Obamacare is failing in North Carolina, where there is just one insurer left on the state's exchanges in 95 out of its 100 counties, and nationwide as well, Sen. Thom Tillis said in Saturday's GOP address.
"Earlier this week, we heard President Barack Obama deliver a speech to update the American people on his health care law, Obamacare," the North Carolina Republican said. "Rather than admit Obamacare isn’t working, the president painted a rosy picture that doesn’t match the reality experienced by millions of Americans."
Even President Bill Clinton called Obamacare's consequences, the "craziest thing in the world," Tillis said, and Tillis agreed, pointing out Obama's promises have not panned out.
“Just a few years ago, President Obama repeatedly promised families that they would be able to keep their health care plans if they liked them," said Tillis. "We all know that wasn’t true, as millions of Americans received cancellation notices, forcing them to pick a new plan and in many cases a new doctor. He also promised that Obamacare would lower insurance premiums by some $2,500 a year. Instead, the premiums have increased by an average of nearly $5,000 a year since before the law was enacted."
Tillis said since he became a senator in 2015, his office has been flooded with calls and letters from people in his state saying the healthcare reform law has been a "nightmare for them and their families."
"Many families haven’t seen the worst of Obamacare yet," said Tillis. "Unfortunately right now, at least 1.4 million Americans – including more than a quarter of a million North Carolinians – are receiving cancellation notices informing them that they will lose the healthcare plans they purchased under Obamacare. That’s a consequence of insurers dropping out of the program at an alarming rate."
However, Democrats and Obama are "doubling down" on the failed law, and have come up with a public option that would lead to a single-payer system to put healthcare in the control of Washington's bureaucrats.
Republicans are pursuing reforms, however, including patient-centered reforms by North Carolina Republican Sen. Richard Burr, which would lower health costs while protecting people with pre-existing conditions, without the need for costly mandates.
"The heartaches of Obamacare don’t have to be the norm," he concluded. "There’s a better way to improve and modernize our nation’s health care system, and only Republicans are offering that alternative."
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