CSMS Magazine
West Virginia Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, who in the past has advocated a delay in penalizing people who do not enroll for health insurance in 2014 under the law, told CNN that a transitional year was needed for the complex healthcare program, commonly known as Obamacare, to work.
“If it’s so much more expensive than what we anticipated and if the coverage is not as good as what we had, you’ve got a complete meltdown at that time,” Manchin told CNN’ during an interview during the “State of the Union” news show. “It falls of its own weight, if basically the cost becomes more than we can absorb, absolutely,” he went on to say.
The Virginia Manchin said Senate Democrats who are up for re-election next year will be in a precarious situation and already they are feeling the pressure; they may have trouble keeping their majority in the chamber. The Republicans, rejectionists in nature even since Obama’s election in 2008, have never been interested in democratic governance. They have been mostly in a shameful struggle aimed at rebuffing everything Obama does—good or bad—in the hopes of making political gains. They have been highlighting the healthcare law’s difficulties “as they seek to gain the six seats they would need to win control of the 100-member Senate,” according to Reuters News Agency
Though he is not up for reelection next, Manchin, who is from conservative West Virginia, is trying to distance himself from Obama in order to preempt any possible revolt from his constituency. “It needs to turn around,” Manchin said of Obamacare. “I’m not going to say that I think we will be truly there, I believe, for the right reason. They’re going to be challenged for the wrong reason.”
On Friday, President Obama admitted that the rush to launch the healthcare law was a political blunder that may cost him dearly. His public approval numbers have dropped to historic lows over the law’s debut. But, there is progress. It’s been reported that over a million people have signed up so far for new coverage under Obamacare through HealthCare.gov, which services 36 states, and 14 state-run marketplaces. Last month, Obama introduced legislation to delay the penalty by a year for citizens who fail to sign up for health insurance, saying Americans should not be penalized while Obamacare is going through its transition period. And he was right.
