Acting On Affordable Care

House Republicans are unable to repeal the Affordable Care Act, so now they are trying to block the Department of Health and Human Services from implementing any further health care reforms.

A bill drafted by House Republicans would exempt more health insurance plans from regulations under the health system reform law.

GOP lawmakers discussed legislation to block the Dept. of Health and Human Services from enforcing reform law provisions during a Sept. 15 Energy and Commerce health subcommittee hearing. A draft version of the bill circulated during the hearing would grant grandfathered status to all health plans operating before the reform law was enacted on March 23, 2010.

Such legislation would prevent HHS from implementing new mandates regarding coverage and health plan administration, said Rep. Joseph Pitts (R, Pa.), the subcommittee's chair. "That way, consumers who really do like the coverage they have really get to keep it."

Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D, N.J.) disputed the notion that Americans have lost insurance coverage they enjoyed before the enactment of the reform law. The Republican proposal is just a ploy to repeal the statute, he said.

"The regulations on insurance companies that are consumer protections are all working," Pallone said. "They are all having a positive impact. There is no reason not to let the insurance companies continue down this path."

We're seeing this because Republican staffers in DC are seeing news stories like this becoming a lot more common:

Almost 1 million young adults have signed on to new health insurance policies, government statistics released Wednesday show. Government officials credit the new federal health care law for making that possible.

The rise in young adults 19 to 25 with insurance comes as older Americans are losing their health insurance as the economic crisis continues.

"We feel quite confident in attributing virtually all of the change to the provisions in the Affordable Care Act," said Rick Kronick, deputy secretary for health policy for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 

A million more young adults in this economy have health insurance now thanks to the Affordable Care Act.  It's working, and Republicans can never allow their base to find out.  The law has to die before provisions can fully take effect or the GOP is broken...and they know it.