Rep. Andrea Salinas Testifies About Constituents Hurt by Republican Health Care Crisis

Click hereto watch Rep. Salinas' full floor remarks.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congresswoman Andrea Salinas (OR-06) appeared before the Democratic Steering & Policy Committee to speak on the growing Republican health care crisis and to share stories from constituents whose premiums will skyrocket if Republicans allow Affordable Care Act premium tax credits to expire. In Oregon's Sixth Congressional District alone, 16,000 people will see their premiums rise to the tune of hundreds or potentially thousands of dollars per month. Rep. Salinas called on Republicans to come back to the table and put the needs of working Americans ahead of partisan politics.

A transcript of Salinas' floor speech is available below:

Thank you, Chair Wasserman Schultz and to the Committee for the opportunity today.

So, President Trump and Congressional Republicans refuse to cancel the health care cuts to millions of Americans, including the 16,000 in my District who are about to pay hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars more per month for their health insurance.

And similar to Representative Houlahan, my District is about a third urban, a third suburban, and a third rural.

And this is important because about 27% of farmers across the United States get their health care through the Affordable Care Act.

And so I see this as one of the biggest betrayals to Americans' rural communities. I recently sent out a survey to my constituents, and I'd like to share just a couple of the stories.

First is a story from Steve, who lives with his wife in Beaverton, Oregon. Steve is 68 and still working. He's on Medicare. His wife, however, is only 61, and she won't qualify for Medicare for a few years.

She currently pays $500 a month for coverage through the Affordable Care Act, but next year, her premium is set to increase to $800 per month unless Congress acts.

In his response, Steve notes that his wife is a waitress at a small, locally owned restaurant, so an additional $300 per month is just simply too much on top of what they already pay for her health care.

They likely won't be able to absorb that additional $3,600 a year in health care costs, and they will likely just not renew her health insurance and be forced to go without it.

Another one of my constituents, Conni, responded with a similar story.

She's from a place called Dallas. It's a small rural town in my District, and she has a bronze Affordable Care Act plan, which means her coverage really only covers serious injuries. Everything else she pays for out of pocket.

She recently received a letter, one of those notices in the mail, telling her that her premium is going up.

Right now, she pays $423 per month for her health care premium.

Next year, due to Republicans refusal to work - not just work with Democrats, but to come to work, to extend the Premium Tax Credits - she will pay a staggering $2,273 per month.

That's an increase of over $1,800 per month in a small rural town in my District.

And I don't know about you, but I don't know many people in my District or in Oregon who can afford that extra $1,800 per month for health care.

These are just two stories from over what I expect to be about 16,000 people in my District, and obviously we've been talking about millions more that we are going to see across America, who will see their premiums spike unless Congress acts.

I'm truly worried about Conni and Steve and his wife.

I'm worried about all these people who will be impacted in my District and across the United States and so many more.

I don't know how they'll get the care they need if their costs go up next year.

I don't know how we will be impacted in our rural health care clinics, in our senior living facilities.

I don't know how we are going to help them, but I know how we can stop it from happening.

Republicans can come back to the negotiating table.

They can cancel their cuts to health care. Extend the premium tax credits. Lower costs for families. Save health care. Help Oregonians. Reopen the government.

Let's start there.

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