{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://adriansmith.house.gov/addressing-health-care-crisis", "Addressing the Health Care Crisis", "2013-11-15", "2013", "2013-11", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Adrian Smith", "S001172", "adriansmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "It has been six weeks since the launch of the online marketplaces created by the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare.\u00a0 The many problems with the online exchanges have been well-documented, and have yet to be resolved.\u00a0 These problems go well beyond technical glitches. \u00a0They underscore the incredible complexity of Obamacare, which is creating a health care crisis far worse than even critics of the law predicted.\nOver the past several weeks, millions of Americans including many Nebraskans have been surprised to learn their current insurance plans are being cancelled to meet new mandates and requirements created by the federal government.\u00a0 This week, the largest health insurance provider in Nebraska announced it has cancelled policies covering more than 80,000 Nebraskans.\u00a0 At least eight other insurance companies have left the individual market in Nebraska.\nBack in August, I held a series of public meetings to discuss health care issues across the Third District.\u00a0 At one of the stops, I met a self-employed small business owner.\u00a0 She had affordable insurance which covered a pre-existing condition and met her needs.\u00a0 However, because of Obamacare, she will lose the coverage she likes on January 1.\u00a0 She has attempted to find out what options are available to her on healthcare.gov, the 1-800 number, and using the \u2018live chat\u2019 feature on the website.\u00a0 So far, she has not found any answers.\nUnfortunately, her story is not unique.\u00a0 Even though tens of thousands of Nebraskans are losing their health insurance, less than 350 Nebraskans have signed up for insurance through the exchanges.\u00a0 In addition to losing their insurance, these individuals are now threatened with a new individual mandate \u201ctax\u201d if they do not purchase government defined minimum coverage by the end of the open enrollment period.\nI have also heard from many Nebraskans who cannot afford the plan they currently have because their rates have increased so much due to new federal mandates.\u00a0 A new study by the Manhattan Institute found Nebraskans who purchase their own insurance will see an average premium increase of 74 percent.\nLoss of coverage and increased prices are not what the American people were promised.\u00a0 This week, the House passed the bipartisan Keep Your Health Plan Act which would allow health insurance plans available on the individual market today to be offered next year.\u00a0 This legislation would help give insurers and consumers more flexibility and options to comply with the law.\u00a0 There is also growing support for delaying the individual mandate tax.\u00a0 It makes no sense to punish individuals for failing to purchase insurance through a website which does not work.\u00a0 However, these proposals are not a cure for Obamacare\u2019s many ills.\u00a0 Although I continue to favor full repeal, correcting this incredibly complex law will at least require major legislative changes.\nObamacare is having devastating consequences for the health insurance market, the economy, and even the basic trust and confidence of the American people in their government.\u00a0 Regardless of how we got here, the President and Congress have an obligation to work together to resolve this crisis and find solutions.", 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": ["http://adriansmith.house.gov/addressing-health-care-crisis"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8034268394112587, "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"}