Sen. Tom Carper joined U.S. Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester in Delaware Friday to highlight the importance of the Affordable Care Act, holding public events in both Seaford and Wilmington.
Among Carper’s goals was to convince people that this year’s spike in Obamacare premiums was a one-time occurrence.
He cited a report released this week that concludes the increase was to make up for an underpricing of plans in the past.
"Since this correction has been made the insurance market is starting to stabilize. So going forward, when we’re offering coverage a year from now we’ll see very modest increases kind of like we’re seeing in larger group plans," he said.
Carper added that Republicans’ efforts to repeal Obamacare would destabilize the insurance market.
The state’s senior senator says community health centers that serve low-income families are also concerned with repeal efforts.
“They’re basically saying that you’re going to put us out of business and unable to provide coverage for millions of people in the country. So we need to just slow it down here a little bit," he said.
Carper said he’s trying to convince Republicans to design a replacement plan for the health law before they repeal it.
He said repealing the Affordable Care Act without an adequate replacement would be detrimental to the health and well-being of patients, the health care system, and the economy in Delaware.
He’s currently fighting Republican efforts on Capitol Hill to repeal Obamacare with Delaware’s junior senator Chris Coons.
Carper and Coons introduced a budget amendment in the Senate earlier this week designed to protect cuts to Delaware’s Medicaid funding.
