A Republican Senator says President Barack Obama has "admitted" that some people would lose their health insurance and be forced into a government-run plan under the Democrats' healthcare reform proposal.
"President Obama needs to be clear – will health reform efforts this year lead to Americans losing their health insurance? We need to understand whether the President will support proposals like the Kennedy bill that will cause employers to drop health insurance coverage for 10 million Americans," said Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee.
In his speech to the American Medical Association on June 15, Obama said, "No matter how we reform healthcare, we will keep this promise to the American people: If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor, period. If you like your healthcare plan, you'll be able to keep your healthcare plan, period. No one will take it away, no matter what."
According to Michael Mahaffey, Enzi's spokesperson, Obama on Tuesday "conceded" what Enzi has said all along and the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has confirmed – the Democrats' healthcare proposals would cause some Americans to lose their current insurance and force them onto a government-run plan.
"When I say if you have your plan and you like it ... that you don't have to change plans, what I'm saying is the government is not going to make you change plans under health reform," Obama said Tuesday.
The CBO projects that the Kennedy bill would force 10 million Americans to lose their employer-based health insurance.
Enzi's statements come as the HELP committee is in a three-day hearing over health reform.