McCaskill Statement on Blue Cross Announcement

WASHINGTON, May 24 -- The office of Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., issued the following news release:

U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, who last week introduced legislation aiming to protect access to health insurance for Missourians on the individual insurance market amid reports of insurers withdrawing from those markets, today released the following statement after Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City announced its withdrawal from 25 Missouri counties:

"The challenges in the individual marketplace are exactly why we need options for folks in those counties, to protect Missourians' access to health insurance, and I think my legislation--letting Missourians who don't have access to a local insurance provider get the same plans that Congress gets--is the way to do it."

McCaskill's legislation would allow individuals in "bare counties"--counties with no insurers participating in the individual insurance marketplaces--access to the same insurance plans offered to members of Congress and Congressional staff.

The legislation would ensure that individuals in counties with no insurance options on the individual Marketplace have access to insurance through "DC Health Link" where most members of Congress and Congressional staff purchase insurance. While Congress previously obtained health insurance through Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) as other federal employees do, the Affordable Care Act required Congress to leave FEHB and purchase insurance on the new law's individual market.

Most of Congress now uses DC Health Link, while McCaskill instead forfeits her employer contribution to purchase her insurance on Healthcare.gov, the federal Marketplace used by Missourians on the individual market.

McCaskill's new bill is her latest action to address problems the Affordable Care Act. Previously, she helped repeal burdensome reporting requirements on small businesses, introduced bipartisan legislation to address a provision leading to problematic Medicare reimbursements to hospitals, backed a plan to increase healthcare flexibility for small employers, and to address how the law defines small group markets, and backed legislation improving healthcare options for pregnant women.

McCaskill has opposed the healthcare plan being pursued by Republican leaders in Congress that experts say would gut protections for people with preexisting health conditions and significantly hike costs for Missourians between ages 50-64. That plan is opposed by the AARP, American Medical Association, American Nurses Association, among others.

Visit mccaskill.senate.gov/healthcare to learn more about McCaskill's work to improve healthcare for Missourians.