Ron George Statement On Lt Gov Brown Testimony

Annapolis, Md. – State Delegate Ron George, candidate for governor, has released the following statement regarding Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown’s testimony at today’s health insurance exchange hearing.

“The failed rollout of Maryland’s health insurance exchange sits squarely with Lt. Governor Anthony Brown. However, the Affordable Care Act is also a failure of one party, big government policy. The ACA has increased the cost of health care, worsened Maryland’s doctor shortage and raised taxes on the middle class. Brown says he was kept in the dark, but insurers and citizens are still being kept in the dark on the true costs of government run healthcare.

“The administration’s proposal to retroactively enroll people at a cost of $5-$10 million more taxpayer dollars is only throwing more taxpayer money on the ACA fire. For the health care exchange to work, hundreds of thousands of Marylanders need to purchase private plans, however, because of government regulations, the plans are far too expensive and effectively worthless for young workers. Instead, we are enrolling hundreds of thousands of people in Medicaid, the same program whose budget was cut to fund the ACA.

“The O’Malley/Brown administration always viewed the Affordable Care Act as a campaign tool instead of as a sincere effort to extend health insurance coverage, and it’s Maryland citizens who are paying the price.”