Toomey: Welcome News as Senate Works to Repeal Obamacare

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WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa) issued the following statement as the Senate debated Wednesday a resolution beginning the process of repealing Obamacare.

"For the tens of thousands of Pennsylvania families suffering from higher health care costs and fewer choices, today's process to begin to repeal Obamacare is welcome news. The heart of Obamacare - the individual health care market - is failing. Insurers are abandoning the market, premiums are skyrocketing, and people are losing the coverage they were promised they could keep.

"Obamacare rests upon a flawed premise: that government must be in control of your health care. To help the limited number of individuals with the costliest preexisting conditions, Obamacare upended the entire system for everyone. This big government approach to health insurance didn't work. It resulted in higher premiums and deductibles, fewer choices in plans and doctors, and less hiring and economic growth. Pennsylvanians deserve a health care system that empowers families and individuals to access the care they need, at a price they can afford, from a doctor they choose. With today's action in the Senate, they are on their way to getting it.

"I have said for many years we should move toward a system that gives Americans more affordable choices in coverage and takes Washington bureaucrats out of the doctor's office. As Obamacare is repealed and we transition to a better health care system, we cannot pull the rug out from under anyone who is currently covered by Obamacare. This means federal taxpayer subsidies should be maintained for a period of time until an affordable, consumer-driven alternative is permitted.

"There are a number of good ideas and timelines for a replacement structure, but all should aim to protect the American people from further damage inflicted by Obamacare. Today, I had a productive conversation about some of the ways we can work together to improve the health care system with Dr. Tom Price, a supremely qualified candidate to serve as the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. I am looking forward to Dr. Price's confirmation hearing and working with the new administration on giving people choice and affordability in health care once again."