Little Rock
(September 11, 2014) – The National
Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) today called on State Insurance Commissioner Jay Bradford
to make public the 2015 individual and small group health insurance rates so
voters can consider that information long before Election Day.
“There’s no way for Arkansans to fully evaluate
the health care law until they know how it will affect them financially,” said NFIB Vice President Lisa Goeas. “And it isn’t fair to allow voters to rely
on competing estimates and dueling campaign bullet points.”
US Senator Mark Pryor is locked in a tight
reelection campaign with Congressman Tom
Cotton. The health care law, for
which Pryor voted and which remains deeply unpopular in Arkansas, has emerged
as perhaps the central campaign issue.
Rep. Cotton opposes the Affordable Care Act.
President Obama famously promised Americans that
the law would reduce the cost of health insurance for the average family by
$2,500 per household. He also promised
that Arkansans would be able to keep their favorite doctors. Neither of those has turned out to be true,
at least not for many millions of Americans, including Arkansas small
businesses, whose rates have shot up or whose policies have been cancelled.
“We want voters to make educated decisions because
these are serious issues,” said Goeas. “In
Arkansas, at least, that isn’t possible because the Insurance Department hasn’t
provided all of the information that voters need.”
For more information on NFIB, please visit www.nfib.com.
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