5 Reminders: How Obamacare Has Failed the American People

House Ways and Means Committee Republicans

5 Reminders: How Obamacare Has Failed the American People

Brady: Obamacare has dramatically reduced the quality of health care and raised costs along the way.

President Obama's health care law has been hurting America's workers, families, retirees, and job creators for nearly seven years, and--as newspapers across the country highlighted--2016 was no exception.

As we begin a new year and a new Congress, here are five reminders of the pain Obamacare has caused and why Congress must repeal the law:

1. Americans cannot afford their health care costs. Premiums in most states have increased by double digits (as high as 76 percent in Oklahoma), forcing Americans to pay more each month just to keep their coverage. On top of that, deductibles--the out-of-pocket costs people must pay before their insurance benefits kick in--have become so high many Americans feel like they don't have coverage at all.

2. Families cannot take their children to the doctors they trust. When Obamacare was first introduced, the President promised: "if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor." Americans quickly learned that was an empty promise. According to one report, plans purchased on Obamacare's exchanges have networks with 34 percent fewer providers than plans purchased off the exchanges.

3. People in some districts have only one "choice" of insurance provider. Several major health insurers--including BlueCross BlueShield, UnitedHealth, Humana, and Aetna--quit many of Obamacare's markets, citing financial losses caused by the law. As the Kaiser Family Foundation found in a recent study, the number of counties with one insurer grew by 25 percent this year.

4. Seniors face more uncertainty and fewer health care choices. Obamacare took more than $800 billion from Medicare to fund the law's massive new entitlement program, putting the future of seniors' health care system in jeopardy. On top of that, the law's multi-billion dollar cuts and blunt policy changes to Medicare Advantage (MA) have limited the quality, flexibility, and choice of health care plans for all seniors enrolled in this crucial program and Medicare as a whole. As Medicare's chief actuary warned, "access to, and quality of, physicians' services would deteriorate over time for beneficiaries" as a result of these harmful policies.

5. Job creators and workers are burdened by higher taxes. Obamacare imposed $1 trillion in new taxes, many of which are on job creators. These tax hikes stifle innovation and ultimately hurt job creation and wage growth. Plus the law will force taxpayers to foot a $10 billion tab this year to prop up the insurance exchanges.

As Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) said, the law must be repealed to provide much-needed relief to Americans:

"Obamacare has failed the American people from the very beginning, dramatically reducing the quality of health care and raising costs along the way. The law is based on empty promises and the misguided assumption that Washington knows best--and it has proven to hurt the people in my district and across the country. That's why House Republicans are working to repeal this failing law and finally deliver the relief, control, and peace of mind our workers, families, retirees, and job creators deserve."

For more information about House Republicans' plan, visit www.waysandmeans.house.gov/healthcarereform.