Obamacare could experience a" meltdown" if premiums rise and the choice of plans is limited, Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin said Sunday.
During an interview on CNN's "State of the Union," the West Virginian said the best way to determine whether the legislation will work is to delay "crimes or fines" until Jan 1, 2015, and see how the marketplace plays out in 2014.
"I'm not worried about the glitches, computer glitches — we'll fix that sooner or later," Manchin said. "I'm worried about having the product that the market will buy... You can't tell someone, 'Give me all your vitals, then I'll let you shop.' "
Manchin said Obamacare was forcing choices on the American people that they don't want.
"Don't say, 'This is what you've got to buy whether you like it or not, and you're going to pay more even if you didn't think you were.' I think that's where we are," Manchin said.
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"So I'd like to say, 'Can you move the ball forward? Can I get more people insured? Can I get more people healthier? Do I have to have people that are in jeopardy of one catastrophic illness into bankruptcy?' Can we not agree as Democrats and Republicans those are worthy goals to get rid of and move to a healthier populous for a healthy work force?" Manchin said.
On the topic of gun control, the senator whose state is steeped in gun culture said citizens don't trust government when it comes to passing laws limiting gun possession.
Manchin said most gun owners he's talked with don't have an issue with instituting background checks to determine whether a gun buyer is a criminal.
"What we found out is that people just didn't trust government that they were going to stop there," he said. "We just don't trust government stopping and doing what we say were going to do."
Passing legislation on the Second Amendment right probably won't happen in 2014, Manchin said.
"It's going to be difficult to get the extra votes that we need, I have to be honest with you," he said.
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