12/18
COCHRAN TO PROPOSE BILL TRIGGERING OBAMACARE REPEAL IF INSURANCE GOALS UNMET
Senator Says Failure to Meet Health Law’s Primary Goal is Sufficient Reason to Pull the Plug
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) today signaled his intent to introduce legislation to repeal President Obama’s signature health insurance reform law if it results in more Americans left uninsured after Jan. 1, 2014 than were uninsured at the time of the law’s 2010 enactment.
Cochran said that even Democrats should agree that repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) would be warranted if the law reduces or fails to increase the number of Americans with health insurance.
“The American people understand what many in Washington won’t admit: the Affordable Care Act is an unfixable and expensive mess. I have supported its repeal from the beginning, and I will offer legislation based on the simple premise that the law should be repealed if it fails to meet its primary goal of expanding health insurance coverage,” Cochran said.
The Cochran bill, the Health Insurance Accountability Act, would provide for the repeal of PPACA if it is determined that the law has resulted in an increase in the number of uninsured individuals since the law was enacted in March 2010.
“The President, Democrats in Congress and their allies forced this misguided law through Congress without a single vote from our party and with a promise that the uninsured would be able to attain affordable health insurance. Right now, the opposite is occurring as millions of people are losing the insurance they have and like. Worse yet, millions of families now face the prospect of more expensive premium rates and higher deductibles–assuming they can even successfully enroll on the flawed government website,” Cochran said.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services last week reported that fewer than 365,000 individuals had selected insurance plans from the state and federal health insurance exchanges that were launched on Oct. 1. This represents less than one percent of those who were uninsured at the time of the law’s enactment.
According to recent estimates, 5.6 million people have had their insurance policies cancelled for next year because they didn’t meet PPACA requirements. In 2012, the Census Bureau estimated that more than 47 million nonelderly Americans were uninsured.
Since its inception, Cochran has opposed the PPACA, voting repeatedly to repeal and defund the law. The Mississippi Senator has also cosponsored a series of bills intended to protect the American people, including: the Obamacare Repeal Act (S.177); the If You Like Your Health Plan, You Can Keep It Act (S.1617); the Health Care Privacy and Anti-Fraud Act (S.1666); the Delay Until Fully Functional Act (S.1592); and the Exchange Information Disclosure Act (S.1590). He has also backed legislation to delay the application of the individual and employer health insurance mandates under the PPACA.
LINKS:
* Cochran Audio, Dec. 13: http://1.usa.gov/1ej58t3
###
