In a room originally convened to discuss a narrow set of tax credits, Senator Bernie Moreno (R-OH) ignited a firestorm Tuesday, transforming a Senate hearing into a blistering indictment of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Moreno, a former small business owner, accused his Democratic colleagues of engaging in “performative outrage” and “managed failure” while enriching insurance giants at the expense of the American worker.
The freshman senator’s broadside targeted what he characterized as a decade-long pattern of political deception, focusing specifically on the unfulfilled promise that the average American family would see their healthcare premiums drop by $2,500.
“Is That a Lie?”
Moreno began his questioning with a sharp historical pivot, asking witness Mr. White to identify the author of a famous 2014 promise: “Premiums will drop and the average family will see premiums go down by $2,500 a year.”
“President Obama,” White responded.
“Is that a lie?” Moreno pressed.
“Yes,” the witness replied, noting that it would be “impossible” to find a single solitary American in the individual market—or perhaps any market—who had experienced such a windfall over the last 11 years.
Moreno used this exchange to frame the current debate over Biden-era “Obamacare COVID bonus subsidies” as a distraction from the fundamental failure of the law. “The only issue the Democrats want to fix is for probably something that affects five or six or seven percent of Americans,” Moreno remarked. “Why wouldn’t we fix it for all Americans?”
The Enrichment of “Big Insurance”
The most startling moment of the hearing came when Moreno leveraged his business background to “quantify” the success of the insurance industry under the ACA. He pointed to United Healthcare as the primary example of what he called a “disgraceful” transfer of wealth.
Moreno noted that in 2015, United Healthcare’s stock price sat at $115 a share. By last year, it closed at a record $611.
“United Healthcare used to be a $108 billion enterprise back in 2015,” Moreno stated. “Would it surprise you that it’s almost a $600 billion company [now]? It’s 12 times the size of Ford Motor Company.”
According to Moreno, the ACA has “enriched healthcare insurance companies” more than any other policy in American history, all while premiums for union workers in Toledo and small business owners across the country continued to climb.
The “Hidden Costs” of Illegal Immigration
Moreno also drew a direct line between the border crisis and the rising cost of domestic healthcare. While acknowledging that those in the country illegally are not eligible for Medicare or the ACA exchange, he argued that they still consume billions in services through emergency room visits.
“When you own a business and you give part of your services for free, is it really free or do you really charge everybody else?” Moreno asked.
Mr. White concurred, stating that the costs of treating 10 to 15 million non-citizens are “charged to everyone else” in the form of higher premiums and service costs, totaling “billions and billions of dollars.”
A Call for “Real” Solutions
Growing visibly frustrated with the absence of his Democratic colleagues—noting that only the ranking member remained in the room—Moreno listed a series of alternative reforms he claimed would actually lower costs:
Transparency: Comparing healthcare to a car dealership, Moreno argued that patients should know the price of an MRI before the procedure, not 60 days later. He cited a personal example where a cash-pay MRI in Florida cost $230, while an insurance-negotiated rate at a hospital would have cost him $1,200 out-of-pocket.
Association Health Plans: Empowering small businesses to band together to buy competitive healthcare, which witnesses suggested could result in a 30% premium reduction.
PBM Reform: Targeting Pharmacy Benefit Managers to lower prescription drug costs.
Tort Reform and HSA Expansion: Reducing administrative and legal overhead while putting money back into Health Savings Accounts.
“It’s Disgusting”
In his closing remarks, Moreno took aim at the culture of Washington, describing the hearing’s underlying legislation as a “managed failure”—a bill designed not to pass, but to provide a “political issue” for reelection campaigns.
“It’s disgusting what happens in this town,” Moreno said. “Can you imagine if tomorrow morning the American people woke up and go, ‘My God, the leaders in Washington D.C. are able to govern and solve our problems’?”
As the hearing adjourned, the divide was clear: while Democrats sought to preserve the subsidies that keep the ACA afloat for millions, Moreno and his allies signaled they are no longer interested in “papering over” a system they believe was built on a lie and maintained for a profit.
