WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) released the following statement on the Obama Administration’s latest delay of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) employer mandate:

“The President continues to ignore the reality of how damaging Obamacare is for American individuals and families. The Administration can’t delay away the devastating effects of his law. Following the report last week from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office confirming that his signature legislative accomplishment is causing even more damage to our economy than previously forecasted, the President is again acting without Congress to unilaterally change the law in order to give Democrats political cover in an election season. 

“Obamacare’s problems run much deeper than a poorly-functioning website and badly-executed implementation. The true issue is the flawed underlying basis for the provisions of the law: the idea that the government must determine what coverage is acceptable for Americans, regardless of what Americans want for themselves. I believe the entire law should be repealed to protect individuals, families and businesses from the disasters created by Obamacare. We must replace it with practical reforms that are workable and will actually reduce health care costs.”

The further delay of the employer mandate is just the latest in a series of delays, miscalculations and policy shifts by the president on his signature domestic legislation. Implementation of the ACA has not lowered costs or increased access as promised. Individuals, families and employers face increasing health insurance costs, new taxes overseen by a politically-biased IRS, burdensome mandates, and massive uncertainty because of this flawed law. 

In a report released last week, the CBO found that the health care law would lead some workers – particularly those with lower incomes – to limit their hours to avoid losing federal subsidies that Obamacare provides to help pay for health insurance and other health care costs. The CBO estimates the decrease in hours worked “translates to a reduction in full-time-equivalent employment of about 2.0 million in 2017, rising to about 2.5 million in 2024, compared with what would have occurred in the absence of the ACA.” The CBO earlier predicted 800,000 fewer fulltime jobs by 2021. CBO’s analysis also echoes the concerns of numerous job creating businesses in Kansas and across the country who say the costs of this mandate will decrease their business’ demand for workers – resulting in wage cuts and hour reductions for their employees.

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