{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://mchenry.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=361767", "If You Like It, You Should Be Able to Keep It", "2013-11-15", "2013", "2013-11", "Republican", "House", "NC", "Patrick McHenry", "M001156", "mchenry.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "While much of the focus on Obamacare's rollout has centered on the struggling Healthcare.gov website, another more disturbing reality has emerged since the October 1st launch.\u00a0 It was around then I began hearing from constituents who received cancellation notices from their insurance companies.\u00a0 These folks liked their policies.\u00a0 The policies worked for them.\u00a0 Yet the notices informed them their chosen policy was not good enough under Obamacare. \r\n\u00a0\r\nI've heard from folks like Tom, a retiree in Hickory.\u00a0 He and his wife had worked for years and enjoyed coverage through their employers.\u00a0 Following retirement, they found a policy that worked for them on the private market costing around $450 a month.\u00a0 However, that plan was not good enough under Obamacare.\u00a0 The alternative, Obamacare-compliant policy would cost Tom and his wife over $1200 a month.\u00a0 \r\n\u00a0\r\nThere is Roberta in Gastonia.\u00a0 After she gave up her teaching job to care for her ailing mother, she was able to find a policy for her and her husband that cost less than $150 a month.\u00a0 Unfortunately that policy was cancelled because of Obamacare.\u00a0 The replacement's cost? $510 a month.\u00a0\u00a0 \r\n\u00a0\r\nI also heard from Myron in Denver.\u00a0 He was on a family plan with his wife and two college-aged sons that cost just over $600 a month.\u00a0 That was until he received his cancellation notice in the mail.\u00a0 The cheapest alternatives available to Myron's family would cost over $1500 a month and double his deductible.\u00a0 \r\n\u00a0\r\nThese are only a few of the stories I have heard from constituents across the 10th District.\u00a0 I am sure there are more stories of folks losing their insurance that have not yet been shared.\u00a0 Media estimates of those losing health coverage have been as high as 160,000 in North Carolina and 3.5 million nationally.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \r\n\u00a0\r\nWhat makes this worse?\u00a0 This is not how Obamacare was sold to the American people.\u00a0 From the time the law was introduced, through last year's election, and as recently as this September, President Obama has reiterated that if you like your current insurance, you could keep it under Obamacare.\u00a0 Instead, millions of Americans received a cancellation notice as a daily reminder of this broken promise.\u00a0 \r\n\u00a0\r\nThis week, in an effort to hold President Obama to his word, the House passed H.R. 3350, the Keep Your Health Plan Act.\u00a0 This one-page legislation, which I cosponsored and voted for, allows Americans to keep plans available on the individual market now through 2014.\u00a0 Additionally, this legislation ensures those keeping their current plans are not penalized by the Obamacare tax on those who fail to sign up through the exchanges. \r\n\u00a0\r\nI remain opposed to Obamacare.\u00a0 I think it is bad policy that takes healthcare decisions away from the consumer and puts them in the hands of government bureaucrats.\u00a0 I have joined as a cosponsor of the American Health Care Reform Act which would increase competition among insurance companies and lower costs for all Americans.\u00a0 \r\n\u00a0\r\nHowever, Obamacare is still the law of the land.\u00a0 As long as that is true, I will work to hold President Obama accountable.\u00a0 H.R. 3350 does this.\u00a0 Now it is up to the Senate to act.\u00a0 They must support this legislation to protect Roberta, Myron, Tom, and countless other Americans from Obamacare's unaffordable premiums.", 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://mchenry.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=361767"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.701459288597107, "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"}