Real stories: The pain of Obamacare

Fewer than 27,000 Americans have selected an insurance plan from the Obamacare website Healthcare.gov. But millions of Americans have lost their insurance plans thanks to Obamacare — and millions more are reeling from higher premiums, lost jobs, and lower wages.

The RNC created GOP.com/TellUs for these Americans to share their Obamacare stories. Day after day, the responses keep coming in.

Here’s more of what Americans are saying about Obamacare. This is the real impact of the law.

Sandy E. from Florida says, “I’m a single woman, a few years too young for Medicare, who’s bought my own health insurance for the majority of my life because my employers never offered this benefit. I lost my last full time job in late 2008. The only job I’ve been able to find is part time … [I'm] now working around 25 hours a week for 25 percent of what I earned in 2008. Three weeks ago I received a letter from AvMed stating they were terminating my policy due to the Affordable Care Act. My coverage ends December 31, 2013. Independent polices are quoting me prices starting at $830.00 per month. How can I afford this?”

Joe D. of Pennsylvania writes, “I am a small business owner … . Our Management Team spend[s] a lot of time every year trying to keep our employees’ cost of healthcare down by aggressive negotiation and creative plan design/redesign every year. Like most companies, we pass on roughly 25 percent of the plan['s] cost to our employees. During our current renewal process, our insurer (Capital Blue Cross) has informed us that our plan no longer ‘complies’ with the ACA. They cited limits on mental health coverage and chiropractor visits among the shortcomings. As such, they were canceling the plan we had purchased for the past 3 years and offered a new plan that was compliant and close to what we had, but the new premium was 48 percent higher! We of course can’t absorb nor can our employees absorb anything near that kind of increase.”

Jeffrey S. from Pennsylvania says, “Approximately 6 years ago I switched from a conventional medical insurance plan to a High Deductible Plan paired with a Health Savings Account. That move lowered my total health care cost by around 45 percent annually. I loved the plan, the tax incentives, and the fact that I could now pay for items like dental crowns, glasses and contacts using my HSA — things I had no coverage for under my previous plan. Last year, due entirely to Obamacare mandated changes to my policy, my premiums jumped 39 percent. I am now paying for things I will never use such as maternity care and dental care for my children through age 18. I am single and have no children. I just received another letter from my carrier telling me that my premiums are going to increase again and that my policy can no longer be written after December 2014. I am furious with this administration and its lies.”

Via: GOP.com

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