U.S. Reps. Patrick Meehan (R-PA) and Jackie Walorski (R-IN) relayed stories about the impact the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has had on their constituents during a subcommittee hearing on Tuesday.
The House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight convened a hearing to probe the impact of ACA’s individual mandate, which was intended to ensure competitive insurance marketplaces and cost containment. The House Ways and Means Committee, responsible for a variety of tax, trade and health care issues, will play an important role in Congress’ effort to repeal and replace Obamacare.
Meehan said constituents in Pennsylvania saw premiums increase 33 percent in 2017 for plans purchased on ACA exchanges, and that each year there are fewer plans to choose from.
“Listen to the individuals in their own words,” Meehan continued. “Mike from Boyertown shared his concern with the cost of his insurance: ‘We have coverage from HealthCare.gov and our rates are increasing from $1,600 to $2,600 a month. Only six plans are available, and the lowest-cost plan is still over $2,000 per month, just for my wife and I.’”
Meehan also relayed the experience of a man from Lansdale who wrote that he’d just discovered his insurance costs had increased from $2,500 to $3,750 per month.
Walorski, meanwhile, said Americans had been repeatedly told that if they liked their doctor and their health care plan, they could keep them — but those promises have been broken.
“I’ve heard from too many Hoosiers facing higher costs and fewer choices under Obamacare, including one resident of Starke County whose plan was cancelled and who was forced to choose from options that don’t cover his doctors,” Walorski said. “This is why we are working to repeal Obamacare and replace it with a stable transition to a health care system that is better for patients.”
Walorski recounted how a Starke County constituent who had two open-heart surgeries and was on blood thinners had his health insurance policy “grandfathered out” by ACA. The constituent was forced to pay thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs for doctor visits, and thousands more for medications.
“When insurer networks have become so narrow that individuals, like my constituent, lose access to their doctors, what does that say about the mandate’s effectiveness?” Walorski asked.