Witnesses included: Julie Dalton, a healthcare worker, whose insurance rate increased from $375 per month for her family to $1,180. Diana Robinson, a retired administrative assistant, who had received cancellation notice. Christie Hamman, a realtor, whose rate increased from $500 per month for her family to $1,700. Steve Montgomery, a veterinarian, who will see his rates double.
Before testimony began, Issa told attendees that due to his work exposing Fast and Furious, the federal government’s failed gun running scheme, he has spent a great deal of time in Arizona. He quipped, “I come to Arizona a lot, but not as often as John McCain comes to San Diego. We think of him as our senator,” Issa said with a smile. To which one attendee responded about the widely unpopular McCain, “Keep him.”
Friday’s hearing was the third in a series of field hearings on ObamaCare’s impact on Americans. The hearings examined a variety of issues about Affordable Care Act (ACA) implementation including the cost of increased premiums for healthcare coverage and reduced choice for Americans.
“As a result of ObamaCare, Arizonans are seeing their insurance go up an average of 51%,” said Chairman Issa, reading from a statement. “While the President promised that if ‘you liked your healthcare you could keep it,’ millions of Americans have received notices that they will lose the plans they liked and had thought were affordable. This hearing will examine how the cost and quality of healthcare is changing under the President’s unaffordable landmark legislative achievement.”
“I want to know how this terrible law is hurting my constituents personally, so we can show President Obama and Senate Democrats the damage ObamaCare is inflicting in Arizona,” said Gosar. “We are listening.”
Schweikert told attendees, “One Democrat witness, in congressional hearings, testified that the aggregate aspect of Obamacare was stifling small business growth. He testified that we have done incredible damage to our markets,” said Schweikert, “and questioned whether they could be saved.”
Julie Dalton began the testimony by telling the congressmen, “In the spirit of self-reliance, we purchased a plan our president assured us that we could keep. We had a $370 premium, and our children were covered until the age of 30.” She testified that one day her insurance agent “contacted us and told us that our rate would go up 320%. We can opt to pay the higher prices, we could opt to sell our cars, we could opt to sell our house, we could opt to get a second job, we can opt for a subsidy, but that leaves us with a bill 200% higher than what we were paying now,” she said tearfully. “We have no good options.”
Diana Robinson told the Committee that she worked hard to find the insurance policy that was recently cancelled. She said, “When I first got the letter I cried. I live modestly. I don’t know what else I can cut out.”
Christie Hamman testified that at first she was not “initially excited about Obamacare” but “understood the people needed coverage.” She testified a plan under Obamacare would cost $1387 a month, which would be about 17% of her income. She told the panel that through the Affordable Care Act, all of the country’s choices have been taken away.
Dr. Steve Montgomery testified that his premium went up dramatically. He said that he had paid into his insurance plan for years and never really had great need for medical care. “When I finally have the need for healthcare, I lose it. Certainly the administration’s call for reform is laudable, but it should have gotten government out of healthcare, not in it more,” concluded Montgomery.
Issa told the audience that the committee had also sent 15 insurance companies letters, “asking exactly what did they know and when did they know it?” The letters request documents about information related to President Obama’s assertion that “if you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor.”
At the time he sent the letter, Issa stated, “Now, there is mounting evidence that the President’s second promise is similarly untrue,” the letter states. “Even among the individuals fortunate enough to keep their plans, many Americans are finding that access to their preferred doctor(s) is being abruptly terminated.” Moreover, “Some health insurers have acknowledged that they are slashing provider payment rates for plans offered on ObamaCare exchanges.”
“The predictability of these impacts raises serious questions as to the origin and nature of the President’s assurances,” Issa said in the letter. “When pressed for an explanation, officials in the White House offered tortured redefinitions and obfuscations.… The glaring inconsistencies in the Administration’s narrative, coupled with the dispositive evidence that millions of Americans are unable to ‘keep their doctor, period,’ demand rigorous examination.”
The letters were sent to the following insurers:
◦Aetna, Inc.
◦Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida, Inc.
◦BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina, Inc.
◦Blue Shield of California
◦CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, Inc.
◦Cigna Corporation
◦Health Care Service Corporation
◦Health Net, Inc.
◦Highmark, Inc.
◦Humana, Inc.
◦Independence Blue Cross
◦Kaiser Permanente
◦Molina Healthcare, Inc.
◦UnitedHealth Group, Inc.
◦WellPoint, Inc.