WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., today issued the following statement in response to the decision by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to extend transitional relief for Americans insured by Obamacare-exempt plans.

“No one should be penalized as Congress works to replace Obamacare with market-driven reforms,” Wicker said. “This decision by the Trump Administration will prevent millions of Americans, including more than 200,000 Mississippians, from either losing their health insurance or facing massive premium hikes at the end of this year. I commend the Administration for recognizing that enough harm has been done. Our focus should be on putting workable health-care solutions in place, and I remain committed to working with my Senate colleagues, state leaders like Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney, and the Trump Administration to do so.”

Wicker led a letter to HHS Secretary Tom Price this month with 22 other Republican Senators requesting indefinite relief from Obamacare for individuals living in Mississippi and 34 other states. This relief pertains to “Grandmothered” insurance plans, which were purchased after the enactment of the health-care law and before October 1, 2013. These individual and small group plans were exempt from certain Obamacare requirements. HHS began providing transitional relief for these plans in 2013. Without an extension of this relief, Mississippians with “Grandmothered” plans could have seen their rates increase by as much as 65 percent.