McMorris Rodgers: “We aren’t going to pull the rug out from anyone”

At a press conference on Capitol Hill today, House Republican Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) reaffirmed House Republicans’ commitment to ensuring a smooth and stable transition out of Obamacare. McMorris Rodgers refuted the claim that people who currently have coverage under Obamacare will lose that coverage the day after Obamacare is repealed: “But let me be clear: No one who has coverage because of Obamacare TODAY, will lose that coverage the day it’s repealed. … We aren’t going to pull the rug out from anyone.”

Following are McMorris Rodgers’s remarks, as prepared:

Obamacare was the federal government’s attempt to “fix” our health care system, and it failed.  

Here are the facts:

• …Health care prices didn’t go down — they went up.

• …Year after year, premiums have gone up double digits.

And here’s what we need to be asking ourselves:

• “How many people are paying more for health care today than before Obamacare?”

• …”How many of us have found all the rules and restrictions of health care more difficult?”

• …”How many of us KNOW someone, who lost health care coverage since Obamacare was implemented?”

No matter who you are, you deserve a 21st Century health care system — that kicks the federal bureaucrat out of the sacred space between you and your doctor.

But let me be clear: No one who has coverage because of Obamacare TODAY, will lose that coverage the day it’s repealed.  

• …We aren’t going to pull the rug out from anyone.

• …We’ll protect coverage for people with pre-existing conditions.

• …Our sons and daughters can stay on their parents’ insurance until 26.

Remember, as far back as 2009 — when this whole debate over health care started — Republicans were offering free-market solutions…  …to address our nation’s health care problems.

• And we’ve been doing that ever since.

• We want to be thoughtful and deliberate.

• And we welcome input from everyone.

Because a 21st Century health care system shouldn’t be a partisan issue — it should be about patients, not politics.

• …It should be straightforward — everyone should be able to trust that the system will work for them.

• …It should be health care that treats you like a human being…

• …not just a number in a waiting line.

That’s what we’re offering people – a 21st Century health care system that puts them back in control of their lives.