YOUR OPINION: Obamacare Is Bad News, Vote For Leaders Who Will Reverse It

By  //  August 3, 2016

With the upcoming 2016 political election season heating up for what is sure to be among the most passionate in our nation’s history, Space Coast Daily will be a neutral site for the citizens of Brevard County, and this great country, to express their opinions on our interactive multimedia platform and social media venues.
With the upcoming 2016 political election season heating up for what is sure to be among the most passionate in our nation’s history, Space Coast Daily will be a neutral site for the citizens of Brevard County, and this great country, to express their opinions on our interactive multimedia platform and social media venues.

As a Physician Assistant since 2001, I have seen drastic changes in the healthcare industry that have negatively impacted our community and our economy.

One of those changes is the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, which has enrolled 11.1 million people through its online marketplace exchanges as of the end of March 2016.

Millions of Americans were promised by the Obama administration of the ability to keep their plans ended up losing them due to the increased minimum benefit requirements of the exchange-based federal plans. In addition, insurers lost out as well.

The risk corridor is a tool designed to take money from overly profitable insurers and pool it in a fund to be doled out to insurers that were struggling and has paid out 12.6 percent of the $2.87 billion requested by money-losing insurers.

Ignoring the fact that the risk corridor is a redistribution of wealth, it clearly ran out of money, because some of the lowest-cost federal plans simply closed up shop due to excessive losses.

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One of the biggest debates continues to revolve around Obamacare’s affordability, and it’s certainly designed to penalize higher-income adults and business owners. There’s a strong possibility that Obamacare premiums will soar again in 2017. That’s bad news for those who are most likely to have their wealth redistributed. They are struggling with Obamacare’s affordability, and are more likely to drop out of the program if it becomes completely cost prohibitive.

Roughly 15 percent of Obamacare’s enrollees are being exposed to the full premium price hikes, this number will grow as the need to offset ongoing Obamacare-related losses increases. That’s the way socialized medicine works, there’s never enough money from the wealthy to cover the free healthcare for the indigent, and as the indigent grow the wealthy leave the table.

What can we do? I’d start at the local level by voting for leaders in Tallahassee and Washington D.C. who oppose Obamacare and Medicaid expansion. For example, there’s a local race for House District 52.

There are four candidates running, and I’m supporting Brian Hodgers because he introduced himself to me, learned what field I was in, and immediately told me that he would oppose Medicaid expansion and block Obamacare with corrective state-level legislation.

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Brian is an insurance agent, so he understands the burden that the growing Federal Government is putting on the healthcare industry. The thing that made this decision even easier for me is that Brian’s opponent, former Senator Thad Altman, voted in favor of Medicaid expansion.

We need leaders who are going to stand up for our rights as taxpayers and fight the attempts to socialize medicine in America. In an effort to care for everyone, the Obama administration, and liberal thinkers like Thad Altman, are making healthcare costs soar while the quality plummets. As a practicing Physician Assistant, I’ve watched the industry already begin to plummet. We need a quick fix, and the best way to do that is to remove the leaders who have advanced these policies in the first place.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Susan Hammerling, PA, MPAS, DFAAPA was born in Merced, California and relocated to Brevard County in 1980. While growing up, she was brought up with the importance of voting and the danger of apathy on current events and issues in the news. Her parents taught her the importance of hard work, perseverance, and treating everyone with respect.

Susan Hammerling
Susan Hammerling

Susan graduated from Satellite High School where her interest in politics started. During high school, she was an intern for Congressman Jim Bacchus, selected to attend American Legion Girls State in Tallahassee, and volunteered for the Jeb Bush campaign.

After high school, she joined the Brevard Republican Executive Committee and served as an officer of the College Republicans in South Carolina. In addition, she has helped with dozens of campaigns at the local, state, and national levels since 1992 in Florida and South Carolina. In the medical field, she has been Legislative Chair for the Society of Dermatology Physician Assistants.

Not only does Susan have a Masters degree as a Physician Assistant, but she is an Arbitrator, certified as a Mediator with the Florida Supreme Court, volunteers as a Guardian ad Litem, and has her Florida/Georgia Real Estate licenses. Recently, she earned the designation of GRI for her real estate license. Susan tries to be well versed in legal, real estate, and medical issues in our community.

Susan is past President of the Haven Guild and currently serves as a Board Member on the Crosswinds Board, a member of Brevard County Civilian Military Community, and a volunteer for Rolling Readers.

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