WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) made the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding the failures of Obamacare:

“Too many Americans woke up this morning worried about the rising costs and limited options they’ve experienced under Obamacare. As they went to work, too many struggled with the reality that their Obamacare premiums could take an even larger bite out of their paycheck next year. This afternoon, as they pick up their kids, too many will worry that they may have a hard time finding an Obamacare plan at all next year, with many counties having only one option left on the exchanges. Unfortunately, these are the realities for far too many Americans under Obamacare — and they’re miles away from what Democrats promised.

“My home state endured large premium rate hikes this year of up to 47%. For many working families, a spike in premiums like that can make it nearly impossible to afford health insurance at all. To make matters worse, under Obamacare, many Kentuckians don’t have the option to select the best provider for themselves and their families. Kentuckians in half of our counties now have only one insurance option under Obamacare. Half. One choice. And, really, that’s no choice at all. It’s not like this situation is unique to Kentucky either.

“This year, there are 26 states with at least one county where residents have only a single insurance option under Obamacare. That means millions of Americans, living in more than 1,000 counties across the country, really have no choice at all when it comes to Obamacare. Those families didn’t get the increased choices they were promised under Obamacare. They’ve been left to shoulder the burden nonetheless. And things have only gotten worse with time. In fact, just this week people on the Obamacare exchanges in three more states — Vermont, Virginia, and Oregon — learned they could face double-digit premium increases as high as 20 percent next year. Are our Democratic friends really OK with Obamacare’s continuing attacks on the middle class?

“One constituent from Lexington wrote me about her frustration with the status quo under Obamacare. ’My insurance is way more than what I can afford,’ she said. ’I can’t imagine many others who can pay more for health insurance than their mortgage.’ She and her husband had shopped on the exchanges for health insurance, but the lowest premium options were around $1,000 a month with a $10,000 deductible, so they decided to go uninsured and pay the penalty instead. ’The cost will be minor,’ she said, ‘compared to the useless premium cost.’ The last part of this Kentucky woman’s message is something that I think we should all remember throughout this debate. She said, ’Please remember that there are many people depending on Congress to set this all right.’

“Americans like her are counting on all of us to leave Obamacare’s failures where they belong — in the past. For years, they’ve suffered under a collapsing system. Yet our friends across the aisle have continued to defend the broken law regardless of its many significant problems — problems that even many of them have acknowledged, by the way. Last week, Senate Democrats sent me a letter effectively admitting that the Obamacare status quo is unsustainable. I hope that means they’re prepared to join us in moving beyond this failed law.

“Otherwise, Senate Democrats are essentially telling the American people that they are OK with the status quo — that Obamacare’s collapsing markets, double-digit premium increases, and counties with only one insurer represent the new normal for health care in our country. Kentuckians refuse to accept the status quo. The only question that remains is this: will Senate Democrats work with us to move beyond it?

“The entire Senate Republican Conference has been at work debating ideas, and making progress. We are pursuing smarter health-care policies for Kentuckians like the couple in Lexington and the millions more like them across the nation who know that Obamacare just isn’t working. I hope our friends on the other side of the aisle will agree to join us in bringing some relief to the families who need it.”