Obamacare won't cover the cancer specialist treating ailing Sen. Tom Coburn, forcing the Oklahoma Republican to pay out of pocket to continue receiving care from his oncologist,
Politico reported Tuesday.
"I’m doing well from a health standpoint, got great docs," Coburn told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Tuesday.
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"Fortunately, even though my new coverage won’t cover my specialist, I’m going to have great care, and I have a great prognosis."
While he is being treated for a
recurrence of prostate cancer, Coburn's coverage under his Obamacare insurance plan has been reduced,
Politico reported, and he lost coverage for the oncologist who'd been treating him.
Coburn's office told Politico that the lawmaker, who is an obstetrician, will pay out of his own pocket to continue seeing the specialist, however.
"We hope the White House will work with us to make sure Americans who can’t afford to pay out of pocket don’t lose access to life-saving care," spokesman John Hart told Politico.
"As Dr. Coburn’s experience shows, the American people are about to learn they’re going to lose access to not only their doctors and plans, but their specialists and treatments."
Coburn has been an ardent critic of Obamacare, and on Monday joined GOP Sens. Richard Burr of North Carolina and Orrin Hatch of Utah in releasing a legislative blueprint
to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.
He continued his assault on the new law Tuesday as well, telling MSNBC that
Obamacare is "a failure already" and won't improve access to healthcare.
"Obamacare is designed to fail," he said.
Coburn, a survivor of a 2011 bout with prostate cancer,
announced in November that he was receiving further treatment for a recurrence.
Coburn, 65, has also battled colon cancer and melanoma. He announced earlier this month that he wouldn't finish his term and would retire after the November elections.
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