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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) spoke on the U.S. Senate Floor about the real-world consequences Kansans are facing due to Obamacare.
“Kansans, too, are struggling under the consequences of the passage of the Affordable Care Act,” Sen. Moran said. “So many times it’s suggested that this is just a problem with implementation or with the website, but the problems that Americans and Kansans are facing today really is the crux – it’s the theory and provisions on which the Affordable Care Act was based.”
Highlights from Sen. Moran’s remarks can be found below, along with links for downloadable video and audio:
“…From a constituent in Newton, Kansas, right in the center of the state: He writes to tell me that ‘we were notified by our health insurance carrier that our premiums on our small business plan were to increase 24 percent on our renewal date because of the coverage mandated by the Affordable Care Act starting in 2014. As small business owner(s) in our late 50s, we have struggled to find affordable health care insurance for years. About two years ago we were able to sign up for a plan offered to small businesses through a well-known carrier. It’s not a Cadillac plan since we each had a $5,000 deductible and no coverage for maternity we didn’t need, contraception we didn’t need, but it covered the things we wanted and we did need.
“‘Unfortunately the premium increase is going to put this plan in the unaffordable range once again. I’ve not yet been able to get on healthcare.gov. The few times I’ve tried it’s either been down or locked up during access. As a business owner with employees and responsibilities, the time I have to spend messing around with a slow or nonresponsive website is limited and expensive.’
“Our constituents need help, and the Affordable Care Act is what they need help from.”
Sen. Moran strongly opposes Obamacare and believes the best course of action is to dismantle the law and replace it with practical reforms that are workable and will actually reduce health care costs. In July, President Obama acknowledged that a significant component of Obamacare is broken and delayed enforcement of the employer mandate. The following week, Sen. Moran offered amendments in the Senate Appropriations Committee to delay both the employer mandate and individual mandate. Unfortunately, both amendments were defeated in party-line votes.
Sen. Moran is also an original cosponsor of the Delay Until Fully Functional Act, legislation introduced by Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) that would delay Obamacare’s individual mandate until it can be certified that the law’s website and health insurance Exchanges are functional. It is blatantly unfair for the federal government to punish individuals for not doing something the government is requiring them to do when the Administration’s incompetence has made it impossible for them to comply.
Additionally, Sen. Moran joined Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) in introducing S. 1617, the If You Like Your Health Plan, You Can Keep It Act – legislation to follow through on President Obama’s broken promise: “If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan. Period.” This bill would make the grandfathered health plans under Obamacare less restrictive and provide flexibility for individuals to keep the plans they already have.
Sen. Moran believes the entire law should be repealed and replaced, but until that happens American individuals and families must be protected from the disasters created by Obamacare.
FTP LINK: Click here to download his floor speech. (Save to your desktop.)
AUDIO LINK: Click here to download audio of the remarks.
YOUTUBE: Click here to watch his remarks on YouTube.
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