June 14,2010

Grassley: "Grandfathering" Rules Will Change Health Care Plans, Despite Promises

M E M O R A N D U M

To:          Reporters and Editors
Re:         “Grandfathering” rules for health care law
Da:         Monday, June 14, 2010

Today the Obama Administration issued new rules that govern whether individual and employer-sponsored health insurance plans can remain exempt – or “grandfathered” -- from the new health care requirements passed by Congress and signed into law by the President in March.  The New York Times wrote, “… in some respects, the rules appear to fall short of the sweeping commitments President Obama made while trying to reassure the public in the fight over health legislation.”  Sen. Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Committee on Finance, made the following comment on the new rules.

“My goal in health care reform always is to fix the parts of our health care system that are broken, but still allow people to keep the things they like.  Today’s new rules from the federal government on ‘grandfathering,’ which were crafted without any opportunity for public input, are just more proof that despite all of the promises made by the President and other supporters, you actually can’t keep what you like under the new partisan health reform law.  Change is coming for a lot of people, whether they want it or not.”