Press Releases

Although Obamacare has been on the books for more than a decade, the Biden Administration is attempting to illegally and unilaterally change the law, according to a new letter from Ways and Means Republican Leader Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) and Senate Finance Committee Republican Leader Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID). Doing so could exacerbate 40-year high inflation, which is causing prices to rise three times faster than paychecks.

Urging the Administration to reverse course, the GOP Leaders write:

“[u]nilaterally redefining the application of the ACA’s insurance affordability standard could result in substantial disruption for workers and job creators alike, in addition to exacerbating 40-year-high inflation through tens of billions in new taxpayer spending. [...]

“The Biden Administration’s attempt to change statutory law without congressional action is both troubling and illegal. The Obama Administration’s Treasury Department reviewed all arguments regarding the proposed interpretation and found them lacking.”

Read the full letter HERE.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

The Biden Administration is Attempting to Unilaterally Alter Obamacare.

• Despite pressure from Democrats to make changes to Obamacare after passage, the Obama Administration determined that it lacked the authority to do so, which is consistent with both the statutory text and the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation’s (JCT) analysis of the law.
• Along with the Obama Treasury Department, 51 congressional Democrats agreed that the Administration must come to Congress for a legislative fix to this “glitch”.

The Biden Administration’s Effort To Rewrite Obamacare Without Congress Shows Democrats Know It’s Broken.

• Instead of working across the aisle to lower the true cost of health care, the Biden Administration has continued to fuel higher premiums with increased and expanded subsidies.
• Now President Biden wants to illegally change the enacted law through executive order.

The Biden Administration’s Changes Will Do Nothing to Address High Health Care Costs.

• The average price paid for health insurance (“premiums”) jumped by 143 percent between 2013 and 2019.
• At the same time that premiums more than doubled in the individual market, deductibles for ACA-compliant coverage also increased by an average of 35 percent -- over $1,700 for individuals and $3,600 for families.
• Over 10 years, spending on health care per person increased by 28.7 percent.

There Is a Better Way To Address High Health Care Costs.

• Republicans have laid out approaches to addressing the worst impacts of Democrats’ broken health care law here.