In The News

Rep. Bill Huizenga backs push to delay health care reform's individual mandate
MLive - Zane McMillin -  July 18, 2013 at 11:03 AM

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga has signed on to legislation that would give individuals a one-year waiver before having to buy insurance under the Affordable Care Act.

Huizenga, R-Zeeland, contended federal health care reforms are "not ready for prime-time," hence his cosponsoring legislation to push back the so-called individual mandate.

Fellow Michigan Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Brighton, reintroduced legislation this week that would push back the federal requirement that all individuals buy insurance by 2014.

It mimics a similar bill authored by Rogers in 2011, which Huizenga also cosponsored, that would have granted individual mandate waivers.

The bill is one Republican response to President Barack Obama's administration's granting temporary health care waivers to states and some employers.

In a release, Rogers contended the federal Department of Health and Human Services had granted 1,000-plus waivers, largely to "corporations and unions."

"Individuals and small businesses have been excluded from the process," he said.

The "individual mandate" portion of the Affordable Care Act is set to take effect next year. It will require individuals not covered by their employer to purchase insurance.

"If corporations and unions can get a waiver from the burdensome mandates enacted in the president's health care law, then every American should have the same option," Huizenga said in a statement.

The Republican-dominated House of Representatives has taken dozens of votes to repeal all or part of the Affordable Care Act, often called Obamacare.

Just on Wednesday, the House voted to delay the employer mandate. Several dozen Democrats joined Republicans in approving the delay.

The rest of the MLive story is available at http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2013/07/rep_bill_huizenga_backs_push_t.html