Congressman Robert Hurt
Weekly Column 3.10.14
It seems as though every time we turn around, President Obama is issuing decisions to unilaterally amend another one of the endless mandates within his signature legislation imposed on the American people. This past week, the Obama Administration announced that the millions of Americans who had their health plans canceled because of the president's health care law would be able to keep their plans and be exempt from penalties until after the 2016 elections. This politically-driven attempt by the Administration to delay the harmful impacts of the law is further proof that the president knows that it's simply not working and that the massive failings of the law will have severe repercussions for Americans and their families.
At least 4.7 million individual health policies have been canceled due to the regulations associated with the president's health care law. However, it has not yet been determined whether or not policyholders will be relieved financially if they are permitted to keep their plans because insurance companies have indicated that they will have to raise prices nonetheless.
As the Obama Administration announced these changes, the House of Representatives was approving legislation to bring American families relief from the harmful law by passing the Simple Fairness Act, which eliminates the individual mandate penalty for a year. The Obama Administration recently announced another one-year delay of the employer mandate for small and mid-sized businesses, and this legislation grants hardworking American families the same relief from the Affordable Care Act's unprecedented mandates. I was pleased that a number of my Democratic colleagues in the House supported this legislation, as well, to provide common sense relief for Americans from the failings of the president's health care law and hope that the U.S. Senate will act quickly to pass this bill.
The bottom line is that millions of Americans are losing their health insurance, being subjected to an unsecure online marketplace system, and paying higher premiums and deductibles under the president's health care law. I stand committed to continuing to fight to repeal this harmful law, and I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to promote more positive health care reforms.
If you need any additional information, please visit my website at hurt.house.gov or call my Washington office: (202) 225-4711, Charlottesville office: (434) 973-9631, Danville office: (434) 791-2596, or Farmville office: (434) 395-0120.
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