Health Care Reform

Floor Speech

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Madam President, surprisingly, the President didn't talk much about ObamaCare, his signature achievement. The people of Arkansas, the people of America certainly are talking a great deal about it and they are writing a great deal about it also. The reason is because they are so concerned that health care has become an absolute mess.

The President talked about a single mom who was able to resolve the problem of her preexisting conditions. I think we all agree that is something that was desperately needed. I am an optometrist, an eye doctor, and very much aware of the situations people have been put in, in the past. Although the reality is we can fix this problem--problems such as this--without creating a massive bureaucracy, without creating a situation where we have thousands of pages of regulations, and the reality is the unintended consequences of the situation we are in now with ObamaCare is that we have made it unaffordable. We have made it such that millions of Americans simply cannot afford the health insurance they are being offered.

Let me talk about a few people who have written to me to talk about their situation. Jack from Springdale writes:

I just found out recently from my current health insurance provider that my current health insurance policy will be discontinued effective the first of next year, and a replacement policy will be approximately double which will be around $1,200 per month. My question is, is this what ObamaCare was supposed to do? And if not, what can be done about it?

Leonard and JoAnne write:

This letter comes to you to ask for your needed support to defeat/defund the Affordable Care Act in any way possible.

We recently received notification from Health Advantage of Arkansas that our 2014 monthly premiums increased $173.70 for a total of $1,360.06. Our out of pocket max increased from $3,000 to $5,000, the primary care physician co-pay increased from $25 to $35 and the specialist co-pay increased from $35 to $70. If either of us has to visit the ER, that co-pay increased from $100 to $250 dollars. The drug co-pay also increased. We are insulted to have to pay for benefits such as maternity, pediatric dental, and drug rehab which we have no need for since we are in our 60s and do not use drugs or alcohol. Health Advantage of Arkansas explained that these changes to our policy and increased costs were due to compliance to ACA.

We have supported you in the past and would like to know what your plan is to relieve Arkansans and other Americans from these additional financial burdens imposed upon us by the Affordable Care Act.

Mary in Little Rock writes that she received a notice that her Medi-Pak Advantage plan was canceled at the end of last year. She explains:

I had no idea that Obamacare was going to also affect Medicare. Now, to receive comparable coverage for 2014, I will have to pay an additional $500+ in premiums. This additional cost will definitely place an unfair burden on my finances. What are you & the Senate going to do to correct this situation?

I think Mary asks a very fair question. What are we going to do to correct her situation and the situation of so many others? I think the answer is we need to repeal ObamaCare. We need to put in place a system that does take care of the problems we have but without the bureaucracy, without the tremendous expense, and make health care affordable for all Americans.

I yield back.

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