Bill Posey: Obamacare Hurting Many

Op-Ed

Everyone knows that on Oct. 1, there was a partial government shutdown.

It resulted from an impasse between the Republican House, Democratic Senate and President Obama over two issues:

1) Whether Congress and the White House obey the same Obamacare rules you do.

2) Whether individuals should get the same waiver from Obamacare mandates that the President unilaterally gave large corporations and special interests.

These two requirements were put in the Sept. 30 funding resolution that passed the House and on which the Senate has refused to negotiate.

My office recently received a call from a Merritt Island constituent upset because the new health care law led to the loss of his medical insurance. He liked the coverage through his wife's full-time job, but the health care law forced her employer to cut her to part-time, eliminating their health insurance.

A Rockledge constituent emailed this week to inform me that their doctors no longer will take their insurance; and a constituent in Palm Bay wrote that their insurance costs just doubled, costing them another $2,781 out of pocket. I've heard lots of similar stories, and it's wrong for Congress, the White House and large corporations to get a special exemption.

Small business owners have shared accounts with me describing how they have had to cut full-time employees and opted not to expand their business because of the health law's requirements. This law is having a very real and adverse impact in our local economy and across this nation.

When Obamacare was passed on a party-line vote under then- Speaker Nancy Pelosi, people were assured they could keep their current doctors and their insurance company. They also were told it would cost them less, it was not a tax, and there would be no rationing of medical care -- none of which is completely true.

First and foremost, leaders in Washington who have advocated for Obamacare have a duty to see to it that these principles are reflected in the actual law, and Congress should enact relief for all Americans who are adversely impacted, not just some special interests and large corporations.

There's no doubt that some people like the new health care law and there are a few provisions with which I agree. But the administration and a complicit media have glossed over the harm this law has already caused millions of Americans.

If some want to ignore these facts and play the blame game, I can't stop them.

But what I will do is fight for those workers, families and businesses in our community that have been wronged by Washington's deception and its unwillingness to treat them fairly.

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