Pro Choice on Health Care

 I have been voluntarily providing insurance to my employees since 2005.  This arrangement has worked very well for my 17 employees.  That is ending.  I received my cancellation notice for our group insurance yesterday.  I knew it was coming, but the finality of it really hit home.  The truth of the matter is that the Affordable Care Act has prevented me from having affordable insurance for myself and my employees.  Our current affordable, no deductible plan was discontinued because it didn’t meet the new federal requirements.  The new insurance being offered in place of our current plan has a premium price hike of 33%, and  a $1,200 deductible.

Why is my insurance more expensive under the ACA?  That is simple.  Before ObamaCare, We were able to choose a plan that did not include prescription coverage, mental health coverage, substance abuse treatment, durable medical devices, and pediatric dental coverage.  This ability to choose allowed us to have a very affordable plan, as most of our employees are young, and did not want this additional coverage.  We are now in an anti-choice situation, as ObamaCare now dictates that my insurance wasn’t enough, and I am forced to buy insurance for myself and employees that I do not want or need.

I know what insurance I need, Mr. President.  I am an adult, and I have been providing insurance for myself, my family and my employees for years.  What justification do you have in messing up my insurance situation?  Why is there now a bureaucrat between me and my family’s health care?  Your promises were crystal clear: that we can keep our insurance and our doctor if we like them.   You also promised our insurance costs would go down, but they are going up.  This is  because we are being coerced to buy coverage we decided we don’t need.  Why can’t you give us that choice?   These promises have all been broken.

I nearly died in 2008 from Congestive Heart Failure.  My doctor prescribed many different medications over the last five years.  As I fully recovered, I never had prescription coverage.  It was cheaper for me to buy my heart medication out of pocket than it was to pay the extra  cost per month for prescription coverage.  My current plan is a Blue Cross plan and it has served me exceptionally well.  Your new health care law is stripping that from me and my employees.  I am sure this is not what was intended, but that is the stark, harmful reality to me and my employees.

Mr. President, let us choose what insurance we want.   Be Pro Choice on Health Care.