Thursday, March 17, 2011

Isakson Reiterates Call to Repeal Terribly Flawed Health Care Law on Eve of One-Year Anniversary
'Legislation Has Resulted in Higher Costs, Less Benefits and More Regulation on Our States'

WASHINGTON – On the eve of the one-year anniversary of President Obama's terribly flawed health care law, U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., today again called for its repeal as he noted that the law has forced many states – including Georgia – to seek waivers in advance of the higher premiums, fewer benefits and more regulations that will be imposed.

Since the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act went into effect on March 23, 2010, the Obama Administration has issued more than 1,000 waivers exempting over 2.5 million individuals from the law's insurance mandates, according to the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight.

"The health care law has resulted in higher costs, fewer benefits and more regulations on our states. If some relief doesn't come, the impact will be devastating, especially on small businesses," Isakson said on the Senate floor. "The volume of waivers being filed for exemption from the burdensome mandates in the health care law is an early warning of what is going to happen if we don't repeal the health care bill. We must start over and build a system that facilitates private delivery of health care and minimum government interference."

Isakson has persistently opposed the health care law and voted to repeal it on February 2, 2011, because he believes it will raise taxes, raise premiums, cut benefits for seniors and place a massive unfunded mandate on the states. Earlier this year, Isakson praised a ruling by U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson that the health care law is unconstitutional because Congress has no right to require Americans to purchase a product. In November, Isakson joined several of his Republican colleagues in co-signing an amicus brief supporting the court challenge that is focused on the constitutional concerns over the individual mandate included in the health care law.

Isakson also is a co-sponsor of S.192, a separate bill to repeal the entire health care law. The U.S. House of Representatives voted to repeal the law in January 2011.