Discover video-sourced quotes by politicians

John Thune: “Insurance companies are incentivized to increase premiums.”

Featuring: John Thune, Republican | Senate Majority Leader, South Dakota

Thune: Health Care 101: How Democrats' Policies Fail Patients and Families

Published December 10, 2025 | Video Starts at 14:42

That, Mr. President, is how this program is structured. And that, Mr. President, is why it is never going to reduce costs. Insurance companies are incentivized to increase premiums. Businesses are incentivized to push people out of their marketplace into the individual marketplace where the taxpayers will subsidize the premiums, the cost of health care. (14:42–14:47)

CLAIM

Asserts that insurance companies have incentives to raise premiums.

This is an excerpt from a raw transcript. The assertions have not been audited or verified. Tap the video to view the source footage and understand the context.

Discover more from

John Thune

“Premium cost increase in the Obamacare exchange went up 129% since 2014.”
Thune: Health Care 101: How Democrats' Policies Fail Patients and Families | Uploaded December 10, 2025 | 04:13-04:43
“Insurance rates in the individual marketplace have gone up 221% since 2013.”
Thune: Health Care 101: How Democrats' Policies Fail Patients and Families | Uploaded December 10, 2025 | 04:47-04:59
“Employer marketplace is shrinking, with coverage dropping from 92% in 2010 to 64% in 2025.”
Thune: Health Care 101: How Democrats' Policies Fail Patients and Families | Uploaded December 10, 2025 | 06:42-06:55
“The 10 year score on this program is now $1.3 trillion.”
Thune: Health Care 101: How Democrats' Policies Fail Patients and Families | Uploaded December 10, 2025 | 08:45-08:48
“High income people, people making 500, $600,000 a year, can go into this marketplace and get subsidies from the federal taxpayers.”
Thune: Health Care 101: How Democrats' Policies Fail Patients and Families | Uploaded December 10, 2025 | 15:54-16:05
“The Government Accountability Office found that 95% of these [fraudulent claims] got enrolled by the insurance companies.”
Thune: Health Care 101: How Democrats' Policies Fail Patients and Families | Uploaded December 10, 2025 | 16:50-16:59
“Democrat plan that will lower health care costs is a fantasy.”
Thune: Health Care 101: How Democrats' Policies Fail Patients and Families | Uploaded December 10, 2025 | 00:38-00:44
“Democrat proposal is a three-year extension of the status quo, costing $83 billion.”
Thune: Health Care 101: How Democrats' Policies Fail Patients and Families | Uploaded December 10, 2025 | 01:17-01:22
“Obamacare costs continue to spiral.”
Thune: Health Care 101: How Democrats' Policies Fail Patients and Families | Uploaded December 10, 2025 | 01:32-01:35
“Almost 50% of Americans, about 150 million, get health care coverage through their employers.”
Thune: Health Care 101: How Democrats' Policies Fail Patients and Families | Uploaded December 10, 2025 | 02:58-03:04
“Almost 40%, about 140 million Americans, get health care through Medicare or Medicaid.”
Thune: Health Care 101: How Democrats' Policies Fail Patients and Families | Uploaded December 10, 2025 | 03:04-03:10
“23 to 24 million Americans are in the Obamacare exchanges.”
Thune: Health Care 101: How Democrats' Policies Fail Patients and Families | Uploaded December 10, 2025 | 03:12-03:18
“The employer market, particularly small business market, is shrinking.”
Thune: Health Care 101: How Democrats' Policies Fail Patients and Families | Uploaded December 10, 2025 | 07:25-07:30
“The Obamacare market is expanding and expanding pretty dramatically and premium cost about double of what you would see in the employer…”
Thune: Health Care 101: How Democrats' Policies Fail Patients and Families | Uploaded December 10, 2025 | 07:30-07:41
“Democrats' proposal is a three-year extension of the Biden Covid bonuses.”
Thune: Health Care 101: How Democrats' Policies Fail Patients and Families | Uploaded December 10, 2025 | 08:09-08:26
“The spending went up dramatically when the very issue that we're talking about here today, which is these Biden Covid bonuses, they were…”
