Sen. McConnell Issues Floor Remarks on Senate Republican Health Care
"Seven years ago,
"Now
"For our constituents. For our states. For our country. We've long called for a better way forward. And we've been engaged in intensive talks on how to get there. Through dozens of meetings, open to each and every member of the Conference, we had the opportunity to offer and consider many ideas for confronting the Obamacare status quo. We debated many policy proposals. We considered many different viewpoints. In the end, we found that we share many ideas about what needs to be achieved and how we can achieve it. These shared policy objectives and the solutions to help achieve them are what make up the health care discussion draft that we talked through this morning.
"We agree on the need to free Americans from Obamacare's mandates, and policies contained in the discussion draft will repeal the individual mandate, so Americans are no longer forced to buy insurance they don't need or can't afford. And repeal the employer mandate, so Americans no longer see their hours and take-home pay cut by employers because of it.
"We agree on the need to improve the affordability of health insurance, and policies contained in the discussion draft will eliminate costly Obamacare taxes that are passed on to consumers, so we can put downward pressure on premiums. Expand tax-free health savings accounts and deploy targeted tax credits, so we can help defray out-of-pocket costs. And shift power from
"We agree on the need to stabilize the insurance markets that are collapsing under Obamacare as well, and policies contained in the discussion draft will implement stabilization policies, so we can bring financial certainty to insurance markets and hope to Americans who face the possibility of limited or zero options next year under Obamacare. And ultimately transition away from Obamacare's collapsing system entirely, so more Americans will not be hurt. We also agree on the need to strengthen Medicaid, preserve access to care for patients with preexisting conditions, and allow children to stay on their parents' health insurance through the age of 26.
"I'm pleased that we were able to arrive at a draft that incorporates input from so many different Members, who represent so many different constituents, who are facing so many different challenges. The draft containing the solutions I mentioned -- along with many others -- is posted online, and I encourage everyone to carefully review it. There will be ample time to analyze, discuss, and provide thoughts before legislation comes to the floor. I hope every Senator takes that opportunity. Next week, we expect the
"When legislation does come to the floor, it will present
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