Providing for Congressional Disapproval Under Chapter 8 of Title United States Code, of the Rule Submitted By the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Health and Human Services Relating to ``State Relief and Empowerment Waivers''

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. SINEMA. Madam President, I rise today to address one of the biggest concerns facing everyday families in Arizona: making healthcare more affordable and maintaining critical healthcare protections.

Sometimes the issues discussed on the Senate floor appear far removed from the concerns of everyday Americans, but not today. Today's debate focuses the Senate's attention on the most important issue for many Arizonans and offers elected officials the opportunity to reject partisan political games in favor of commonsense solutions.

Not long ago, insurance companies were allowed to deny care or overcharge Americans based on the fact that those Americans had been sick before or had been born with a chronic condition.

Arizonans who had been previously treated for skin cancer or diabetes were told that no insurance company would cover them or that the insurance plans they purchased would not cover their preexisting conditions, despite promises of comprehensive coverage. Beyond major illnesses, Arizonans with even common conditions, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, asthma, and even acne, were denied the coverage they needed. Until recently, insurance companies had also been allowed to charge consumers high prices for insurance plans only to leave out coverage for essential health benefits that virtually all Americans eventually need, such as prescription drug costs, ambulance costs, and hospital stays--critical needs that consumers rightly expect will be covered.

Insurance is supposed to be there when people need it. Hard-working Americans who play by the rules and pay their monthly premiums shouldn't have the rug pulled out from under them at the very moment they need healthcare. That is why such discrimination against people with preexisting health conditions is now banned and why health insurance plans are now required to cover essential health benefits. That is why it is so disturbing that the administration and some Members of Congress have begun moving backward, allowing insurance companies to again sell plans to Americans that lack the very health protections consumers need.

Congress has a lot of work to do to make healthcare affordable and protect access for American families and businesses, from lowering premiums to stopping surprise medical billing, but partisan approaches will not solve these challenges. We can and must work across the aisle to pass bipartisan solutions, such as increasing the number of doctors to address provider shortages, lowering costs for home health services, expanding mental healthcare, and eliminating the health insurance tax.

I have partnered with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to sponsor legislation that achieves these goals, but allowing insurance companies to return to their old practices will only hurt everyday Arizona families. These health plans lack key protections. They are often called junk plans and for good reason. Junk plans mislead Arizonans--selling something billed as health insurance when, in fact, it is better described as a bill of goods. When Arizonans who are sold these plans need to actually use the coverage they paid for, the rug gets pulled out from under them yet again.

I hear from hard-working Arizonans on a daily basis who deserve access to critical health protections; Arizonans like Chantal, who has a preexisting autoimmune disease that without treatment would cause her to become blind; Arizonans like Corrine from Phoenix, whose daughter was born with a congenital heart condition--before the law protected people with preexisting conditions, Corrine's family was unable to find an insurer who would cover their family--and Arizonans like John from Casa Grande, who signed up for a plan that he was told covered preexisting conditions only to find out after he paid his first month's premium, that his particular preexisting condition wouldn't qualify for coverage.

There are 2.8 million Arizonans under the age of 65 just like Chantal, Corrine, and John who live with preexisting health conditions. That is half of all nonelderly Arizonans whose healthcare is at risk. These Arizonans remind us exactly what is at stake and exactly what is wrong with partisan politics in Washington today. For too long, too many elected officials here have focused on how they can score political points to help them win the next election, all at the expense of the health and security of everyday families.

Arizonans are rightly worried that the dysfunction and chaos they see coming from Washington could threaten their family's coverage, and that is unacceptable.

It is time to get partisan politics out of Arizonans' healthcare. I call on both parties to quit the partisan games, come together, and stop the sale of junk plans that fail to protect people with preexisting conditions. We must protect access to healthcare for these millions of Arizonans and tens of millions of Americans, and we must make healthcare more affordable for everyday families.

I urge my colleagues to vote yes on S.J. Res. 52.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source