Two GOP lawmakers call for end to ObamaCare program operating in only Arkansas

Two Republican lawmakers are calling for the elimination of a little-known ObamaCare program that costs the federal government $10 million a year.

Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), chairman of the Government Operations subcommittee, and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, introduced a bill Tuesday that would repeal ObamaCare’s Multi-State Plan program.{mosads}

The program, intended to create competition in the marketplaces, requires the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) contract with two national health plans, one which must be nonprofit, to compete with plans in every state.

However, the program has not been successful, with only one state — Arkansas — scheduled to participate next year. 

“This mandate is the definition of government waste,” Johnson said in a statement. 

“The program has failed to meet statutory requirements and is diverting necessary resources from what should be the OPM’s priorities, such as retirement and security backlogs. Congress needs to let the OPM focus on its job, eliminate this failed program and work to ensure health care is more affordable for all Americans.”