|
Not far enough on repealing ACA |
|
April 4, 2017 |
By U.S. Congressman Raul Labrador
All across Idaho, families and small business
owners are struggling to keep up with
skyrocketing health care costs caused by the
Affordable Care Act (ACA), better known as
Obamacare. If you’ve seen your health insurance
premiums rise in the past few years, it’s almost
certainly because of ACA regulations. Every day,
I hear health care horror stories from across
the state.
Anthony Miller from Kuna was notified a few
months ago that his health care coverage was
going to increase $12,000, forcing him to drop
his insurance to the bare minimum. Lisa Allbrett
in Boise is frustrated because her premium has
doubled and her deductible has gone up $1,500,
but she has to keep her expensive plan in order
to avoid paying the Obamacare tax. David Weak in
Eagle purchased a Medicare Advantage plan, but
when his rate increased 127% in one year, he was
forced to sign up for a lower level plan.
Since the implementation of Obamacare, the
annual profits of the ten largest health
insurers doubled from 2008 to 2015 and Idahoans
have had to pay more. From 2016 to 2017 alone,
the average Idahoan experienced a 24 percent
increase in their health insurance premiums.
This is not what the American people were
promised when the Democrats passed Obamacare.
And this is exactly why we must fully repeal the
ACA and replace it with a system that lowers the
cost of health care and health insurance.
On March 24, the U.S. House was scheduled to
vote on the American Health Care Act (AHCA), a
bill that supporters claimed would repeal and
replace Obamacare. There was, however, one huge
problem: It didn’t actually repeal Obamacare. I
opposed this bill, and I was pleased when a vote
on the measure was cancelled.
When I first ran for Congress in 2010, I
promised my constituents that I would help lead
the fight against Obamacare. I’ve kept that
promise by voting to repeal President Obama’s
signature health care law or significant
portions of it 52 times in the past six years,
and nearly all of my House Republican colleagues
joined me in doing that.
Last week, I would have voted for a bill that
actually repealed and replaced Obamacare. But
the AHCA was not that bill. Critics of the bill
called it ‘Obamacare Lite’ or ‘Obamacare 2.0 ’
and those criticisms were not unfair. In
proposing a health care bill, the House
Republican Leadership should have done better. A
lot better.
House Leadership should have drafted a bill that
kept the promises made to the American people in
documents like the “Pledge to America," signed
by House Republicans in 2010, the “Better Way"
drafted by House Leadership in 2016, and the
“Contract with the American Voter” issued by
Donald Trump as a Presidential candidate last
year.
When it came to the ACA, the Republican position
was crystal clear: We will fully repeal the ACA
and replace it with a market-based system.
To be clear: the scheduled vote last week was
not our first and only chance to repeal
Obamacare. Quite the opposite. We, in Congress,
have more than enough time to craft a bill that
matches the commitment we made to the American
people. When President Obama and Congressional
Democrats created and passed the ACA in
2009-2010, it took about 15 months of work. It
may take just as much work to undo the ACA.
But it’s worth it.
During negotiations, conservatives in the House
insisted that Congress repeal Obamacare’s
prohibition on less expensive health care plans
and the knot of insurance regulations and
mandates that are making health coverage so
unaffordable. Studies show that Americans are
paying 45 to 68 percent higher premiums because
of these regulations and mandates.
Many people believe that these mandates are
necessary to protect the most vulnerable in our
society, especially those with pre-existing
conditions. However, we can provide these
protections without costly mandates. In fact, I
support the Republican plan to set aside over
$100 billion to help those with pre-existing
conditions.
Those who say we must accept a government
takeover of America’s health care system in
order to cover the most vulnerable are creating
a false choice. We can protect those who most
need our help while lowering health care costs
for all Americans.
To make health care more affordable for Idahoans
like Anthony Miller, Lisa Allbrett, and David
Weak, we need true repeal of Obamacare. When it
comes to health care, it’s more important to do
it right than to do it quickly. I will continue
working with my colleagues to keep my promises
and not to give up at the first sign of
struggle. |
|
Questions or comments about this
article?
Click here to e-mail! |
|
|
|
|
