Sen. Hagan: Obama’s Health Care Fix ‘A Step In The Right Direction’

Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., hosts "Conversations with Kay" at the Greene County Museum on Friday, Aug. 3, 2012 in Snow Hill, N.C. (AP Photo/The Free Press, Janet S. Carter)
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Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC) said President Barack Obama’s new Obamacare fix allowing more flexibility to insurers is a “step in the right direction.”

Hagan’s statement on Thursday came shortly after Obama announced that his administration would offer a change to the Affordable Care Act allowing healthcare insurers new flexibility for renewing existing plans through 2014 that don’t comply with Obamacare. In October, Hagan joined a set of Democrats calling for an extension of Obamacare’s open enrollment period.

“Americans who have health insurance that they like should be able to keep it,” Hagan said in the statement. “Today’s announcement is a step in the right direction that will remove some of the uncertainty people are facing right now, especially in light of the unacceptable failures of healthcare.gov. But a one-year fix is not enough, and we need to do more.”

Hagan said she had talked with Blue Cross Blue Shield in her home state about the insurance options available to North Carolinians. 

“I have been in touch with Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina as well as Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin, about how to give North Carolinians a choice to stay on their current plans,” Hagan said. “We still need to work towards a permanent solution so we do not simply kick the can down the road, which is why we need to pass the Landrieu bill that will give people certainty that they will not lose their current coverage. Right now North Carolinians need accountability, they need to be able to keep their current plans, and we need actual progress on getting healthcare.gov to work. I will continue to hold the Administration and insurance companies accountable.”

Earlier in the week, Hagan and other Democratic senators called for a full investigation of the contracting process of healthcare.gov in light of the website’s problematic rollout. 

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