Rokita Statement on 3rd Anniversary of ObamaCare

Press Release

U.S. Rep. Todd Rokita, member of the House Budget Committee, issued the following statement today on the 3rd anniversary of ObamaCare:

"Three years later, ObamaCare has failed to live to any of the promises made by its supporters. In fact, the bill has managed to do quite the opposite.

"Taxes have gone up, people have lost their coverage, employers aren't hiring, Medicare is more complicated for seniors and insurance premiums have risen. This is only the beginning.

"When the full force of this law goes into effect in 2014, it is hard to imagine the toll on our economy and our health. I will continue working with my House colleagues to repeal this monstrosity and produce consumer-driven solutions to improve our health care system.

"We must pursue responsible solutions like the House Budget that was passed this week that not only repeals ObamaCare and the job-killing medical device tax that comes with it, but empowers states to improved Medicaid through premium support and patient-centered health care," said Rokita.

As a member of the House Budget Committee, Rokita crafted key Medicaid reforms included in the House-passed budget, based on his State Health Flexibility Act. The Medicaid reforms advanced by Rokita would strengthen the program by giving increased flexibility to states, allowing them to tailor the program to their unique populations (click here to read Rokita's op-ed about these Medicaid reforms).

This would allow Indiana to expand the successful Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP) to provide health care to more needy Hoosiers. Under current federal law, in particular ObamaCare, Indiana must get explicit permission from the Obama administration before it can provide this crucial lifeline to Hoosiers. To date, the Obama administration has not provided this permission. The House budget would provide an innovative solution to this standoff between Indiana and the federal government.

Rokita, a member of the Medical Technology Caucus, has also helped lead the fight against the medical device tax. Along with members of the Indiana congressional delegation, Rokita hosted a medical device field hearing in Indianapolis last October, and is an original cosponsor of H.R. 523, the Protect Medical Innovation Act, which would fully repeal the tax. For more information on Rokita's efforts against the medical device tax, visit the health care section of his Red Tape Rollback annual report.

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