Rep. Brady: Biden's Illegal Rewrite of Obamacare Worsens Inflation, Ignores Clear Legal Guidance

WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 -- Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, Republican leader on the House Ways and Means Committee, issued the following statement on Oct. 11, 2022:

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After President Biden announced a unilateral rewrite of the law underpinning Obamacare, Ways and Means Republican Leader Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) issued the following statement:

"President Biden's dangerous and illegal decision to unilaterally rewrite Obamacare without Congress is deeply troubling.

"This is no 'family glitch.' It's the letter of the law Democrats passed, which is why the Obama-Biden Treasury rejected this very same approach as not legal only a few years ago.

"Like the illegal school debt bailout, the Biden Administration is pursuing tens of billions in new taxpayer spending that will only worsen 40-year high inflation. With health care insurance inflation rising 17 percent, Democrats should be working with Republicans rather than continuing to throw money at the problem."

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

The Biden Administration Is Unilaterally Altering Obamacare.

* Despite pressure from Democrats to make changes to Obamacare after passage, the Obama Administration determined that it lacked the authority to do so, which is consistent with both the statutory text and the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation's (JCT) analysis of the law.

Republicans Called for Transparency in How the Administration Justified Rewriting the Law

* Obamacare's legislative text makes clear that employees with affordable coverage (as defined in the law) should not receive federal subsidies to cover dependents.

* Along with the Obama Treasury Department, 51 congressional Democrats agreed that Congress must legislate in order to change eligibility rules.

* Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health Republican Leader Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) offered a resolution of inquiry seeking records of how the White House justifies violating a decade of legal implementation of the law - but Democrats rejected the resolution.

* The Administration also ducked meetings with stakeholder groups who felt that the proposed rule should be withdrawn "because it is an impermissible reading of the statute and bad policy."

The Biden Administration's Effort To Rewrite Obamacare Without Congress Shows Democrats Know It's Broken.

* Instead of working across the aisle to lower the true cost of health care, the Biden Administration has continued to fuel higher premiums with increased and expanded subsidies.

* Now President Biden is illegally changing the enacted law through executive order.

The Biden Administration's Changes Will Do Nothing to Address High Health Care Costs.

* The average price paid for health insurance ("premiums") jumped by 143 percent between 2013 and 2019.

* At the same time that premiums more than doubled in the individual market, deductibles for ACA-compliant coverage also increased by an average of 35 percent -- over $1,700 for individuals and $3,600 for families.

* Over 10 years, spending on health care per person increased by 28.7 percent.

There Is a Better Way To Address High Health Care Costs.

* Republicans have laid out approaches to addressing the worst impacts of Democrats' broken health care law here.

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Original text here: https://gop-waysandmeans.house.gov/brady-bidens-illegal-rewrite-of-obamacare-worsens-inflation-ignores-clear-legal-guidance/