The Unaffordability of the Affordable Care Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the millions of Americans--including many in my home state of Louisiana--who are being forced to bear the cost of president Obama's flawed healthcare law.

The negative impacts of the so-called affordable care act have been felt by people of all walks of life. In many cases, the law has disproportionately hurt the very people it claimed it would help--hardworking, middle-class families.
Five years of Obamacare implementation has produced higher premiums, higher deductibles, higher co-payments and reduced access to care for those who need it most.

In fact, a study published just last week revealed that increases in 2016 premiums for health insurance coverage will once again be in the double digits, exceeding last year's double digit hikes. At least one state could see as much as a 130 percent rate hike next year.

Across the board, the projected hikes for the lowest-priced options in each tier of coverage--bronze, silver, gold and platinum--will surpass the increases we saw last year.

The median cost of the bronze plans, one of the most popular offerings because of its relatively low premiums, will rise by 13% in 2016. As for the high-end insurance coverage options, gold's median premium will jump 15% and platinum's rate will rise by 12%.

Mr. Speaker, these cost increases are simply unworkable for the majority of Americans. I'd like to share the situation of a constituent of mine who recently reached out to me, begging Congress to take action to fix this broken law.

Unable to afford the $1200/month it would cost him to get the family plan through his employer, he turned to the exchange in search of a high deductible plan to provide health insurance for his wife and girls.
He recently received a renewal notice in the mail informing him that his monthly bill will increase 21% in 2016. 21 percent. Despite the fact that he provides 95% of his household's income as his wife finishes school, he is above the income threshold to receive any subsidy to offset the cost.

The first $11,000 of his pre-tax income will go toward government mandated health insurance in 2016--coverage that will still require him to pay a copay and coinsurance on a very high deductible to use it. His alternative is to pay the 2.5% fine and to have no coverage in the event of an emergency.

Mr. Speaker, I am now going to ask you what this man asked me: what's his incentive to work harder? What's his reward for working since age 15, for spending 6 years pursuing an advanced degree in college?
All he can show for it is an irresponsible and unaccountable government that takes a larger portion of his income every year to pay for government programs that punish those who work hard and reward those who don't.

It's time for the president to acknowledge that his signature legislation is fundamentally flawed. It's time we turn the page on Obamacare and provide better solutions. Americans deserve a healthcare system that drives efficiency through competition and places healthcare decisions in the hands of consumers and taxpayers--not the federal government.

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