GRASSLEY PULLS BACK THE CURTAIN ON THE UNAFFORDABILITY OF OBAMACARE

The following information was released by Iowa Senator Charles Grassley:

Floor Remarks by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa

Senate President Pro Tempore

"An Iowan's Example of How Obamacare is Unaffordable"

Monday January, 12, 2026

One of the issues that Congress must deal with, and do it very shortly, is the cost of health insurance.

President Obama famously said that Obamacare would let Americans keep their health insurance if they like it and it would also lower their premiums.

We know more than a decade later that those promises were never true.

We need to lower health care costs.

It starts with expanding access and competition to high-quality, affordable health insurance through health savings accounts, association health plans and other consumer-driven health plans.

It also requires action to reduce prescription drug prices through pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) reform, and that reform should not be a tough thing to do because we have three separate approaches in the United States Senate with a total of about 60 to 65 members, in a bipartisan way, supporting the passage of PBM reform.

The evidence for fixing Obamacare can be found in Americans' pocketbooks today.

I recently received a letter from an Iowan documenting the increases this person has seen in his monthly health insurance premiums since Obamacare became law.

Before Obamacare was signed into law, he saw zero percent increases in his health insurance premiums and even saw premium reductions.

In the eight years prior to Obamacare, he had a cumulative premium increase of 4%.

In the eight years since Obamacare, he saw a cumulative premium increase of 87%.

Health insurance has gotten more costly under Obamacare.

Case in point with this Iowan's story.

His monthly health insurance premium, which was once around $800 before Obamacare, is now over $2,000 a month.

Extending temporary COVID bonuses for wealthy households, where the money is shoved to insurance companies, is not the answer.

We need to enact commonsense solutions to bring down health care costs.