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Healthcare

President Trump Meets With Families Adversely Affected by Obamacare

3 minute read

On Monday, President Donald J. Trump welcomed four families adversely affected by Obamacare to the White House for a listening session. These victims of Obamacare shared stories of skyrocketing premiums, denied access, restrictions, and low reimbursement rates due to Obamacare’s failing infrastructure.

Among the group visiting the White House was the Ackison family from Marysville, Ohio. Melissa Ackinson was denied coverage after her eight-week old child was mistakenly omitted from their insurance plan. Melissa was concerned by the lack of coverage for her infant as her other son had recently returned from hospitalization due to an unnamed infectious disease. While Melissa had the opportunity to pay for the immunizations out-of-pocket, she could not afford the high cost of premiums and even higher deductibles on her marketplace plan.

The Finn family from Morgantown, West Virginia, decided to try Obamacare to cover employees in their family business, but suffered the effects of a 200% rate increase on deductibles after the first year, leaving them unable to provide healthcare coverage to those working for the company.

Members of the Weer family from Mount Pleasant, South Carolina voiced concerns over the stability of the current healthcare system. Their three-year-old son Monty was diagnosed with Spina Bifida. Since his birth, he has been with two different insurance companies and healthcare plans which has made continuity difficult. Because Blue Cross Blue Shield is the only insurance company available in their area, the family is continually negotiating with clinics or traveling outside of the state.

The Witzig family from Washington, Illinois, also attended the listening session. Erin and Andy Witzig own a small business, and desire to have the best coverage possible for their six children. Their youngest daughter Poppy has a rare genetic condition, Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa (RDEB). This requires her to be in bandages from neck-to-toe every day. These specialty bandages are used by burn victims and are extremely costly. Every year since the implementation of Obamacare, their private insurance plan for Poppy has been discontinued and replaced with a new, supposedly equivalent, policy that is always more expensive and has far less benefits.

President Trump and Vice President Pence met with the healthcare victims and their families, ensuring that the Administration was committed to repealing and replacing Obamacare. The President then gave remarks, reaffirming his mission to find a healthcare solution that will better serve the American people.

“To every member of the Senate, I say this: The American people have waited long enough. There’s been enough talk and no action. Now is the time for action. We are here to solve problems for the people. Obamacare has broken our healthcare system — it’s broken, it’s collapsing, it’s gone. And now it is up to us to get great healthcare for the American people. We must repeal and replace Obamacare now,” President Trump stated.