Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-MT) said Friday that should the government realize the glitchy Obamacare website can’t be fixed, like ‘Humpty Dumpty,’ Americans shouldn’t be penalized for being unable to enroll in an insurance plan.
Baucus said in an interview with Billings, Montana radio station KYYA that he’s open to delaying the health care law’s individual mandate over issues in the web portal’s functionality.
“I think it makes better sense — let’s just see how much this can be put together, how much Humpty Dumpty can be fixed in the next month,” he said. “And if it looks like Humpty Dumpty’s not getting put back better together then maybe we should look at start thinking about delaying the penalties. It’s not right to penalize people for mistakes that the government’s made because the exchange isn’t working.”
Baucus, considered an architect of the health care law, gave Republicans a key talking point when he said earlier this year that he feared the implementation of Obamacare could be a “train wreck.” The Montana Democrat has said he will not seek reelection in 2014.
[h/t Washington Post]
