{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.cochran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ContentRecord_id=7f4c3988-601d-4777-bdab-f4e28a9d2d94", "COCHRAN TO PROPOSE BILL TRIGGERING OBAMACARE REPEAL IF INSURANCE GOALS UNMET", "2013-12-18", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "MS", "Thad Cochran", "C000567", "www.cochran.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) today signaled his intent to introduce legislation to repeal President Obama\u2019s signature health insurance reform law if it results in more Americans left uninsured after Jan. 1, 2014 than were uninsured at the time of the law\u2019s 2010 enactment.\r\nCochran said that even Democrats should agree that repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) would be warranted if the law reduces or fails to increase the number of Americans with health insurance.\r\n\u201cThe American people understand what many in Washington won\u2019t admit:\u00a0 the Affordable Care Act is an unfixable and expensive mess.\u00a0 I have supported its repeal from the beginning, and I will offer legislation based on the simple premise that the law should be repealed if it fails to meet its primary goal of expanding health insurance coverage,\u201d Cochran said.\r\nThe Cochran bill, the Health Insurance Accountability Act, would provide for the repeal of PPACA if it is determined that the law has resulted in an increase in the number of uninsured individuals since the law was enacted in March 2010.\u00a0\r\n\u201cThe President, Democrats in Congress and their allies forced this misguided law through Congress without a single vote from our party and with a promise that the uninsured would be able to attain affordable health insurance.\u00a0 Right now, the opposite is occurring as millions of people are losing the insurance they have and like.\u00a0 Worse yet, millions of families now face the prospect of more expensive premium rates and higher deductibles--assuming they can even successfully enroll on the flawed government website,\u201d Cochran said.\r\nThe Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services last week reported that fewer than 365,000 individuals had selected insurance plans from the state and federal health insurance exchanges that were launched on Oct. 1.\u00a0 This represents less than one percent of those who were uninsured at the time of the law\u2019s enactment.\r\nAccording to recent estimates, 5.6 million people have had their insurance policies cancelled for next year because they didn\u2019t meet PPACA requirements.\u00a0 In 2012, the Census Bureau estimated that more than 47 million nonelderly Americans were uninsured.\r\nSince its inception, Cochran has opposed the PPACA, voting repeatedly to repeal and defund the law.\u00a0 The Mississippi Senator has also cosponsored a series of bills intended to protect the American people, including: the Obamacare Repeal Act (S.177); the If You Like Your Health Plan, You Can Keep It Act (S.1617); the Health Care Privacy and Anti-Fraud Act (S.1666); the Delay Until Fully Functional Act (S.1592); and the Exchange Information Disclosure Act (S.1590).\u00a0 He has also backed legislation to delay the application of the individual and employer health insurance mandates under the PPACA.\r\nLINKS:  *\u00a0\u00a0 Cochran Audio, Dec. 13:\u00a0 http://1.usa.gov/1ej58t3\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.cochran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ContentRecord_id=7f4c3988-601d-4777-bdab-f4e28a9d2d94"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8645381312817335, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}