Employee Health Care Protection Act of 2014

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Pitts for his diligence on this effort and on behalf of the American people to allow them the choice and the options that they are seeking in their health care.

My colleague is concerned that we are looking at repeals and that we are looking at replacements and we are looking at allowing choice and options for Americans. We are going to continue to do that because what we have found, Mr. Speaker, what we have found is that premiums are rising.

In my State, they are going to go up another 18 to 20 percent this year. We have an insurance product in the marketplace that many of our constituents tell us is too expensive to afford. We are seeing narrowed networks. People have an insurance card, but guess what. They don't have access to the queue. They can't see the doctor. We are hearing from our hospitals that they are seeing their emergency rooms crowded.

So yes, indeed, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3522, the Employee Health Care Protection Act. It is the right thing to do. If you like your health care plan, under this bill you would be able to keep your health care plan. We would be helping the President to fulfill a promise that he broke. Let's get back on track and let's fulfill that promise.

This is what the American people want right now, by the administration's own admission. These aren't my numbers. It is the administration's number. Up to 80 percent of the small business health plans would not make the ObamaCare cut because they are not government-compliant. The operative word here is they are not government-compliant. The government is forcing people into a plan that they don't want, don't like, and can't afford. This is the administration admitting this. They are taking away options and choice in the marketplace.

We have heard from small business owners all across our district who are struggling to find ways to provide health insurance to their employees and still manage to stay in business. What they are looking for is a way to provide jobs and increase wages. ObamaCare is making it more and more difficult.

We have heard from our constituents about how their insurance premiums and their copayments are escalating and the complaints they have from employees because they don't like the ObamaCare plans. We have heard that they do not understand why they are forced into purchasing government-compliant insurance which does not meet their needs.

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