Weekly Capitol Report

In recent weeks we have all heard examples on the evening news or from our family and friends about the dysfunctional healthcare.gov website. The website is not user-friendly and in many cases just simply does not work. While the ObamaCare website is a problem, we must remember that the problems with government mandated healthcare go much further than technical glitches. Across our country and right here in Missouri, people are losing their current insurance and are seeing their monthly premiums skyrocket. The broken ObamaCare system is having a real impact on families and individuals, businesses and even local school districts.

In recent weeks, my offices in Missouri and Washington have been flooded with families and individuals who are losing their current health insurance or who are seeing their monthly premiums increase dramatically. Chris from Salem contacted me through Facebook to say that his insurance has been cancelled. Chris and his family were given the option to buy a new plan through the same insurance company but their new plan comes with much higher deductibles and a much higher monthly premium. The broken ObamaCare system is forcing Chris and his family to make tough financial decisions.

Ceramo in Jackson is one of the largest American-owned distributors of clay pottery in the country. It’s a family business that started in 1945 and employs around 100 people. Because of ObamaCare, Ceramo’s insurance rates increased by 43% when the plans came up for renewal. After switching insurance providers to a company that would still raise rates by 37%, Ceramo has now received notice explaining that their coverage will be cancelled next August because it does not cover certain benefits required under President Obama’s healthcare law. Ceramo and its 100 employs are suffering because ObamaCare is broken.

For many communities in our Eighth District, local schools districts are the largest employers in town. In recent years our public schools have struggled to make ends meet with a sluggish national economy and reduced local tax revenues. Now, just as the economy is beginning to recover and school districts are seeing more tax revenues, ObamaCare is slapping districts with new healthcare costs for employees. The broken Obama healthcare mandate is taking money out of Missouri classrooms and away from Missouri students.

The failures of ObamaCare go well beyond a broken website. ObamaCare marks the first time in our nation’s history that American citizens have been forced to buy a product they do not want, that they cannot afford, from a website that does not work. The President’s government mandated healthcare plan is hurting everyone from business owners and local school districts to families and individuals right here in Missouri. We can do better. It’s time President Obama realizes what the rest of America already knows, ObamaCare is broken and needs to be replaced with a free-market, private sector driven solution.

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