GOP: Federal healthcare law a 'partisan experiment'

WASHINGTON, July 13 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., said Saturday the Affordable Care Act is a "partisan experiment" and should be repealed.

Enzi, delivering the Republicans' weekly address, noted the Obama administration recently delayed implementation of a provision in the law requiring businesses with 50 or more employees to provide healthcare coverage for their workers, and said the entire law should be "permanently delayed."

"Where did he find the authority to pick and choose what parts of the law he'll put in place and when?" Enzi asked.

The 20,000-page bill created 150 new agencies, Enzi said, and "they still haven't figured out what is in the law, or how to make the law work, which is why we need to permanently delay implementation of the law."

Enzi charged the delay resulted from President Barack Obama's realization the provision was a "political liability," CBS News reported.

The White House has denied politics played a part in the decision.

"It's time to admit that this partisan experiment in government-run health care is failing," Enzi said.

He called on Democrats to replace the law with an affordable solution.

"We have to stop dealmaking and start legislating," he said. "We still need healthcare reform, but it has to be the right way."

Enzi, while not proposing specifics, said "positive changes" could be made to the law by "dismantling the worst parts of the law first and replacing them with reforms that actually work."