{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.cochran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ContentRecord_id=DBE49681-549E-418B-86ED-246602C8DDE7", "COCHRAN BACKS BILLS OFFERING RELIEF FROM OBAMACARE TAX PENALTIES", "2016-09-21", "2016", "2016-09", "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 announced that he is cosponsoring legislation to provide relief to Mississippians stuck between escalating Obamacare premium costs and higher tax penalties for going without health insurance.The Relief from Obamacare Mandate Act (S.3297) would establish processes to provide financial relief for individuals and families from the Obamacare individual mandate tax penalty.\u201cThis legislation is one more attempt to protect vulnerable families and individuals from harmful aspects of Obamacare.\u00a0 This law has had plenty of unintended consequences, among them higher tax fines for those who cannot afford premium and deductible costs that are prohibitively expensive,\u201d Cochran said.The centerpiece of S.3297 is a new exemption from the tax penalty for residents in states where average Obamacare insurance premiums exceed 10 percent.\u00a0 In addition to the new tax penalty exemption, the bill would also enable the cost of deductibles to be included in the exemption provided to those who cannot afford coverage under Obamacare.Insurance indicators point to premiums increasing from 5 percent to as high as 43 percent in Mississippi.\u00a0 At the same time, competitive choices among plans under the government\u2019s health insurance policies are decreasing in the state.Cochran, who opposed Obamacare from its inception, is also an original cosponsor of the State Flexibility to Provide Affordable Health Options Act (S.3326).\u00a0 This legislation would allow residents in states with failing exchanges to use Obamacare subsidies to purchase a 2017 health plan of their choice, even if that plan isn\u2019t part of any government exchange.\u00a0 It would also allow states to waive the Obamacare requirement to buy a specific health care plan or pay a fine of as much as $2,000 for a family of four next year.\u201cThis legislation would increase options for families in Mississippi and elsewhere to obtain health insurance without being locked into troubled Obamacare exchanges,\u201d Cochran said.S.3297 was introduced by Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), while S.3326 was offered by Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.).\u00a0 Both measures have been placed on the Senate legislative calendar.\r\n###\r\nRelated: \u00a0  \u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Obamacare is Running Out of Options:\u00a0 http://bit.ly/2dgXuSk", 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=DBE49681-549E-418B-86ED-246602C8DDE7"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4663138426840305, "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"}