The Great Smoky Mountain Journal
Staff Reports
Posted: Monday, January 01, 2018 12:25 PM
Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett Weighs In On Congressional Failure To Repeal, Replace Obama Care
Three Senators withdrew their support last night of the plan to repeal and replace ACA, also known as "Obamacare," including Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Jerry Moran of Kansas. The senators issued a joint statement, saying, "We should not put our stamp of approval on bad policy." Lee added that the plan "doesn't go far enough in lowering premiums for middle class families."
Burchett said that it's "frustrating" because Republicans have had 8 years to come up with a replacement plan.
"We've got bunch of saber-rattlers, and they just haven't put anything together," Burchett said. "Nobody has one clear, concise idea about health care."
According to Burchett, government intervention like the ACA never works. He said more competition should be allowed in the market to drive prices down.
"We've got good health care providers in this country, and I think we need to let the market bear what's going on," Burchett said.
The mayor said repealing ACA might leave some people in bad situations without health care, but Burchett said there's "a lot of folks who just don't work."
"They're expecting all of us to chip in to pay for (their health care)," Burchett said. "You can drive Kingston Pike today and find a job. If you want to."
Majority leader Sen. Mitch McConnell said today he wants to focus on just repealing the ACA in two years, giving the Senate more time to come up with a replacement. However three GOP senators have said they can't support the repeal without a replacement plan, likely killing this legislation as well.