Del. Ed Scott (R-Madison) received some unwelcome news this weekend: to keep the same insurance plan for his small business, the monthly premiums are going up 69 percent under the Affordable Care Act – a prohibitive expense for any company.
Scott took to the House floor for a point of personal privilege and used the time to relate the story, but also to remind legislators of the promise made and broken to the American people by the Obama administration and members of the Democratic Party: “If you like your current plan, you can keep it.” Clearly the lie of the century.
“The broken promise that has been delivered to our company, and is being delivered on a weekly basis to people all across the commonwealth, is the reason why we must move slowly and move judiciously on health care reform and Medicaid expansion!”
Scott went on to explain the uncertainty of Medicaid expansion, with some estimates varying by $3 billion and initial expansion predicated on what can only be considered an empty promise by the administration to pay for 100 percent of expansion during the first three years and 90 percent to follow.
This comes while the Congressional Budget Office announced today what we’ve all already known: that the next decade will continue to experience increasing public debt.
“Under Obamacare, millions of hardworking Americans will lose their jobs and those who keep them will see their hours and wages reduced,” said Majority Leader Eric Cantor regarding the CBO report. “How much more proof do we need of Obamacare’s devastating effects before Democrats finally admit the law they enacted isn’t working for America? It’s not fair to working middle class families who are dealing with canceled plans, higher costs and declining access to also see their jobs, wages and hours be put at risk.”
Scott urged his colleagues not to take action this session that would expand Medicaid in Virginia, but, instead, to continue studying the issue and looking for opportunities to reform the program.
He received a standing ovation following his remarks.
