Since HealthCare.gov’s disastrous launch Oct. 1, Americans have expressed outrage that this administration spent hundreds of millions on a poorly functioning website. But the real problem, as people across the country are discovering, is the law itself.
Since passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, Americans have seen President Obama and other health law supporters deliver speech after speech about who the law will benefit without acknowledging that the law will not work for everyone.
The Oversight Committee is in Apache Junction Dec. 6 to hear the other side of the story from individuals who have felt the impact of increased premiums and dropped insurance coverage as a result of "Obamacare."
More than 4.7 million Americans have had their existing health insurance policies cancelled in 32 states because the plans fail to comply with Obamacare’s new regulations and mandates. For every reported Obamacare enrollment in state and federal exchanges, dozens of people have received cancellation notices.
Moreover, the new plans available on the exchanges often have higher premiums and out-of-pocket costs. Arizonans alone are seeing, on average nationwide, a 51 percent increase in premiums through the Obamacare exchange.
According to the Phoenix Business Journal, Arizona employers have seen their existing health-insurance premiums go up, and they expect them to skyrocket even further. In Arizona, only 738 people had enrolled in the national exchange during its first troubled month of operation.
Local insurance companies have also reported significant increases in rates. A recent Manhattan Institute report found “[i]n the average state, Obamacare will increase underlying premiums by 41 percent.”
It will get worse. In the coming months, Americans will face the reality that Obamacare creates a new tax on health insurance. This tax could cost the typical family of four with workplace coverage as much as $1,000 a year in higher premiums.
Americans from Arizona to Alaska and California to Connecticut have lost their current health-care plans despite the President’s repeated promise: “if you like your plan, you can keep it.” Whether folks have lost their plans due to cancellation, premium spikes or a shrinking health-provider network, what Americans are learning now is something the administration has known all along.
For too long, this darker side of the Affordable Care Act has been hidden from Congress and the American people. Friday's hearing will contribute to a fact gathering process about a reality Obamacare apologists have too quickly dismissed amidst all their propaganda.
Republican U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar represents Arizona's Fourth Congressional District. Republican U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa represents California's 49th Congressional District.
Click HERE to read the article online at The Arizona Republic.
