U.S. Reps. Charles Boustany (R-LA), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Randy Hultgren (R-IL) spoke in support of legislation on Tuesday that would provide individual mandate relief in the wake of failed insurance cooperatives set-up by the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
The CO-OP Consumer Protection Act, H.R. 954, introduced by U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith (R-NE), would temporarily exempt individuals who purchased insurance coverage through failed issuers that received funding through the Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan (CO-OP). The bill passed the House with bipartisan support on Tuesday.
Blackburn, the vice chairwoman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said that failed CO-OPs have left consumers scrambling to find health insurance and facing fewer affordable options.
“So the Affordable Care Act becomes unaffordable for millions of Americans,” Blackburn said. “Eight million of that 20 million had insurance from their employer. They were perfectly happy. All of a sudden they are thrown into a program, and now the insured goes out of business. Fewer choices. Even in my state of Tennessee, our insurance commissioner, Julie McPeak, testified before the Energy and Commerce Committee about the burdens of CO-OPs and the failures that it has brought about on our state regulators and our communities.”
Closure of the Community Health Alliance Mutual Insurance Company in Tennessee affected 27,000 people alone, and only six of the original 23 CO-Ops in the state remain, Blackburn added.
Boustany, meanwhile, said that more than 7,000 Louisianans complied with ACA’s individual mandate and purchased health insurance through a CO-OP that was later terminated mid-year.
“It’s a common sense bill,” Boustany said. “It helps people who are struggling with these costs, many of whom lost employment and everything else. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. It’s common sense, it’s narrowly crafted, it’s the right thing to do. It’s the moral thing to do.”
Hultgren said that he has heard “heart-wrenching” stories from his home district about individuals suffering from cancer or complex health conditions who have been left without health coverage.
“To make matters worse, any other plan they enroll in on the Illinois exchange gives them not just a narrower provider network, but a totally different one,” Hultgren said. “They are left in a financially vulnerable, rushed and confusing position as they have to navigate a drastically changed exchange and costs for out-of-network care.”
The CO-OP Consumer Protection Act is not a solution to ACA’s worsening problems, Hultgren added, but the individual mandate exemption would stop the federal government from punishing consumers for not having coverage after a CO-OP fell apart.
“While we work on a more comprehensive solution to the ACA’s myriad of problems, the least we can do is offer these men and women some financial relief,” Hultgren said.