Monday on “The Hugh Hewitt Show,” while discussing the Republican efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) said the “forgotten men and women” would continue to be ignored in both the House and Senate bills.
Johnson said, “What we haven’t properly analyzed, and what we don’t have in the public realm is, what caused these premiums to skyrocket? Why aren’t we addressing the premiums that have doubled and tripled in either bill? There are some elements in it but nothing adequate enough to bring down the premiums that were artificially increased because of Obamacare.”
“If we do that, the amount that we spend on subsidies will also decline,” Johnson continued. “The forgotten men and woman that Donald Trump talks about or that Bill Clinton talked about—the people that are busting it working 60 hours a week and then they find their premiums have doubled while the coverage is cut in half—those individuals will finally be able to afford insurance again and not have to take a risk and pay the penalty. Unfortunately, the forgotten men and women remain ignored in both the House and Senate bill. And that is what I am trying to press, but I’m not going to be able to press that case if we don’t have time—if we are forced into a vote this week.”
He added, “I see what leadership is trying to do. They’re trying to jam this thing through. It is far from a perfect bill, but I’m not going to let perfect be the enemy of the good. All I’m asking is, let’s give ourselves a few more days, maybe a week or two. Don’t jam this thing in three or four days.”