Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said on Tuesday that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is an example of executive overreach and advocated for healthcare reforms that he drafted with fellow Republican senators.
Sens. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and Hatch drafted the Patient Choice, Affordability, Responsibility and Empowerment Act (Patient CARE Act).
“Let me be absolutely clear on this point: I oppose Obamacare, and I’m going to fight as long as it takes to repeal that misguided law and replace it with a system that actually works for American families,” Hatch, the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, said. “That’s why I’ve collaborated with several of my colleagues to unveil a framework for the Patient CARE Act, a plan that would repeal Obamacare and replace it with commonsense, patient-centered reforms that reduce healthcare costs and increase access to affordable, high-quality care.”
Hatch said the ACA was implemented in an “unlawful” manner and the Obama administration unilaterally altered the law 22 times.
“When faced with the prospect of enforcing disruptive features of his signature law, the president has chosen to ignore his fundamental obligation to enforce the law and has instead sought to rewrite various provisions of Obamacare unilaterally,” Hatch said.
Hatch also called the administration’s previous claims that Americans would be able to keep their health insurance policies “dishonest.”