Reduced healthcare choices under Obamacare has prompted eight Republican senators to introduce legislation that will let Obamacare customers to buy plans off the exchanges.
The bill offered Wednesday would waive a penalty for Obamacare customers finding a healthcare plan that is not on one of the law’s exchanges, and would give people that option for a year.
“This one-year solution is not a substitute for the long-term need to repeal and replace Obamacare,” said Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., one of the senators supporting the legislation.
The bill comes after several high-profile insurer defections from major insurers Aetna and UnitedHealth, and the collapse of more taxpayer-funded consumer oriented and operated plans.
A recent study from consulting firm Avalere Health found that a third of U.S. counties are going to have only one Obamacare insurer due in part to the defections. An Arizona county recently made national news for not having any Obamacare plans, but Blue Cross Blue Shield announced recently it would offer plans.
The Obama administration has responded previously that there is still time for insurers to offer plans, and called the Avalere study incomplete. There is a Sept. 23 deadline for insurers to offer final plans for the Obamacare exchanges.
If the state decides to use the authority granted in the legislation, it would allow residents to use subsidies outside the exchange. It will also waive a requirement that a consumer has to buy a specific healthcare plan or pay a fine of as much as $2,000 for a family of four next year, a press release said.
“This bill would provide individuals who have suffered under the high costs and fewer choices of Obamacare more options to receive coverage, which means more competition, which in turn brings down costs,” said Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio.
Other Republicans joining the effort are facing difficult re-election contests, including Sens. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., Mark Kirk, R-Ill., and Ron Johnson, R-Wis.
The other senators are John Barrasso, R-Wyo., Thad Cochran, R-Miss., and David Perdue, R-Ga.
