On September 9, 2009, President Obama spoke to a joint session of Congress – and the American people – about his health care reform plan.  During that speech, the President said:

 

“..if you are among the hundreds of millions of Americans who already have health insurance through your job, or Medicare, or Medicaid, or the VA, nothing in this plan will require you or your employer to change the coverage or the doctor you have.  Let me repeat this:  Nothing in our plan requires you to change what you have.”

 

With those words, the President – and Congressional Democrats – made a vow to the 170 million people who get health coverage through their employer.  They promised that if Americans liked their current coverage, the health care law would let you keep it.

 

What a difference a year makes.

 

On June 14, 2010, the Obama Administration released a 121 page “grandfathered health plan” rule that breaks the President’s promise.

Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), explained how the Administration’s new health care law will not allow between 39% – 69% of businesses to keep their current coverage. Excerpts of his remarks are below: 

 

“Obamacare included a provision allowing existing insurance plans to be grandfathered under the new law.  Theoretically that means that employers and individuals would not have to give up the coverage that they have and that they like just to comply with onerous government rules and mandates.

 

“So you have to make sure, though, that you read the fine print.  A chart in the new Administration rules estimates that between 39% and 69% of businesses will lose their grandfathered health plan status.

 

“Now the picture is even worse for small businesses in America.  And it is small businesses that are the engines that drive this economy. The same chart in this report estimates by the year 2013 up to 80% of small businesses will lose their grandfathered status. This means that American businesses will not be able to keep their current insurance plans.

 

“They will be required by the federal government to comply with all the new mandates which are very expensive and are contained in the new health care law. This only serves to drive employer health care costs up. Making it even more difficult for them to offer health insurance to their workers.

 

“Mr. President, I’m sorry, maybe the American people are confused. The American people believe that the goal of reform was to lower health care costs.  America’s small businesses struggle each and every day to find a way to provide health insurance to the employees.

 

“The government should be making it easier for businesses to keep providing the coverage. Instead, the bureaucratic regulation drives prices up. This is going to increase the odds that employers are going to simply choose to stop offering health care insurance coverage completely.

 

“Now, additionally, Mr. President, this so-called grandfather regulation, well, it makes it much harder for employers to make health insurance changes, and those are changes that would actually help to keep down the cost of care, to keep down the cost of coverage.

 

“Today, businesses have very few options if they want to keep costs in check and also keep their grandfathered status. Businesses that lose their grandfather status are then forced to comply with all the new rules, all the mandates in the health care law and now, even by the White House’s own admission; we’re talking about up to 80% of the small businesses in this country.

 

“The White House regulations were written in a way that violates the pledge that the President made to the American people.

 

“And that’s why I come to the floor today, Mr. President, to support the efforts of my friend, the senior Senator from Wyoming. Senator Enzi, the ranking member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee has introduced Senate Joint Resolution 39, a resolution of disapproval that would overturn the Administration’s so-called grandfathered rule.

 

“It’s an honor to stand with Senator Enzi and fight against this job-killing, Washington mandate. I appreciate his leadership, but more importantly his dedication to make sure that the President keeps his promise–a promise that if you like the health insurance plan you had before the new health law was passed, then you can actually keep it.”

 

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