Open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act has begun, and CNN quickly reported that federal subsidies “will protect most enrollees” even as premiums continue to rise. But Virginia father Christopher Briggs wants to know who will protect his family from Obamacare itself.
“Joe Biden ran an ad when he was president saying he couldn’t imagine what it would be like for a child to get cancer and not have health insurance coverage,” Briggs said. “You don’t have to imagine it.”
His family’s struggle encapsulates the broken promise of the ACA.
When the Briggs’ youngest daughter was two years old, she was diagnosed with leukemia. Her family’s health insurance premiums rose to a level they could no longer afford. As a result, they turned to the Obamacare market to find cheaper insurance.
That was in 2017. In Virginia, their only option was Cigna. This did not cover her daughter’s cancer treatment at Inova Fairfax, the only hospital in the area with a pediatric oncology unit. The insurance she bought in 2020 originally covered her clinic, but she changed direction during the pandemic and closed the facility.
“Under Obamacare, my daughter effectively couldn’t get cancer insurance,” Briggs said.
Since then, it has been a constant struggle for the family. We were able to get slightly better insurance in 2020, and so far, my daughter’s cancer is in remission.
“But the doctors are saying it could come back, and that’s what worries us,” Briggs told me. “Will our insurance cover the treatment she needs?”
Obamacare was supposed to put an end to these kinds of life-altering problems, but that promise has proven hollow.
Remember this? “If you like your health care plan, you’ll keep it.” PolitiFact named this one of 2013’s “Lies of the Year.”
The Briggs family had a perfectly good health plan before the Affordable Care Act was passed. But the ACA limited choices to more expensive plans with fewer benefits. In fact, up to 9.3 million people lost their insurance during the first public offering period. Then-President Barack Obama eventually apologized for misleading these families.
How about this? “You Can Retain Doctors.” 214,000 doctors refused to participate in the Obamacare exchange program. CNN declared the claim false. And the ACA’s website has been revised to remove a section titled “Can I hire my own doctor?”
For the Briggs family, this was a bitter disappointment. If the plan doesn’t cover the childhood leukemia doctor her daughter needed and may need again, would that be considered “coverage”?
Even one of the bill’s most popular promises – that parents would be able to insure their children until age 26 – turned out to be false. My eldest daughter, who is 24 years old, is attending graduate school. The Briggs want to add her to their insurance plan, and under the ACA she is also not eligible, except for a provision that makes it nearly impossible for Obamacare enrollees to add adult children. need to get it.
For Christopher Briggs, the Affordable Care Act was “the killer of the American dream.” His purchasing options are severely limited, and the one-size-fits-all nature of exchange policy just doesn’t work for his family.
What’s worse, the government knows how flawed Obamacare is, but instead of fixing it, it’s trying to get healthier Americans into ACA plans by offering more affordable plans. It relies on a naive attempt to restrict private plans. My group, the Texas Public Policy Foundation, submitted comments opposing this restriction.
When Mr. Briggs had trouble enrolling his oldest daughter in his plan, federal officials advised him to simply lie on the application. It was natural that he refused it.
But he hasn’t given up on fighting for medical freedom for himself and his family. He is now working with the Independent Institute to tell his story and demonstrate the failures of the ACA.
In its coverage of this issue, CNN seems oblivious to the fundamental truth discovered by the Briggs family. They believe that reporting and care are not the same thing, and that nothing will change if the government continues to subsidize the collapsed insurance market.
