As we enter the holiday season with Christmas less than one month away, we are reminded to count our blessings and give thanks to the many generosities in our lives. We might be thankful for our family, our friends, our faith, our homes, or our jobs. Many of us are thankful for our good health – but all Oklahomans are paying the price of increased healthcare premiums, regardless of health.
Obamacare has burdened families across Oklahoma and this country. The Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, has failed tremendously. The law has raised premiums for those insured, so much so that they cannot afford to pay them. In Oklahoma alone, the Affordable Care Act marketplace covers more than 130,000 people. Those 130,000 people will see a huge increase in monthly premiums next year – anywhere between a 58 to 96 percent increase!
But it isn’t just the people with Obamacare that are being hit with drastic increases. Those with private and employer sponsored insurance are also seeing increasingly high rates and ill effects. Obamacare regulations, lack of competition and instability in the marketplace has caused many middle class families to lose their plans or their doctors. Middle class families are now paying thousands of dollars a month for their own healthcare coverage on top of thousands of dollars a month in taxes that fund the ACA subsidies, Medicaid, and Medicare. Businesses are now choosing to pay the employer mandate penalty rather than health coverage to their employees, because plans are so unaffordable.
One constituent of the Second District wrote to my office to ask what can be done for her skyrocketing healthcare rates. She and her husband have participated in the marketplace exchange for the last three years. During the first year, their monthly premium was $1,200. The second year, she paid about $1,900 each month for their healthcare. Next year, her rate will be over $3,500 per month. That’s an increase of over 200% - and over $42,000 each year. This family of two is paying for healthcare what some are paid in a salary in a year!
This holiday season, I am here to deliver news of one more thing we can all be thankful for: healthcare reform. In 2017, with a Republican in the White House and a Republican controlled House and Senate, we can finally repeal and replace Obamacare with a healthcare structure that is affordable for everyone. As part of the House Republicans’ “Better Way” agenda, we want to give citizens more choices and lower costs. We want to give you peace of mind that health insurance for a family of four will be affordable – regardless of age, income, preexisting medical conditions, or circumstances. We want to provide cutting-edge cures and treatments without Washington getting in the way of advancements. Finally, we want to create a stronger, more sustainable Medicare. Our seniors deserve the best treatment there is to offer, and we want to ensure that continues for generations to come.
With so much to be thankful for this season, I’m thankful that change is coming and that quality healthcare will soon be more affordable, more practical, more inclusive, and more sustainable for everyone.
###
