Weekly Column - Obama's Other Deficits

Statement

Trillion-dollar spending shortfalls aren't the only deficits the Obama Administration is racking up. Last week, we learned more people have been notified that their health insurance plans will be cancelled than have been able to sign up for plans on the new Obamacare exchanges.

Nationwide, only 106,185 Americans were able to register for new government-mandated health insurance on the individual market with the vast majority doing so through state-operated systems. The federally-run HealthCare.gov logged fewer than 27,000 successful enrollments. These figures fall far short of the 500,000 target the Obama Administration was hoping for. Meanwhile, more than 4.2 million Americans have learned that their current policies will be cancelled, despite President Obama's promise that you could keep your plan.

More than 80,000 Nebraskans received cancellation notices because of Obamacare, but only 338 Nebraskans were able to enroll in private plans through the government exchange in the first month. About three times as many Nebraskans contacted my office to express frustration with the law, including its higher premiums, deductibles and out-of-pocket requirements.

Another common theme in many of these letters was the sense that Americans were duped by the President. So, to save face and assuage Congressional Democrats facing an angry electorate, the President tried to preempt a congressional effort that could expose growing opposition among those in his own party.

The president announced last week he would allow Americans to keep their plans for another year if insurers continue to offer them, which allows him to skirt his broken promise. It stands as yet another example of the President choosing by executive decree to ignore parts of his own law.

The House passed a bipartisan bill last Friday to change the law legally instead of from a White House podium, and open the door to allow Americans to keep their plans. But the President threatened to veto the bill, which gained the support of 39 Democrats. It's clear that, even with bipartisan efforts to help make Obamacare's rollout less painful for folks across the country, the President is determined to prevent Republicans from changing his beleaguered namesake law.

Perhaps the most frustrating element of all of this is that it could have been avoided. It's no surprise that the President was never going to be able to keep his promise the way this law was written. I warned of this very situation on the Senate floor in 2010, and even Democrats admit they knew millions of Americans would not be able to keep their plans despite repeated pledges from the President.

The President is now left playing whack-a-mole with his own law. Every time he tries to tamp down a problem, another one pops up. Unfortunately, this is not a game he or anyone else will be able to win. Caught in the middle are millions of American families who must bear the brunt of the consequences.

As elected officials, we should strive to pass responsible policies that help the American people. I will continue to support efforts to reduce the harm done by Obamacare, but it's clear now, more than ever, that the best solution is full repeal. It's time for Democrats to stand with the American people, and join Republicans working to repeal this flawed law.

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