GOP Solicits Obamacare “Horror Stories” But Gets Bombarded With Positive ACA Testimonials

Republican Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-05) used her Facebook page to solicit Obamacare “horror stories”, but instead got bombarded with positive testimonials from people who have benefited from Obamacare. On Monday, the Republican Congresswoman posted:

This week marks the 5th anniversary of #Obamacare being signed into law. Whether it’s turned your tax filing into a nightmare, you’re facing skyrocketing premiums, or your employer has reduced your work hours, I want to hear about it.

Please share your story with me so that I can better understand the challenges you’re facing
http://mcmorris.house.gov/your-story/

However, instead of getting the response she was hoping for, her Facebook page was barraged with positive Affordable Care Act (ACA) stories.

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The testimonials were compelling. A sample of some of the responses appears below:

I am so grateful to have affordable insurance. I am self-employed and I have a preexisting condition, so I was priced out of the system in 2010, even though I’ve paid into the system all of my adult life. My age (51), my sex (female), and my heart murmur made me a high risk. My self-employed status prevented me from getting a group rate. The ACA allowed me to get the coverage I need, so if I need to see a doctor I can! Thank you so much for caring and thank you, all who worked hard to make this law happen! Thanks, Obama! You really do care!! –Catherine Yvonne–

I lost my job in 2010. I got health insurance for $600/mo, but I take two medications. My insurance company excluded my meds by giving me a sky high deductible. That meant that I was paying roughly $1000/mo+ for healthcare. That put healthcare at the top of my monthly expense list. Enter “Obamacare.” My healthcare costs through ACA dropped from $1000/mo to… Wait for it.. ZERO. I have no income. I am living off of savings. For the first time in my life I feel like all those taxes I paid are actually doing something for me. –Paul Daw–

5 years of not waking up in the middle of the might panicked that my child won’t ever be able to get health insurance thanks to a brain tumor at the age of 2. Thank God for Obamacare. Anyone who ever fought an insurance company for pediatric neurosurgery coverage knows there was NEVER a hassle-free system in place and Obamacare is light years better than what we had. –Melissa Kelly–

Thanks to the ACA, I could no longer be discriminated against as a person with Type 1 diabetes and as a small business owner in getting insurance. Prior to the act, no insurance company would even give me a quote on health insurance save for 1 policy that I had been grandfathered into due to a prior job. I was forced to take this policy, with no other options, and it was getting prohibitively expensive. The ACA opened doors for me and improved the quality my life tremendously. –Andrea Deutsch–

And to sum it all up, a simple comment by Facebook user Chuck Larsen:

Looks like you’re getting your answers, Cathy…just not the ones you wanted.

Now the question is will Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers actually listen to her constituents, and the American people, and end her ridiculous crusade against the Affordable Care Act? Will she wake up to the voices of the American people, or will she go back to hosting her by-invite only “Coffees with Cathy” events , where she can crawl back into her right-wing bubble and surround herself with only people who agree with her? The fact that her quest for horror stories ended so badly, should serve as a rude awakening for the GOP Congresswoman, but more likely than not she will continue to do what she does best, which is ignore the needs of her constituents, because their needs don’t conform to her rigid partisan ideology.

Keith Brekhus

Keith Brekhus is a progressive American who currently resides in Red Lodge, Montana. He is co-host for the Liberal Fix radio show. He holds a Master’s Degree in Sociology from the University of Missouri. In 2002, he ran for Congress as a Green Party candidate in the state of Missouri. In 2014, he worked as a field organizer for Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick’s successful re-election bid in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District. He can be followed on Twitter @keithbrekhus or on Facebook.