GOP Sen Fischer: ‘Obamacare Failed Because It Took Choices Away’

During Saturday’s GOP Weekly Address, Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE) stated, “Obamacare failed because it took choices away from patients and families. It took choices away from all of us. Well, it’s time to get our choices, our control, back so we can promote our health and wellness.”

Transcript (via ABC News Radio) as Follows:

“Hi, I’m Deb Fischer, United States Senator from the great state of Nebraska.

When I hear from patients and their families about Obamacare, they tell me the law is a broken promise. They couldn’t keep the plan they liked. Or the doctor they trusted. Their costs shot up, not down.

Jim, a grandfather from Grand Island, Nebraska, says this: ‘Our kids’ new insurance premiums went up 36 percent, which is over 50 percent of their income…This leaves my grandkids with no insurance.’ Tim from Kearney, Nebraska saw his health insurance premium jump 60 percent.

Obamacare’s financial cost is well-known. But it has another, hidden cost. One you can’t count with dollars and cents. It’s an emotional toll. The worry that comes from a lack of control.

How many of you have seen your health care costs increase? How many of those you know have lost their health care? In November, the American people said, ‘Enough.’ They asked us to stop the hurt.

This week, the Senate answered: we voted to put the tools in place to repeal Obamacare. Now, we will begin the process of putting the American people in charge of their health care.

Congress will work with the President-elect’s administration to put patients and families first – not Washington. We will work for a stable transition period to protect families. We will fight for patients with pre-existing conditions, children, parents, and people who need to be protected. Our goal is a long-term, sustainable solution that gives patients flexibility and choices in their coverage.

Obamacare failed because it took choices away from patients and families. It took choices away from all of us. Well, it’s time to get our choices, our control, back so we can promote our health and wellness.

We Americans believe in freedom. Of speech. Of religion. Why not in health care too? Freedom is powerful. It made thirteen tiny colonies the greatest nation on earth. It took a man to the moon. It cured polio.

We’re on the path now to giving families freedom in health care. To restoring choice and control. To delivering compassionate, hassle-free, personalized care that treats people like people, not numbers.

Sadly, Democrats in Washington have stated their plan is to frighten Americans about this process. That kind of scorched-earth attitude, peddling dread and pushing anxiety, will not help the American people.

It’s time to move forward. Let’s put this failed law behind us and focus on making life easier for families. The American people deserve health care reform done the right way and for the right reasons.

I am committed to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to deliver the results the American people need and deserve. It’s the right thing to do.

Thanks for listening. Thank you, and God bless.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett