Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) indicated openness to a delay of the Obamacare individual mandate if the problems with Healthcare.gov aren’t fixed by the Obama administration’s self-imposed Nov. 30 deadline.
“I think then we have to consider extending the deadline for the mandate, but let’s hope that doesn’t happen,” Franken said in an interview with Minnesota Public Radio.
Franken went on to say that the deadline could be extended “maybe by a month” if the kinks in the website aren’t fixed.
Franken’s comments, although notable, fall short of calls by a number of other Democratic senators who in October urged the Obama administration to extend its open enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act beyond March 31. Most of those Democrats are up for re-election in 2014. Franken, also, is up for re-election next year but most recent available polling suggests he’s up by double digets over GOP opponent Mike McFadden.
