses--Governor Beshear, I appreciate you taking time once again to share your invaluable perspective, thank you. And thank you to my colleagues and everyone who joined us from our pre-hearing press conference.

I think it was absolutely critical to hear first this morning from real families and doctors about the devastating impact that ripping apart our health care system would have on them, and on millions of others, across the country.

Since the election, I've heard from so many families in Washington state and nationwide about a wide range of issues facing our nation--and one sentiment I've heard over and over again--is worry and fear about what is going to happen to their health care.

Mr. Chairman, I'd like to share just one of my constituents' stories--one I think bears repeating--because it truly speaks to the angst so many families are feeling right now. Two years ago, Bryce--a constituent of mine from Seattle--was kayaking in West Virginia and injured his back.

Several months later, the pain in Bryce's back still hadn't gone away. After a visit to the hospital, what doctors first suspected was only a stubborn muscle sprain ended up being a rare type of bone cancer called Ewing's Sarcoma.

As we can all imagine, this was horrible and scary news--but thankfully his family had health insurance. Today, Bryce is getting excellent treatment at Seattle Children's Hospital, where doctors have been able to ease some of his pain. And he's responding well to chemotherapy.

But Bryce--now almost 18--will need care--expensive care--for the rest of his life. Bryce and his family are gravely concerned that if Republicans continue down the path of dismantling our health care system, with no plan about what to do instead, the pre-existing condition protections we fought so hard for in the Affordable Care Act will be undermined as well.

If that were to happen, Bryce's dad says he doesn't know how they'll be able to afford health care, or get the benefits and treatments Bryce will need in the future.

Mr. Chairman, they--and the nearly 32 million people who stand to lose their health care--deserve security and certainty--and not empty promises.

So it is my sincere hope that we're able to have an open, honest discussion today about what's at stake for millions of families and their health care.

And that all of us, Democrats and Republicans, prioritize what's best for them--and not what's best for politics.

Repealing the Affordable Care Act--with no plan to replace it--will create chaos throughout our health care system.

This isn't just my view or Senate Democrats' view--it's a view shared by the majority of independent policy experts, hospitals, insurers, including state leaders--from both parties--across the country.

Republican governors from Alabama, Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, Ohio and many others all agree that an abrupt repeal of the law would be devastating.

That's why Democrats on this committee thought we should hear a Governor's perspective today--the former Governor of Kentucky, Steve Beshear--who will speak to the damage repeal of the Affordable Care Act will do to his state and many others.

Here's what we already know: premiums will skyrocket by as much as 25 percent in the first year of repeal, and 50 percent over the next ten years, according to a recent report by the CBO; out-of-pocket prescription drug costs will rise, as will health care costs overall; and patients with pre-existing conditions, like Bryce, will once again be denied care.

These are facts. No serious experts dispute them. And yet President Trump and many of my Republican colleagues here continue to double down on repeal--even after it's clear they can't even agree on what to replace it with.

And let's not forget that Republican policies would also cut Medicaid, and defund Planned Parenthood--not to mention ending the guarantee of full coverage under Medicare--leaving women, seniors, and families further exposed.

Again, this isn't just my view. My Republican colleagues held their retreat last week to strategize on repeal. And if you've seen any of the news coverage, well, you already know that it didn't go quite as planned. It seems like they left with more questions than answers.

As one member put it, in a moment of remarkable candor at their retreat, and I quote: "We're telling people that we're not going to pull the rug out from under them, and if we do this too fast, we're in fact, going to pull the rug out from under them."

I couldn't agree more. In spite of all this, President Trump and Republicans are rushing ahead to rip apart the health care system, without a plan for the aftermath.

I want to be very clear: while my colleagues on the other side of the aisle do not have a plan, they are creating Trumpcare by sabotage. It is a broken system of chaos and uncertainty that will hurt, not help, families. And it is increasingly a broken promise from the President who said he would deliver better health care at lower cost and vowed to ensure "insurance for everybody."

On his first day in office, President Trump signed an executive order, which overturned vital consumer protections, threatening the health and financial security of millions of families.

Before President Trump's executive order, families could count on their health insurance plan covering a broad range of benefits, like maternity care, preventive care, prescription drugs, and mental health care.

Now, that guarantee is gone. And last week, President Trump created even more confusion by preventing families from finding out about their coverage options--when he canceled advertising and consumer outreach efforts.

These outreach activities had already been paid for. But President Trump still took these ads off the air, at the very end of open enrollment, when the largest number of people are looking for coverage and need help. Open enrollment ended yesterday.

Who knows how many more Americans would have found affordable coverage if President Trump hadn't pulled the plug? These actions do nothing to clarify the confusion and disarray among Republicans about their plans to actually replace the Affordable Care Act.

Instead, they heighten uncertainty for millions of working families whose access to health care hangs in the balance. President Trump and my Republican colleagues should reverse course and stop undermining our health care system for political gain.

If they don't--and if they continue rushing to take away families' health care with no alternative plan--they will be fully responsible for the chaos and uncertainty Trumpcare is already causing and will continue to cause. I have no doubt that the millions of people who are speaking out louder than ever against harmful, partisan Republican policies will hold them accountable--and Democrats here in Congress will hold them accountable too.

But of course, it's families like Bryce's nationwide who will feel the real impact. I am glad that some of my Republican colleagues here on this committee are hearing loud and clear from the overwhelming majority of Americans who do not want to have their lives upended.

Because as I've said many times, if they are truly serious about helping women, families, and seniors get quality, affordable care, we're ready to work together--as we've always been--on real improvements that need to be made.

The families we serve are making clear they don't want their health care or their lives to be put at risk--and they want to see us work together to get this done right instead. I hope my Republican colleagues here will stop what they've started and listen. And I urge them to make the right choice.

Thank you.

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