(Stephen Allott) – Since the passage of the ACA (Affordable Care Act), there has been much confusion about its contents. But then, this was inevitable in a bill that weighs in at a whopping 1990 pages. It was then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi who advised at the time, “We have to pass the bill so you can see what is in it.”
Hopefully now, our elected officials from the State of Nevada have all had time – or made the time – to read this dastardly piece of legislation.
This voter would certainly like to dispel any notion anyone may have that this bill is indeed affordable.
I am a businessman who enjoys general good health. I run my own company and, for the last few years, have maintained an individual PPO plan through Sierra Health and Life with an annual premium of $2,592.00 and a $5,000.00 per annum deductible.
You can imagine my shock and horror, when I recently received a letter from said insurance carrier notifying me that due to the ACA my plan has been discontinued. I had hitherto repeatedly been given to understand I would be able to keep it. Instead, I have now been placed in a ‘similar’ plan, costing $7,490.00 per year.
This represents a staggering premium increase of almost 200%. It was enough to almost give me a heart attack – although I seriously doubt I could afford one now.
Since I was convinced this was an error, I contacted Sierra Health and Life. The normally responsive, prompt and reliable company took four days to return my call – no doubt due to the deluge of calls from a multitude of disgruntled clients. They assured me there was no error, and they were issuing new policies in compliance with the rules, regulations and formulas now mandated by the federal government.
How in the world can any working family or individual cope with an increase of such grotesque proportions?
I remember so well, how Senator Harry Reid, kept pushing this bill as the ‘cure all’ and panacea for everything. Indeed, he recently commented in a television interview – “What we’ve done with Obamacare is have a step in the right direction.”
I recall the night of the passage of this bill, watching Congresswoman Dina Titus, in her 30 seconds of fame, striding to the podium of the floor of the House of Representatives in the middle of the night, boldly touting her support for the legislation. On July 20th, 2010, while testifying before the legislative committee on health care, she had this to say defending her vote for the ACA – “The legislation will provide security and stability to middle-class families by reducing costs…”
Pray tell, Congresswoman Titus, how does a $5,000.00 a year premium increase ‘reduce costs’? How is a 200% increase in a premium that I cannot afford, be a ‘step in the right direction’, Senator Reid?
Is this what constitutes the Democratic Party’s sense of fairness?
I guess only by Washington D.C. and Congressional standards and rules of accounting could a 200% increase in anything be considered ‘a reduced cost’.
Small wonder our nation is being crippled by a staggering debt, and a deficit that is beyond most people’s comprehension.
Who will stop this insanity?
Perhaps our lawmakers should revisit the name of the ‘Affordable Care Act’ since it is surely in direct conflict with our ‘truth in advertising’ laws. By any reasonable stretch of the imagination, the revised insurance policies being issued cannot be considered ‘affordable’.
Failing that, the Nevada delegation should at least have the decency to push for the repeal of this well-intended but diabolical, ill-conceived, and atrociously assembled piece of legislation. It’s implementation and denouement have gone horribly wrong.
The pain now inflicted on the deceived public by the passage and implementation of this act clearly must violate the ‘cruel and unusual punishment’ clause in our constitution. I would imagine that even our Supreme Court would be hard-pressed to argue that point.
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