{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://web.archive.org/web/20140222013337/http://www.barrasso.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressOffice.OpinionEditorials&ContentRecord_id=13f925c7-d738-cedf-e2e4-f2530c8f188f", "Barrasso: One Month of HealthCare.gov Horrors", "2013-11-01", "2013", "2013-11", "Republican", "House", "WY", "John Barrasso", "B001261", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "Barrasso: One Month of HealthCare.gov Horrors \n \u201cThe Democrats\u2019 whole law was based on the idea that government is capable of running America\u2019s health care system competently. It turns out that the government can\u2019t even set up a website competently\u2014and they knew it.\u201d   \n November 1, 2013   \nOne Month of HealthCare.gov Horrors \nBy Sen. John Barrasso, M.D. \nFoxNews.com \nNovember 1, 2013\nIt\u2019s now been officially one month since President Obama launched his health insurance exchange and broken website. Over the past few weeks, it\u2019s become clear that the problems with the health care law go well beyond a failed website. The technical problems are just the tip of the iceberg.\nNearly every promise made by the Obama administration has been broken. \nThe president\u2019s latest speeches and the testimony of HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius have just amounted to more spin. \nThe health exchange has not been as easy to use as Amazon.com. \nPeople are finding their plans are not as cheap as a cell phone bill. \nTheir family\u2019s doctors may not even be covered by their new insurance.\nPresident Obama should admit to the American people that his law doesn\u2019t provide the affordable, accessible health care coverage that they wanted all along. Then he should come to the table with Republicans to give people the real health care reform that they need, that they want, and that they deserve.\nAs we all remember, President Obama also promised repeatedly that if you liked the insurance you had, you could keep it. It turns out that only if the White House likes your plan can you keep it \u2013 if not, you\u2019re out of luck. In fact, the Administration knew for years that up to 16 million people across the country could lose their insurance. Rather than being honest with the American people, they chose to hide the problem.\nNow millions of people who are getting cancellation letters from their insurance company know the truth. In New Jersey alone, 800,000 cancellation letters have gone out.\nWhen these people and others start shopping for new insurance, many will find the premiums are much higher. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina told one customer that his current plan doesn\u2019t meet benefit requirements of the President\u2019s health care law. It suggested a comparable plan for $1,208 a month \u2013 $980 more than he pays now.\nA woman in California faced a 50 percent rate hike. She wrote to her insurance company, \u201cI was all for Obamacare until I found out I was paying for it.\u201d\nFor a lot of people, the law means more than skyrocketing premiums. Their new policies will come with higher co-pays and bigger deductibles \u2013 triple what they have now in some cases.\nAfter people recover from the sticker shock of their new Washington-approved and mandated insurance, there will be more negative consequences. Many will find that their own doctor is no longer eligible to treat them under their plan. A recent survey of physician practices found that only 29 percent say they\u2019ll take insurance sold through the government exchange. The rest have either decided not to participate or are still making up their minds.\nFinally, if all that weren\u2019t bad enough, people trying to buy insurance through the exchange face increased risk of fraud and identity theft. Con artists are taking advantage of the Obama Administration\u2019s bungling by setting up fake websites and phishing scams.\nThe Democrats\u2019 whole law was based on the idea that government is capable of running America\u2019s health care system competently. It turns out that the government can\u2019t even set up a website competently \u2013 and they knew it.\nThe Obama administration also knows that it will have to delay implementation of the individual mandate by at least a year. The failure has been too widespread to fix quickly. This delay needs to be approved by Congress through the regular legislative process. It should not be another case where the President waves his magic wand to change the law how he wants, when he wants.\nDemocrats got the American people into this mess unilaterally. It\u2019s time for a bipartisan solution to get us out.\nRepublican John Barrasso represents Wyoming in the U.S. Senate. He serves in the Senate as a member of both the Energy and Environment Committees.\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://web.archive.org/web/20140222013337/http://www.barrasso.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressOffice.OpinionEditorials&ContentRecord_id=13f925c7-d738-cedf-e2e4-f2530c8f188f"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3493779115378857, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}