by Kody Fairfield
On Wednesday, Democratic Governor of Minnesota Mark Dayton said that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was “no longer affordable,” which is big news and a large blow from someone who was an ardent supporter of the legislation only a short time ago.
Dayton made the comments while he was taking questions on Minnesota’s health insurance market, which has been struggling. As reported by Fox News, individual premiums are facing large increases because all of the insurers which have threatened to leave the marketplace by 2017.
“The reality is the Affordable Care Act is no longer affordable for increasing numbers of people,” Dayton said, calling on Congress to fix the law to address rising costs and market stability.
Fox News also reported that:
Few states embraced the health care law stronger than Minnesota under Dayton, where lawmakers created a state-run online market exchange for shoppers who aren’t covered by employers or public programs to buy individual coverage. When those policies first went on sale in 2013, Dayton and state officials proudly touted the lowest health insurance rates in the nation.
But after several years of steadily increasing premiums, top state regulators said this fall that Minnesota’s individual market is in “a state of emergency.” The state scrambled to stop all seven companies that sell insurance directly to consumers or through the state exchange, MNsure, from fleeing for 2017, but the state’s largest insurer is still exiting.
The calls from Dayton echo sentiments around the nation, including from former President Bill Clinton, who said that the law was “the craziest thing in the world,” before recanting due to pressure he received at a rally from his wife and Democratic presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton.
Gov. Dayton has also said that while his state will work to try and fix the insurance crisis in his state, he felt the bulk of the problems remain at the federal level. “It’s got some serious blemishes right now and serious deficiencies,” he said.
As the criticism from Democrats grows, Republicans appear to be strengthened in their opposition to scrap what will most likely be President Barack Obama‘s signature legislation. This is especially as Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump continues to bash the law at rallies, speeches and in the debates.
