CNN commentator Angela Rye on Wednesday blamed the failure of Republicans to repeal and replace Obamacare for the newly announced double-digit premium increases in the president's signature health care law.
"It's not just Hillary Clinton that needs to tackle this but also Congress," Rye said on CNN's New Day. "The reason we are in the position that we are in right now frankly, Alisyn, is because Republicans fell short of their promise to repeal, which is what they said they wanted to do, and replace."
Host Alisyn Camerota stopped Rye before she got any further and reminded her that President Obama had promised premiums would go down.
Most states will see health care premiums under the Affordable Care Act increase by an average of 25 percent, according to data released this week by the Obama administration. Indiana will see its rates slightly go down, but other states like Arizona will see costs skyrocket by 116 percent. Members of the administration have been quick to soften the blow of the increase by reminding people that a majority of those on the Obamacare exchanges would be receiving tax credits to help pay for the now more expensive health insurance plans.
Rye did not lay off her claim and noted that Obamacare was never meant to be a perfect solution. She touted her time as a congressional staffer on Capitol Hill as a way of knowing how the law was made.
Camerota then asked Rye if she thought premiums were going up because Republicans have voted to repeal Obamacare 60 times.
Rye responded that it had everything to do with the double-digit price increase.
"The reality of it is because if you don't work to ensure that something is the best possible solution for the American people, there are going to be holes," Rye said. "When you have insurance companies that are apart of a marketplace, and they don't feel like there is any real place to go, you struggle."
Rye did not mention that one of the largest insurers in the Obamacare marketplace, UnitedHealth Group, had left the exchanges because the company had growing concerns over the long-term viability of the health care law.