“We will keep this promise to the American people. If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor. Period. If you like your healthcare plan, you will be able to keep your healthcare plan. Period.” -Barack Obama, June 15, 2009

 “Our approach would preserve the right of Americans who have insurance, to keep their doctor and their plan.”-Barack Obama, January 27, 2010 

However, on page 34,552 (yes, I wrote that right) of the Federal Register, it was calculated that at least 93 million privately insured Americans must pay more for their current plan or lose it completely by 2013.

This is from the administration’s own calculations!

If you’ve been watching the news recently, you may have heard stories about individuals and families getting letters from their insurance providers explaining how changes in the law have made their current plans illegal. These letters are being sent to customers who bought their insurance in the private market. Even though their employer does not provide their insurance, these Americans followed the President’s orders and made sure they were covered. Not anymore. This is just the tip of the iceberg. This does not even begin to show the increased cost employers must pay to provide their employees with health insurance.

When you look for a job after graduating from Colgate, please understand that this will make it harder for employers to hire new people, let alone keep the employees they already have. If 50 employees now cost upwards of more than $1,000 dollars to insure, that’s your potential salary. If you want to work full time this summer, save up money for a car, food or rent; your hours may be cut, if your boss can hire you at all. Under the law, employers must provide healthcare to full-time workers.

In February, I was diagnosed with a chronic illness that left me dependent on prescription medication for the rest of my life. One of the nurses who treated me at Community Memorial Hospital in Hamilton had the same disease. However, she could not afford the tests to get properly diagnosed and could not afford the medication to heal her symptoms. We both have the same disease. I have insurance to help pay for some of the costs but, she does not. While I try to live my life as normally as possible, she has to deal with terrible symptoms.

I want Americans to have the insurance that meets their needs at prices they can afford. I never want you, your family, or your friends to have to make the terrible decision of paying the electricity or paying for medical treatment. The Affordable Care Act or “Obamacare” is forcing millions of Americans to make decisions like that. Many Americans do not have the extra $300 a month they are now forced to pay for insurance. Because of this, many will chose to pay the annual fine rather than pay the new prices. They will be left uninsured and vulnerable.

Americans are not better off than they were five years ago. This law was sold to us under a promise that was not kept. Millions of Americans are now paying the price.

                                                                                    Contact Madeleine Student at [email protected].