Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) sent a letter yesterday to the administration advising it to delay implementation of the health insurance exchanges because a report from the Office of Inspector General found information technology system deadlines had been missed, raising questions about exchange participants’ information security. Some conservative groups are supporting an overall one-year delay of the law, while others continue to demand a full repeal.
President Obama held a news conference last Friday, during which he called out Republicans who have pushed for a government shutdown if the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is not defunded as part of continuing resolution negotiations. In what some are calling the president’s harshest criticism of Republicans yet, Obama noted that Republicans have yet to come up with a replacement for the law and their attempts to repeal the ACA is a losing strategy. However, the president did concede that the initial roll-out of the ACA could be bumpy.