Murphy says it’s time to `celebrate’ success of Obamacare

Murphy celebrates Affordable Care Act - Obamacare.

Murphy celebrates Affordable Care Act – Obamacare.

Sen. Chris Murphy stood on the Senate floor Thursday astride a placard that looked like a party invitation, complete with balloons, streamers and decorations. The only difference: It had “ACA works’’ across the front, reflecting Murphy’s assignment as head of Senate Democrats #ACA Works Campaign.

Welcome to Murphy’s party for the Affordable Care Act – Obamacare. “The Affordable Care Act is something to celebrate,’’ Murphy said.

Murphy is the lead senator defending the ACA against Republican efforts to dismantle it, either in Congress or through the courts.

On Thursday, he extolled the law as helping people like Betsy from Litchfield and Linda from Winsted – no last names available through Murphy’s press office – who wrote Murphy to express how affordable health insurance had transformed their lives.

“The bottom line is before the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies could and did kick sick people off their insurance rolls,’’ Betsy told Murphy. Betsy suffers from stage IV cancer but managed to resolve the issue with her insurer, Murphy said.

Linda, who has diabetes and hypertension, wrote to Murphy in an email: “There is no freedom in poverty, and certainly none in needless human suffering.’’

“So Betsy is celebrating today; Linda is celebrating today, and there are millions of others  like them who are celebrating all across the country who know the Affordable Care Act is working,’’ Murphy said.

The latest legal thrust at Obamacare, now before the Supreme Court, would represent a “stunning act of judicial overreach’’ if decided in favor of the anti-ACA plaintiffs, Murphy said. At issue is the plaintiffs’ contention that the law expressly limits federal health insurance premium subsidies only to policies purchased through an “exchange established by the state.’’ Since 34 states have chosen not to set up such exchanges, subsidies are not available to anyone from those states signing up for insurance through the federal exchange, healthcare.gov.

Murphy insisted that not only did Congress intend subsidies for all when it approved the Affordable Care Act in 2010, it was expressly “written into the law.’’

Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyoming, a physician and staunch Obamacare opponent, countered that the law was not working as its supporters envisioned, citing Congressional Budget Office numbers suggesting benchmark policy premiums would rise eight percent next year and the year after.

Murphy responded that premiums averaged a one-percent hike between this year and last year.

“You want to talk about actual experience, what’s happening on the ground today, we are seeing premiums coming in almost exactly where they were last year,’’ he said. “The Affordable Care Act is costing less money than was originally estimated in large part because premiums are lower than expected.’’

Barrasso acknowledged that ACA costs have “come down some, but that’s because fewer people have actually chosen to participate.’’

Why? “Many people think it’s not a good deal for them.’’

Unspoken between the senators was that the debate would continue until the success – or failure – of the Affordable Care Act is beyond dispute. And even then . . .

Daniel Freedman