Wyden blasts GOP for Obamacare-tax reform move

Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued a statement Tuesday following press reports that Republicans will include a repeal of the individual mandate in their tax reform bill:

“In their desperation to secure an ideological trophy, no matter the consequences, Republicans are choosing to pay for corporate tax cuts by raising premiums for middle-class families and ripping away health care altogether from millions more,” Wyden said.

“This is a con job on the American people and proves that Republicans’ only agenda is putting an economic double standard into black letter law,” he added.

Last week, the Congressional Budget Office released an analysis of repealing the individual health insurance mandate showing that policy would result in 13 million fewer Americans with health insurance in 2027, with 4 million losing coverage in 2019 alone. Repealing the mandate would also result in premiums going up by 10 percent.