The silent victims of Obamacare
November 22, 2013
By Congressman Raul Labrador

President Obama famously promised that, under the Affordable Care Act, “If you like your health care plan, you will be able to keep your health care plan, period.” He made that promise at least 29 times.

And yet, here we are, in the early stages of the Obamacare rollout, and what are the results so far?

According to the Associated Press, 4.2 million Americans have lost their health insurance because of Obamacare. Meanwhile, only 106,185 have signed up for the exchanges. That means, for every American who bought a plan on the exchanges, nearly 40 had to lose their plan.

Who are these 4.2 million Americans who lost their insurance? They’re friends, neighbors, family members, good people who lost their insurance through no fault of their own.

I have received many letters from Idahoans who lost their insurance. Here are four stories I wanted to share:

Carol
Harrison, ID

Carol is 62 years old and has 10 grandchildren. She received a letter from her health carrier, saying her plan no longer qualified under the Affordable Care Act. She will be dropped from her coverage on February 1st.

Jason
Nampa, ID

Jason is a Deputy Sheriff employed by Canyon County. He is a former member of the Coast Guard and the Army National Guard. Obamacare made his health plan too expensive, forcing him to drop his family from his plan. He is still looking at other options for his family.

David
Clark Fork, ID

David is 65, retired, and received his coverage through Mutual of Omaha. His health plan is being dropped. His son, who is currently self-employed, also lost his insurance and had to go on a group plan.

Jan
Boise, ID

Jan was notified by her health carrier that her coverage will end on February 1st. The carrier offered to replace her plan with another one, but it has higher premiums. Jan is currently looking at other options.

These are just a few of the silent victims of the President’s broken promises. There are many more out there. And there will likely be even more before this is over.

The President would like to apologize for his broken promises and move on. But that’s not good enough. The time has come to take action – to truly solve this problem once and for all. And at this point, it should be clear that the only action worth taking – the only solution that will truly work - is FULL repeal of Obamacare.