[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 13899]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           OBAMACARE'S CO-OPS

  (Mr. LaMALFA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, this week the House took action to provide 
relief to hundreds of thousands of Americans who lost their insurance 
due to yet another flawed piece of the President's healthcare law.
  Despite spending over $2 billion in startup taxpayer money, 17 of 
ObamaCare's 23 CO-OPs have collapsed, leaving half a million 
individuals without coverage.
  This is a double blow for many Americans who were already forced to 
purchase insurance through these CO-OPs after losing their own plans 
and now are left with two options: either quickly find adequate 
coverage and face paying their deductible twice, or pay a steep penalty 
at the end of the year--all due to the law's own failure.
  Meanwhile, these CO-OPs, sold as a public option feature in 
ObamaCare, showed warning signs of insolvency since their inception, 
plagued with flawed business models and inept management.
  The bill we passed, H.R. 954, simply shields individuals who lost 
their insurance as a result of one of these failed CO-OPs from being 
penalized under the individual mandate through the end of the year.
  On top of higher premiums, rising costs, and difficulty accessing 
care, Americans should not be penalized for the outright failure of a 
program that is preventing compliance.

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