10/7 UPDATE: Our fearless U.S. Senators now “forget” or don’t want to talk about their promises that people could keep their insurance plans. Reports The Colorado Observer‘s Mark Stricherz today from Washington:
WASHINGTON — Despite nearly a quarter million Coloradans receiving cancellation letters from health insurers, the state’s two U.S. senators have declined to retract their promises Coloradans with plans would be able to keep them under a new health care law.
On Wednesday, Sen. Michael Bennet said he did not recall a June 2009 speech on the Senate floor in which the Democrat said “(i)f you have coverage and you like it, you can keep it.” His memory notwithstanding, the text and video of the speech remain on Bennet’s website.
When a reporter asked Bennet if he would have voted for the law knowing some Americans would lose their insurance plans, he referred the question to a spokesman. The spokesman did not respond for comment.
Sen. Mark Udall has been similarly coy about the “drop letters” some health insurers have sent to Americans months before and during the rollout of the controversial law.
On Tuesday afternoon, Udall referred a question to a spokesman. His spokesman too did not return an email message for comment.
Udall and Bennet’s evasiveness contrasts with their unambiguous statements four years ago about the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
“If you have an insurance policy you like, a doctor or medical facility that provides medical services to you,” you’ll be able to keep your doctor or your plan,” Udall told a reporter with Fox21 News in September 2009.
“If you have your doctor and you like him or her, you should be able to keep him or her, as well. We will not take that choice away from you,” Bennet added.
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Kyle Clark of 9News tracks down the piece of data we’ve been searching for since The Colorado Observer first broke the health insurance cancellation story on September 20: exactly how many Coloradans have their insurance thanks to Obamacare.
And it ain’t pretty:
NEW: Nearly a quarter million Coloradans have had their health insurance cancelled (249,199 as of Nov 1) #cohealth #aca #obamacare
— Kyle Clark (@KyleClark) November 6, 2013
That’s not what U.S. Senator Mark Udall or then-Congresswoman Betsy Markey promised back in 2009:
“If you have an insurance policy you like, doctor or medical facility that provides medical services to you, you’ll be able to keep that doctor or that insurance policy,” said Udall.
“If you like what (insurance coverage) you have you should be able to keep it,” said Markey.
This news breaks at the same time as equally disastrous news came out for Obamacare, also from 9News today:
Only +244 in last week!?! RT @BrandonRittiman: CO’s health insurance exchange reports 3,408 people enrolled in its plans so far. #COpolitics
— CO Peak Politics (@COpeakpolitics) November 6, 2013
On October 28, the Colorado Obamacare exchange reported it had enrolled 3,164 people. Now, more than a week later they’re reporting only 244 additional signups?
That’s 250,000 people who have lost their insurance coverage for barely 3,000 who’ve gained coverage.
This is worse than even the most cynical critic of Obamacare could have predicted.
What millions of people do not like is having the government tell us what we have to do and then force people to pay for others who leech off the system.
Our Senators and my Congressman suck. What a bunch of worthless, lying, lap dogs of the Dear Leader. When are we going to elect some real Coloradans as oppose Bennett (DC-whose daddy ran NPR) and Udall ( a guy from Utah)). I doubt either will retire in CO.
They are not representing! They are looking out for control and their best interest to stay in control
What kind of government takes insurance from its citizens? Who are those politicians representing?
Every Colorado Senator and Congressman that voted for Obamacare "Own" Obamacare and you know who you are! For you to believe that a 1/4 of a million insured Colorado constituents did not like their policy would be an insult.