Ex-HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius: Obamacare Repeal Will Cause 'Pure Chaos'
A repeal of Obamacare would set off mass confusion and chaos, Kathleen Sebelius , the Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Obama, said Wednesday.
Sebelius made the comments as Republicans were meeting in Washington to try to figure out ways to dismantle Obama’s signature legislation and replace it with something else. Obama was also holding meetings with Democrats to figure out ways to salvage his cherished law.
“To pass a bill that says we are going to repeal the current law with nothing to take its place will cause pure chaos. Not just for the individuals, but really for the marketplace. Insurance companies will not continue to participate in a market where there is no certainty that they will have any customers,” she told the FOX Business Network’s Dagen McDowell.
Sebelius said Americans would not be able to pay for the Republican’s proposed multi-prong plan.
“The notion that I think the Republicans will somehow keep the insurance companies selling to people with pre-existing conditions without any financial help and any support is meaningless because people will not be able to afford the coverage,” she said.
Obamacare is working for a lot of people, she said, even though price increases continue to be an important issue.
“No question we need to work on prices,” she said, “That’s regulated at the state level, not by the federal government.”
Even so, Sebelius said most people participating in the market place receive a premium tax credit based on earnings.
“Their premiums are not based on exactly what the premium is in the market. They are based on what their family income is, how affordable this is and this is affordable coverage for millions of people,” she said.
Then she put the onus on the state insurance commissioners who, she said, “should step up and do their jobs.”