Murray praises Obamacare 'exchanges,' slams GOP's repeal efforts

SEATTLE -- On Thursday, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray praised the upcoming the healthcare exchange in Washington state that is the next phase of the Affordable Health Care Act.

Photo courtesy of Washington Health Plan Finder

Beginning Oct. 1, Washington residents will be able to go online and compare more than 30 different health plans, including price and coverage. There will also be information about qualifying for a subsidy. You can access the website here.

“Our state is being very proactive in putting these exchanges together,” Murray said. “Other states aren’t as far along as we are.”

She also praised the decision of Washington state to create its own exchange instead of opting to be a part of the federal exchange as some states have elected to do. Those states, Murray said, “won’t have as many options as we do.”

Murray’s comments came at a healthcare roundtable in Seattle. Participants included healthcare providers as well as individuals who will be helped by the new exchange.

Asked about the efforts by some Republicans to repeal Obamacare, Murray denied they will ever succeed.

“I can tell you this,” she said, “this law is not going to be repealed.” Murray acknowledged, however, that there are likely to be glitches as the program continues to be rolled out. “If there’s challenges, let’s work our way through them and fix them,” she said. “But their wholesale effort to stop it just doesn’t make sense to me.”