Senator Tim Scott, 24 GOP Colleagues Call on Administration to Immediately Rescind Rule Giving Unions a Carveout from Obamacare

Washington  – Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) and 24 of his Republican colleagues today called on the Obama administration to immediately rescind its rule creating an unwarranted special carveout for some unions from Obamacare fees.    “If the President’s legislation is too burdensome to apply to his political supporters, then it is also too harmful for individuals across our nation. Rather than systematically creating exemptions for political friends and election-year worries, the President and Senator Harry Reid need to get serious about making healthcare work for Americans and allow this law to be repealed and replaced with sensible reforms.”   The administration released a rule on March 5 exempting some self-insured health plans, such as those commonly run by unions, from Obamacare’s reinsurance fee in 2015 and 2016. The three-year, $25 billion reinsurance fee is meant to stabilize the individual market if too many sick customers sign up for insurance between 2014 and 2016. Prior to last week’s final rule, the fee applied equally to everyone with a private health insurance plan or a health plan administered by a private insurer. Those who did not receive a special carveout will now likely have to pay a bigger share of the fee.   The letter was signed by Senator Scott as well as Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), Orrin Hatch (R-UT),  James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Mike Johanns (R-Neb.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), John Thune (R-SD), David Vitter (R-La.), and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.).   The full text of the letter is below:   March 13, 2014     Mrs. Sylvia Mathews Burwell Director Office of Management and Budget 301 G Street, Southwest Washington, DC  20024               RE: Final Rule No. RIN 0938-AR89   Dear Director Burwell:   We write to express deep disappointment that your agency has approved a final rule creating an unwarranted special carveout benefitting certain unions over other Americans. We demand that the rule be immediately rescinded or we will consider using options such as the Congressional Review Act (“CRA”) to stop the rule from going into effect.  The CRA is an important backstop against executive branch excess and overreach. It is regulations such as this one that demonstrate why a Republican-led Congress enacted this law in 1996.   On September 18 and November 13, 2013, 21 U.S. Senators wrote to ask that you not authorize the release of any regulation that would create any special exemptions from Obamacare for labor unions who are now unhappy with a law they once supported. Those letters not only went unanswered, they were blatantly ignored. The American people deserve answers when their own government proposes to undermine their right to equal treatment under law. Carving out some unions from a multi-billion dollar reinsurance fee, the cost of which will ultimately be borne by every other American with private health insurance, is unacceptable.   Obamacare is not working. This regulation is the most recent in a long line of confusing delays, exemptions, and politically motivated crony rewards. Obamacare should be repealed and replaced with step-by-step, patient-centered reforms that drive down costs and that Americans actually want. We reiterate what we communicated to you in September: We stand willing to work with anyone who will help enact common-sense laws that could actually lower premiums and insure more people.   # # #