{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://noem.house.gov/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=9252794D-1FAA-4A0A-BA2B-22F6FD394723", "Weekly Column: A Different Future for Healthcare", "2016-12-02", "2016", "2016-12", "Republican", "House", "SD", "Kristi Noem", "N000184", "noem.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "It\u2019s no wonder why more than half of Americans oppose Obamacare.\u00a0 Week after week, I talk with South Dakotans who are seeing their health insurance premiums increase by hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dollars per year.\u00a0 Despite the cost hikes, many are also finding that the 2017 options have larger deductibles, which often translates into higher out-of-pocket expenses too.\u00a0 Like I said, it\u2019s no wonder.\r\nToday, we are in the middle of the fourth annual open enrollment period for Obamacare.\u00a0 Absent a major life event, this is the only time you have to obtain or change health insurance without facing a tax penalty.\u00a0\r\nFor many South Dakotans returning to healthcare.gov this year, the numbers are pretty shocking.\u00a0 While the nation as a whole has seen a nearly 25 percent increase in the cost of health insurance premiums for 2017, a 27-year-old nonsmoker purchasing a middle tier plan in South Dakota will face a 39 percent price increase.\u00a0 That kind of cost surge has the potential to fundamentally alter a person\u2019s annual budget.\r\nAdditionally, some will find fewer options.\u00a0 For 2017 coverage, around one in five Americans will have only one insurer to choose from, a significant change from last year when just 2 percent of Americans were in the same boat.\u00a0 Insurers simply can\u2019t afford to be involved in the individual marketplace.\r\nEarlier this year, we learned one insurer operating in South Dakota lost nearly $100 million over the last two years on individual Obamacare plans in Iowa and South Dakota alone.\u00a0 As a result, they made the decision to no longer offer these plans in 2017 \u2013 a decision that impacted nearly 8,000 South Dakotans.\r\nMany have felt the pain of Obamacare and calls for the law\u2019s repeal have only grown.\u00a0 While around a dozen minor Obamacare repeals and reforms have been signed into law, this legislation is ultimately beyond repair.\r\nIt was widely understood that President Obama would not sign legislation repealing his healthcare law.\u00a0 Still, we put the option on his desk; he chose to veto it.\r\nAt the start of next year, however, I\u2019m very hopeful Obamacare\u2019s repeal will finally become a reality, as it now sits not only at the top of Congress\u2019 agenda, but at the top of the incoming administration\u2019s agenda.\r\nAlongside Obamacare repeal efforts, we\u2019ve been working on conservative legislation to replace the healthcare law with a patient-centered approach.\u00a0 More specifically, our plan would allow individuals to purchase insurance across state lines.\u00a0 The policy would help ensure you\u2019d have more coverage options while also introducing greater competition into the marketplace to drive down prices.\r\nAnother idea would allow small businesses and individuals to band together through new pooling opportunities.\u00a0 That increases your purchasing power and would give groups more leverage to negotiate with insurers for lower prices.\r\nOther components of our proposal would increase support for wellness programs, protect patients with pre-existing conditions, and allow young people to stay on their parents\u2019 plan until they turn 26.\r\nEvery American deserves access to quality, affordable healthcare, but experience shows that\u2019s not what Obamacare offers.\u00a0 We need to give people more choices, not more mandates, and we need to make sure you have the freedom and flexibility to find a plan that\u2019s going to work with your family\u2019s budget and needs.\u00a0 That\u2019s our vision, and step one in accomplishing it: Repeal Obamacare.", 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://noem.house.gov/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=9252794D-1FAA-4A0A-BA2B-22F6FD394723"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8690131362527609, "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"}