Washington State Congressman Dave Reichert, R-Auburn, a member of the Ways and Means Committee whose District 8 includes Kent, Auburn and numerous other cities, released the following statement after the conclusion of Tuesday’s hearing on the status of the Affordable Care Act implementation:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThe president\u2019s healthcare law has resulted in nothing but a string of broken promises to the American people.\u00a0 From the beginning, President Obama assured Americans that if they like their health care plan they can keep it, and if they like their doctor they can keep their doctor.\u00a0 But he admitted to Republican members of Congress on January 29, 2010, \u2018we said from the start that \u2014 that it was going to be important for us to be consistent in saying to people if you can have your \u2014 if you want to keep the health insurance you\u2019ve got, you can keep it; that you\u2019re not going to have anybody getting in between you and your doctor in your decision making. And I think that some of the provisions that got snuck in might have violated that pledge.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cToday, Americans are painfully aware these guarantees simply aren\u2019t true.\u00a0 In Washington State alone a quarter million individuals received notices that their health care plan is no longer available and in its place is a higher cost alternative they simply can\u2019t afford. Secretary Sebelius testified before this very committee that there would be no more delays in the implementation of the law and that everything would be up and ready to go when the exchanges opened October 1st.\u00a0 This too was a broken promise as the many problems with the rollout of the law are well documented.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cToday, we had the opportunity to discuss these problems and determine the status of the Administration\u2019s plans to resolve not only the federal exchange website issues but the problems inherent to the very law itself.\u00a0 While I appreciate Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Marilyn Tavenner\u2019s readiness to testify before the Ways and Means committee and engage in a serious conversation about the law\u2019s failures, I do not feel that, today, my questions and my constituents\u2019 questions were answered.\u00a0 Unfortunately, no definitive solutions were offered to reassure Americans that the failures of the law\u2019s implementation will be corrected and, most importantly, won\u2019t happen again.\u00a0 In fact, it would seem that all that continues to await us is further problems.\u00a0 It is clear to me that the healthcare law is not ready for the American people.\u00a0 Until this administration can make absolutely certain it\u2019s ready, or Congress can repeal what every day becomes a more problematic law that\u2019s hurting families, the President owes it to the American people to delay the Individual Mandate, not just a mere six weeks but a full year until this healthcare law, or an alternative, can be implemented smoothly and effectively.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n