Landrieu to propose saving vanishing health plans
Published October 31, 2013
by Many Raju, Politico, October 30, 2013.
Sen. Mary Landrieu said Wednesday she would propose legislation to ensure all Americans could keep their existing insurance coverage under Obamacare, a fresh sign of the political problems the law’s rollout has created for congressional Democrats.
Landrieu, a Democrat who faces a tough reelection in Louisiana in 2014, said she would either offer her own bill or formally sign onto another measure that would ensure that the law would not force anyone off of their existing health policies.
Landrieu’s comments come as the White House faces a barrage of criticism over President Barack Obama’s repeated promises in 2009 that the law would not force anyone off of their plans.
But since the online marketplaces were rolled out this month, insurance companies have sent hundreds of thousands of letters warning policy holders in the individual marketplace that they would be kicked off their plans. The White House has argued that this cancellation only affects 5 percent of consumers in the individual marketplace, and that they would in turn be able to select better coverage plans than their current policies.
Nevertheless, the unequivocal promises Democrats made in 2009 have emerged as a political liability for the White House and Democrats in Congress. And some like Sens. Joe Manchin, a Democrat from the red state of West Virginia, and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), who faces reelection next year, have either called for an extension of the enrollment period or a delay of major elements of the law.
In September 2010, all Senate Democrats, including Landrieu, voted to reject a plan Republicans said would have killed Obama administration regulations that now have resulted in the cancellation of insurance policies.
Landrieu said that her bill would “grandfather” in soon-to-be-cancelled plans, even if insurance holders could find better policies through the exchanges.
Asked if she believed Obama wasn’t forthright with the public about the law, Landrieu said: “I didn’t think it was intentional” and said that the country would be “better off” if Republicans had tried to improve the law rather than repeal it repeatedly.
Responding to criticisms that she was taking the action to protect herself politically, Landrieu said of Republicans: “These guys will make up anything — always have. And I’ve beat them every time, and I intend to do it again.”
October 31, 2013 at 1:34 pm
Norm Kelly says:
Demoncrats in tough races, and maybe even safe ones like Landrieu may be, are finding it difficult to continue to support a program that has proven to be at least as bad as, if not worse than, opponents predicted. The lie of 'you can keep it' and 'you can keep your doctor' are simply showing a majority of self-sufficient Americans that Demoncrats, and perhaps Washington politicians in general, can NOT be trusted with our daily lives. People who are not self-sufficient probably appreciate that the Demoncrats are doing everything possible to GIVE them what they aren't willing to get on their own. Demoncrats are doing everything possible to void the Constitution, STEAL from the producers, so they can GIVE to the non-producers. Business must be punished in order to provide benefits to those who don't get them on their own. Rich people must be punished in order to be FORCED to provide benefits to the group of 'chosen ones', the group selected by the socialists in Washington. Landrieu seems to be just another socialists trying to hide her true nature until after the next election. For way too many politicians, the only goal is to survive the next election, not to actually do what's best for the majority or for the country. I have very little faith in Washington, very little faith in politicians in general, and absolute concrete faith in Demoncrats. I may not know exactly what the Republicans in Washington will do in the near future, but I am absolutely convinced of what the Demoncrats in Washington will do. They haven't strayed from their message for at least 2 generations, they haven't strayed from their plans for at least 2 generations. They continue to move socialism forward by the littlest bit at every turn. So little that sometimes it's not noticed. Other times some people drink the kool-aid because it just sounds like it's so good, like it's 'for the children'.
Can ANY socialist show me in the Constitution where it says that my cell phone bill MUST be higher than it should be so someone else, someone who doesn't live in my household, that I'm not financially responsible for, MUST be provided a cell phone? Why am I paying for someone else's luxury item like a cell phone? And don't even try to convince me that a cell phone is a matter of life & death that requires I pay for it. This is just another liberal/socialist straw man argument. Yet I'm forced every month to pay for somebody else's cell phone; someone I don't even know; someone who may not even live in my state, let alone my neighborhood. This is just one example of lawlessness perpetrated by politicians in Washington that cost me and GIVES to non-producers. With no visible positive effect. But it's critical that the program continue & that my money continues to be STOLEN from me. How is this fair?
November 1, 2013 at 12:07 pm
Marion Suitt says:
It's not fair and it's just that simple.
