This is in response to the guest editorial printed on March 27 by a King County official about the Affordable Care Act.
There are many half-truths related to this mandate that went in effect on Jan. 1, 2014. This continues to have a negative impact on citizens.
Unless people were government employees (federal, state, county, city), they didn’t have a choice about keeping their existing medical coverage, without significant premium increases. It was not true that everyone would be able to keep the same coverage or same medical providers.
Case in point: My husband has a small business and had a part-time job while maintaining affordable medical care. Previously, he paid approximately $50/month for medical, dental and vision. That all changed when the mandate went in effect.
Currently, to maintain our medical coverage, my husband and I pay approximately $1,200 per month, with a thousand dollar deductible. There continues to be a high volume of people having to pay thousands of dollars out of pocket to maintain medical care for their families. Also, unless they pay their deductibles up front, they cannot receive their medical care.
This appears to be another example of the government continuing to squeeze the working class. How can the government continue to tout this program as “affordable?” This isn’t about politics at all. It’s about common sense. Call it anything but affordable. This forced mandate is unconstitutional. Citizens have lost the ability to choose about what’s right for themselves and their families.
Beware if you haven’t already signed up. You will be punished through fines and flagged by the IRS.
Many of us have not and will not embrace this false mandate. It’s about time that someone speak up about the truth and how many citizens are falling through the cracks.
Citizens, it’s time for people to wake up and smell the coffee.
– Julia Tines
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