Walorski on Medicare for All: "If You Like Your Plan -- Too Bad, It's Gone"

Statement

U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.) today criticized Democrats' Medicare for All proposal that would eliminate private health insurance plans, including employer-sponsored coverage and Medicare Advantage, and replace it with a massive, taxpayer-funded government program.

"Ten years ago, Democrats rammed Obamacare through the Congress based on the slogan, "If you like your plan, you can keep it,'" Congresswoman Walorski said. "That slogan, of course, turned out to be a lie. Fast forward to today, and a majority of House Democrats have cosponsored the Medicare for All Act, which would outlaw virtually all private health insurance coverage and force every American into a one-size-fits-all government plan. So in just ten years, we went from, "If you like your plan, you can keep it,' to "If you like your plan -- too bad, it's gone.' What a difference a decade makes."

Walorski asked Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alexander Azar, who testified before the Ways and Means Committee, to outline the impact Medicare for All would have on America's working families and seniors.

"It would be absolutely devastating," Secretary Azar said. "We've got 180 million Americans who get their insurance through their employer or their union. Their insurance would be taken away. Collective bargaining rights that they have given up in exchange for insurance would be taken away without compensation in wages. There are 60 million seniors in Medicare. A third of them depend on private insurance, Medicare Advantage, the ever more popular private option with added often dental, vision benefits, and pharmacy benefits for them, would be taken away as part of this. It would be devastating for America's seniors."

Walorski also asked Azar about initiatives to improve maternal health and decrease rates of maternal mortality, as well as the need to strengthen Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).

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