With or Without Shutdown, ACA Must Be Addressed

With or Without Shutdown, ACA Must Be Addressed 

Problems Such as High Cost Cannot be Ignored

(Washington, D.C.) – As elected leaders in Washington discuss possible proposals that may end the stalemate and reopen the government, early enrollment under the Affordable Care Act (also called the ACA or Obamacare) is going badly. In fact, it is being called disastrous. Polling shows that more Americans oppose the President's health care law than support it and just 7 percent believe the roll out has gone 'extremely well' or 'very well.' Total numbers are not being disclosed by the Department of Health and Human Services, but reports suggest that only a small number have purchased care through the federal insurance exchanges. Apart from the well-publicized "glitches," there is growing anecdotal evidence that prices for insurance are higher than consumers expected, and higher than was promised by the Administration.

The shutdown has persisted because the House of Representatives has offered a variety of proposals to change the implementation of the ACA, and the White House has rejected all of them. Regardless of how this dispute is resolved, the problems with the law will need to be addressed. 

Daniel Garza, Executive Director of The LIBRE Initiative released the following statement:

"The President's health care law was touted as a better way to guarantee more affordable health care to millions of Americans. The President even promised that families would see their insurance premiums fall by up to $2,500 annually. Thanks to more deficit spending, some are getting access to insurance. But millions of Americans are now losing policies they liked, and millions more are experiencing sticker shock with their health care costs rising.

Negative opinions about the ACA continue to mount as CNN reports that two million American families may find themselves losing existing care due to the ACA, and potentially being priced out of new insurance. Others are seeing their current policies triple in price. There's no doubt that if this poorly-designed website is any indication of how ACA will be run, then we have a long road ahead to fix the serious problems with this law. The President needs to address these issues and his broken promises." 

For interviews with a LIBRE representative, please contact:  Judy Pino, 202-578-6424 or Brian Faughnan, 571-257-3309, 571-257-3309.