Bipartisan Problem Solvers Plan That Would Prevent 2018 Premium Spike and Finally Start Fixing Obamacare Begins to Move Forward

Congressman Dan Lipinski (IL-3) released the following statement today:

"With the recent news that 2018 premiums for health insurance in Illinois purchased under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) - also known as Obamacare - will rise as much as 43%, it is time for Congress to finally act to begin to fix the ACA and provide real affordable healthcare. On Monday, the Problem Solvers Caucus - a bipartisan group of 43 members of the House - announced that they had agreed upon a plan that would alleviate much of the proposed 2018 premium spike, help stabilize the individual market, and create a program that can further lower premiums another 10%.

"Since the release of the agreement, support has been growing across the country. Newspaper editorial boards including the New York Times and the Washington Post have endorsed the Problem Solvers' plan, and many constituents have come up to thank me for this commonsense proposal to make healthcare more affordable.

"We have now begun working on drafting legislation to implement the plan. Caucus members, including myself, have been in contact with senators from both sides of the aisle who have expressed interest in the Problem Solvers' plan. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander announced this week that he is going to work with Democrats on bipartisan legislation to accomplish the same goals as the Caucus' plan.

"I helped negotiate this compromise plan, which is the first bipartisan effort to begin fixing the ACA. The purpose of this agreement is not to solve all the issues with the ACA, but to take commonsense steps that will make it work better and help American families right now.

"Some will oppose this plan because it is a compromise, which means no one got everything they wanted. Others will oppose it because they want the ACA to collapse. Some partisans in both parties may even believe that if the ACA fails the other side will get blamed in the next election. But most Americans just want the ACA to be fixed so they can access affordable healthcare. They are tired of the status quo in Washington and want their representatives to work together to solve problems like this. That is what the Problem Solvers Caucus is doing."

Read this original document at: https://lipinski.house.gov/press-releases/bipartisan-problem-solvers-plan-that-would-prevent-2018-premium-spike-and-finally-start-fixing-obamacare-begins-to-move-forward/