General Mitchell International Airport
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
3:14 P.M. CDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you, everybody. Thank you very much.
Millions of American families — and I mean millions — continue to suffer from Obamacare while congressional Democrats obstruct our efforts to rescue them. And I’ll tell you, that’s exactly what’s happening. The Democrats have let you down, big league. Standing beside me are two such families, representing so many others — millions of people — who have been victimized by Obamacare — terrible law.
My thanks to Michael and Tammy Kushman from Marinette County, and Robert and Sarah Stoll from Kenosha, as well as their wonderful families, for joining us today. We appreciate it. We appreciate all the people being here. Thank you, folks. (Applause.) They love their country, play by the rules, and work hard to give their loved ones the best life possible.
Michael Kushman is a proud veteran of the United States Army Medical Service Core. He and his wife Tammy were forced onto the Obamacare exchange in 2015 — and like countless others, they were shocked to learn that they couldn’t keep their doctor as promised. They couldn’t keep their plan as promised. They started out paying $600 per month. Then their insurer quit the exchange, so they had to switch to a new plan, and it went up to $1,000 a month. And it keeps going up and up and up. And that’s where we are today. Now it’s over $1,400 per month. They’ve been forced off their plans and onto a new one three times in three years. Their premiums have soared 127 percent. The Kushmans now spend nearly one-fourth of their net monthly income on health insurance. So — both of you, both families. Both great families.
Robert and his wife Sarah Stoll have also endured enormous pain under the crushing burden of Obamacare. Robert serves as a volunteer captain for the Randall Fire Department. He was a small business owner for 30 years. But their Obamacare premiums doubled, and Sarah was forced to leave retirement and find a part-time job just to pay the bills. When she did so, making matters worse, their new income meant they were no longer eligible for the tax credit they had once received — and the federal government actually forced them to repay thousands of dollars.
These are sad — I agree, that’s true. Has it happened to you also? Yes. Yeah, it has. These are sad but familiar stories in Wisconsin, where Obamacare premiums have doubled. Obamacare is one of the greatest catastrophes that our country has signed into law — and the victims are innocent, hardworking Americans like Michael and Tammy, Robert and Sarah. These citizens deserve so much better.
The House of Representatives has passed on to the Senate, and the Senate is getting ready to do something — hopefully it will get done — where we will come up with a solution, and a really good one, to healthcare. No matter how good it is, we will get no obstructionist Democrat votes. No matter how good it is — if it’s the greatest healthcare plan ever devised, we will get zero votes by the obstructionists, the Democrats. It’s time to give American families quality, reliable, affordable healthcare — and that’s what we are working very hard to do. And we’ll get it done.
So I want to thank you, I want to thank the families — thank you very much — for being here. And I love being in Wisconsin. I love being in Wisconsin. Thank you. (Applause.)
END
3:19 P.M. CDT
