Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Health Care, is working to protect thousands of Pennsylvanians from the damage caused by Obamacare's broken promises - namely, huge premium increases, lack of affordable coverage options, and unfair government fines.

Initially, President Obama and many Democrats promised that their partisan health care law would lower insurance costs and allow families to keep their health care coverage or choose from multiple options. Today, Pennsylvanians are finding out these promises are being broken.

With United Health and Aetna pulling out of the Obamacare exchange, an estimated 173,000 enrollees living in Philadelphia and the surrounding collar counties will only be able to buy insurance from one company. Nearly 60 percent of Pennsylvania counties will have just one or two insurers in operation next year.

Meanwhile, all Obamacare enrollees in Pennsylvania face skyrocketing premiums, some as much as 48 percent higher. The Pennsylvania Department of Insurance has received requests for premium rate increases above 10 percent from almost every insurer that is planning to participate in the state's Obamacare exchange next year.

In spite of these limited options and higher premiums, Pennsylvanians will still be forced to either buy a costlier, skimpier product, or pay a penalty - more than $2,000 for some households - to the federal government in 2017.

That's why Sen. Toomey is sponsoring two pieces of legislation:

• The Relief from Obamacare Mandate Act would exempt consumers from the individual mandate penalty when the average Obamacare health insurance premium sold in a state rises by more than 10 percent.
• The Protection from Obamacare Monopolies Act would help protect those individuals who live in an area with one or no health care insurers offering plans on the Obamacare exchange from the individual mandate penalty.

"Sadly, the warnings about how Obamacare will harm Pennsylvania families are coming true. Insurers are increasingly finding it better to exit Obamacare than to lose millions of dollars while selling overpriced coverage that most Pennsylvanians do not want and cannot afford, yet are forced to buy," said Sen. Toomey. "This failure of a government-run insurance system was entirely predictable, but hard-working Pennsylvania families should not suffer as a result. These two important bills will ensure that no one is unfairly forced to pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars in fines to the federal government because of Obamacare's broken promises."

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