Vulnerable Democratic senators up for re-election continue to signal dissatisfaction with the way President Barack Obama's signature healthcare program has been implemented,
Politico reported.
Alaska Democrat Sen. Mark Begich enrolled in Obamacare through the online marketplace used by all Alaskans. He declined the employer contribution of 75 percent of his premium that members of Congress can receive if they enroll through the Washington, D.C., marketplace,
according to The Alaska Daily News Miner.
"I want to have the exact same experience and go through the same steps as other Alaskans when it comes to signing up for healthcare, which is why I have decided to refuse any federal subsidy and have signed up on Alaska's federally run marketplace," Begich said.
He noted that Alaska's trouble-plagued site was operating more smoothly with the subsidy calculator now functioning properly, according to the News Miner.
Begich said he accepts that the president's health plan is imperfect and holds the White House along with the insurance companies "accountable to ensure that Alaskans have access to the facts and are able to receive the care they want and need," Politico reported.
Sen. Kay Hagan of North Carolina, another Democrat up for re-election in 2014, is circulating a draft letter among colleagues that would call on the Government Accountability Office — the investigative arm of Congress — and the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services to carry out "a complete, thorough investigation to determine the causes of the design and implementation failures of HealthCare.Gov."
"These problems are simply unacceptable, and Americans deserve answers and swift solutions," the draft reads,
according to The Hill. "Taxpayers are owed a full and transparent accounting of how the vendors contracted to build the site failed to launch it successfully."
Hagan supports a bill introduced by Democratic colleague Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, also up for re-election, that would allow individuals to retain their existing health insurance plans. Also supporting the bill is Mark Pryor, D-Ark., facing a hard 2014 re-election campaign.
In an interview last week with NBC News, the president said he was sorry people were having trouble signing up for healthcare.
Hagan said that "An apology is only helpful if it is followed by direct and meaningful action to get the Affordable Care Act working,"
according to McClatchy.
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