The Affordable Care Act at Age 3 1/2

Greetings,

We are now three and a half years into the Affordable Care Act. When it was passed, administration officials tossed aside legitimate concerns about the ability of such a complex and expansive new law to achieve its goals. Warnings that the U.S. government could not be expected to successfully take over one-sixth of the U.S. economy went unheeded. Our former governor made countless public claims that Obamacare would be a boon to America. Even as recently as a few months ago, when I asked the administrator in charge of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services whether the website would be ready by the October 1st roll-out date, she said that the testing would be complete.

What surprised me wasn't the disaster that has been the roll-out of the health-care exchange website, that's bad enough. No, what surprised me was the willingness of Obama administration officials to mislead Congress and the American public on the development of the health-care exchanges. Just click the image below that links to a video paid for by your tax dollars. It had one goal: to convince the public that the website was on schedule.

HHS claimed the website was on schedule in July. It wasn't.

This broken promise has been only the latest in a series. (Just ask the 100,000 people who lost their current health insurance this past week how they feel about the President's promise that "if you like the plan you have you can keep it.") The promises matter because they are intended to make this overreaching and poorly planned health-care law appear workable. It is anything but.

As I said earlier this year, these aren't problems due to "poor implementation." These are the problems of implementation period. A law that requires young people to make irrational decisions simply cannot stand.

And the website is the least of the problems we face. When Kansans see the cost of this insurance product they will be surprised. And none of this even gets to the core problem: access. As health-care providers are subject to reimbursements that cause them to lose money and they must deal with decisions made by a federal oversight board with respect to treatment, access for Kansans will diminish.

I have been asking Kansans regularly to give us feedback on our Obamacare Stories webpage. (You can do so here.) Some of you have noted that America needed health-care reform, and that Obamacare was the best way to accomplish that goal. But many others have lamented the loss of their health-care plans as insurers have dropped coverage entirely. Here's an excerpt of one letter I received from a 62-year-old female retired teacher:
"I currently have health insurance with Blue Cross Blue Shield, which on December 31,2013, expires. When I inquired why, I was told the policy no longer meets the guidelines under ObamaCare. Now I can't even have that plan any longer.

"After over 20 hours online, and multiple calls and online chats, I finally was able to see some numbers for health-care costs from the Affordable Care Act Marketplace, only to learn that the premium is 1.5 times what I currently pay, and the deductible is 4.5 times higher (and it's a different company). A BCBS plan was double the premium. I will not qualify for tax credits, as my income projected to 2014, which includes some tax-free interest income and social security, places this middle-class retired American over the threshold for any kind of subsidy. I'm sad that my well-laid plan for retirement now will redirect my earnings to pay for healthcare, much of which I will never use."

Washington must not make promises to Kansans it has no intention of fulfilling. When the President said that if Kansans liked their insurance they could keep it he must be held accountable for failing to meet that goal. Already, Kansans have lost the plans they already had and liked. When Secretary Sebelius falsely claimed that the exchanges would be ready for Kansans to use on October 1st, she should be held accountable for her statement. That's why I have signed a letter calling for Secretary Sebelius to resign. She has failed in the most basic duty of a public servant: To maintain the trust of the American people. Kansans deserve better.

Sincerely,

Mike Pompeo
Member of Congress

P.S. In order to make it easier for you to give me your input, you can now register to participate in my "Calls with Mike" telephone townhalls. During these telephone calls, I listen to constituents throughout the Fourth District and take their questions about about how Washington is impacting their lives. Just click here to register. Only residents of the Fourth District may participate.

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