Lankford Supports Keep Your Health Plan Act

Statement

Republican Policy Committee Chairman James Lankford (R-OK) today voted in favor of H.R. 3350, the Keep Your Health Plan Act. Chairman Lankford released the following statement after the bill passed the House in a vote of 261-157.

"Today, the House of Representatives continued our fight to protect as many people as possible from the harmful effects of Obamacare by passing the Keep Your Health Plan Act," said Lankford.

"It is now obvious that the hastily passed healthcare law will not allow millions of people to keep their current insurance or doctor. Obamacare is a prime example of well intended legislation that actually seriously hurts our economy and families across our nation. The Keep Your Health Plan Act offers a solution to one of the law's biggest flaws: the cancellation of existing individual insurance plans that Americans want to keep. Thousands of Oklahomans and nearly five million nationwide have already received notices that the health plan they liked would be cancelled as of January 1, either because it was deemed substandard by the Administration or illegal because it was part of a small business group plan no longer allowed by the law."

To fix this problem, the Keep Your Health Plan allows insurance companies the option to extend any existing individual health plan through 2014. Americans should have more options for healthcare, not less. In contrast to the President's impromptu insurance proposal, this bill codifies the change into law without additional regulations that hamper free-market competition among insurance providers and further complicate the choices for American families looking for quality insurance.

"The President should not be empowered to choose Americans' health insurance options, especially if they already have a plan they like," continued Lankford. "We must allow families and small businesses to continue to be in charge of their own health insurance decisions. The voices of the American people should be heard loud and clear, as we continue to work to repeal the law in favor of patient-centered, rather than bureaucracy-centered reforms to our healthcare delivery system," concluded Lankford.

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