Leader McConnell Issues Floor Remarks on Obamacare

WASHINGTON, June 12 -- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., issued the following floor remarks regarding the Senate Republicans' commitment to rescuing the American people hurt by Obamacare:

"Seven years ago, Senate Democrats and the Obama Administration forced Obamacare on the American people. But Obamacare never lived up to what Democrats promised. From rising costs to shrinking choices and collapsing markets, the problems associated with Obamacare grew across the country as the years passed, leaving the American people to pick up the pieces. Obamacare's years-long legacy of failure will only get worse unless we act. Consider the latest examples of how Obamacare is threatening to hurt more Americans.

"In Washington State, people in two counties just learned that they could have zero insurance options under Obamacare plans next year. Thousands of Ohioans across 18 counties just found out they could also be left with absolutely zero choices under Obamacare. Iowans could be left without a single major insurance option to choose from statewide too, and in Nebraska nearly 100,000 residents learned they could be left with just one insurance option on the Obamacare exchanges next year -- or potentially none at all.

"At the rate things are going, Americans living in nearly half of all counties could be left with just one -- even zero -- insurance options under Obamacare next year. Think about that. Millions of people in nearly half of all the counties across America are at risk of having no options or just a single option of insurance plans because of Obamacare. Worse still, as choices under Obamacare continue to drop, premiums keep rising -- often by double digits -- meaning those lucky enough to have a choice under Obamacare may not even be able to afford the plan they select.

"It's a fact underlined by reports released just this afternoon by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS. These reports show that hundreds of thousands of Americans who selected an Obamacare plan ended up cancelling their coverage after just a few weeks -- and the most common reason they cited for doing so was because it was too expensive. And is it any wonder? As another groundbreaking report revealed last month, premiums have on average doubled -- and in some cases, even tripled -- in the vast majority of states on the federal exchange since Obamacare's full enactment in 2013.

"Now you'd think Democrats would want to work with us now to clean up the years-long mess they created. Instead, they're defending the status quo or trying to shift blame for the failures of their own Obamacare law -- a law Democrats designed, a law Democrats forced on our country, a law Democrats defended year after year as it hurt Americans over and over.

"There's just no serious way to try and spin away these years of Obamacare failures now. It's also clear that the status quo is unsustainable and demands action. That's why Republican Senators have been working hard on solutions that can help rescue American families who've been hurt by Obamacare's failures. Members will keep working this week because bringing relief from Obamacare may not be easy, but it is necessary. We're going to keep working hard to get this done."