Sen. Tom Cotton is leading one more throwdown between congressional Republicans and the administration on the issue of Obamacare before the November election, arguing that the issue is both “sad for families” and “bad politics” for Democrats.
Cotton has authored the “Obamacare Tax Relief and Consumer Choice Act,” which would allow families to escape the $695 federal penalty levied on adults who cannot afford insurance coverage.
The exemption would apply to those who live in states where health insurance premiums have increased by 10 percent or more on average, or who cannot afford the deductible in available plans.
“It holds the president to his promises that Obamacare would make health insurance more affordable,” Cotton told the Washington Examiner. “The opposite has come to pass, and it’s even worse than that. The cost of health insurance is rising in Arkansas and most other states.
“Americans can’t afford health insurance because Obamacare increased the price, and now they have to pay a penalty. I think that’s a terrible bind in which to put most American families. They’re either trying to pay health insurance that’s no longer affordable, or paying a penalty for not buying insurance that made Obamacare unaffordable.”
Citing losses of $200 million in the second quarter of the year, health insurance provider Aetna said in August that it was going to pull out of Affordable Care Act exchanges in most states. The move made Arizona’s Pinal County the first in the nation to have no available Obamacare insurer.
Cotton said the case was extreme, but that many counties had been put in a bad position.
“Fortunately in Arkansas right now, every county has two insurers,” he said. “I do worry that we may reach the point where some counties in Arkansas have only one and therefore no competition or choice for consumers. There are already hundreds of counties that are down to just one option on the exchange, which means those Americans have no choice.”
In addition to helping people opt out of the individual mandate in areas where the cost of coverage has seen a significant increase, Cotton’s bill would also allow consumers to use health savings accounts for over-the-counter drugs and medical costs, like Claritin or Zantac, and remove the 20 percent tax that Obamacare imposed on HSAs.
Additional sponsors on the legislation include New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr, Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford and Arizona Sen. John McCain. All are Republicans.
The party will need to find at least six votes from outside its ranks in the Senate in order to overcome an inevitable veto from the president. That’s going to be an uphill battle, especially in the days leading up to a presidential election. But it likely means an abundance of fireworks.
Cotton said he hoped that process would begin in September, and added that doing the right thing would be synonymous with good politics for Democrats. “I think this is a pretty urgent priority for most families, because most families can’t afford price increases that are in the double digits, and they certainly can’t afford to pay a penalty because they can’t afford their insurance.
“I hope we can have a vote on that in September, and I hope my Democratic colleagues will recognize that it’s both sad for those families and pretty bad politics to fine people because you made their insurance too expensive,” Cotton said.