Thune: Health Care 101: How Democrats' Policies Fail Patients and Families | Uploaded December 10, 2025 | 09:16-09:32
“In 2021, as most people remember, we were kind of past the pandemic.”
Thune: Health Care 101: How Democrats' Policies Fail Patients and Families | Uploaded December 10, 2025 | 09:31-09:37
“In 2022, as I recall, the pandemic was pretty well past us.”
Thune: Health Care 101: How Democrats' Policies Fail Patients and Families | Uploaded December 10, 2025 | 10:20-10:24
“In 2021, they took off the income caps. There are no income caps on this program.”
Thune: Health Care 101: How Democrats' Policies Fail Patients and Families | Uploaded December 10, 2025 | 12:06-12:15
“It used to be 400% of poverty, which for a family, 4 is about 128 grand a year.”
Thune: Health Care 101: How Democrats' Policies Fail Patients and Families | Uploaded December 10, 2025 | 12:15-12:21
“The number of people who haven't filed claims literally since 2021 has tripled.”
Thune: Health Care 101: How Democrats' Policies Fail Patients and Families | Uploaded December 10, 2025 | 13:35-13:41
“The number of people who didn't file a claim tripled in the last four years.”
Thune: Health Care 101: How Democrats' Policies Fail Patients and Families | Uploaded December 10, 2025 | 14:02-14:10
“Businesses are incentivized to push people out of their marketplace into the individual marketplace where the taxpayers will subsidize the…”
Thune: Health Care 101: How Democrats' Policies Fail Patients and Families | Uploaded December 10, 2025 | 14:47-14:57
“The extension [of the program] for three years at a cost, I might add, of $83 billion scored by the CBO.”
Thune: Health Care 101: How Democrats' Policies Fail Patients and Families | Uploaded December 10, 2025 | 16:26-17:58
“This does nothing, nothing to lower the cost of health insurance.”
Thune: Health Care 101: How Democrats' Policies Fail Patients and Families | Uploaded December 10, 2025 | 18:18-18:24
“A proposal we're going to put on the floor will actually reduce premiums according to the Congressional Budget Office by about 10 to 11%.”
Thune: Health Care 101: How Democrats' Policies Fail Patients and Families | Uploaded December 10, 2025 | 19:50-19:58
“The scores is a $30 billion savings.”
Thune: Health Care 101: How Democrats' Policies Fail Patients and Families | Uploaded December 10, 2025 | 20:07-20:11
“In my state of South Dakota, it's going to reduce them [premiums] by $900.”
Thune: Health Care 101: How Democrats' Policies Fail Patients and Families | Uploaded December 10, 2025 | 20:59-21:04
“A three year extension with no reforms doesn't adjust income limits.”
Thune: Health Care 101: How Democrats' Policies Fail Patients and Families | Uploaded December 10, 2025 | 21:33-21:38
“You can still get unlimited income, still qualify in these changes.”
Thune: Health Care 101: How Democrats' Policies Fail Patients and Families | Uploaded December 10, 2025 | 21:37-21:42
“This program continues to drive up costs in the individual marketplace.”
Thune: Health Care 101: How Democrats' Policies Fail Patients and Families | Uploaded December 10, 2025 | 21:53-21:59
“Is about double what it is in the employer marketplace.”
Thune: Health Care 101: How Democrats' Policies Fail Patients and Families | Uploaded December 10, 2025 | 22:01-22:04
“A three year extension that actually backtracks on some of the reforms that have been made earlier.”
Thune: Health Care 101: How Democrats' Policies Fail Patients and Families | Uploaded December 10, 2025 | 22:25-22:30
“Creates more fraud, more waste, more abuse, higher prices.”
Thune: Health Care 101: How Democrats' Policies Fail Patients and Families | Uploaded December 10, 2025 | 22:32-22:39
“A higher cost for the American taxpayer.”
Thune: Health Care 101: How Democrats' Policies Fail Patients and Families | Uploaded December 10, 2025 | 22:41-22:44
“We are offering something that actually does reduce health care costs and premiums.”
Thune: Health Care 101: How Democrats' Policies Fail Patients and Families | Uploaded December 10, 2025 | 23:22-23:28