WASHINGTON, DC - U.S Congressman Pete Sessions, Chairman of the House Committee on Rules, released the following statement regarding the passage of a measure to protect the thousands of individuals who have lost their healthcare as a result of co-ops going out of business from incurring a penalty under the individual mandate:

"In an ultimately failed attempt to bolster his failing healthcare law, President Obama in 2014 promised his newly established co-op programs would create much needed competition in the private healthcare marketplace. As we know now, like every other ObamaCare promise, it was broken. Most co-ops had net losses of at least $15 million in their first year resulting in more than $1 billion in federal loans that will never be paid back to the American taxpayers. Now, only six of the original 23 co-ops remain forcing more than 800,000 Americans to find a new healthcare plan. To add insult to injury, when these individuals fall victim to this failure they are often blindsided by another pitfall of the law: a tax penalty under ObamaCare’s individual mandate clause, even if their plan cancels in between the enrollment periods. Americans should not be penalized for the numerous shortcomings of this disastrous law and I am pleased that the House swiftly acted to correct this injustice."

For more on H.R. 954, CO-OP Consumer Protection Act of 2016, click here.

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