Obamacare Lie #1: Democrat Joe Donnelly Said Health Care Options Would Expand
Jun 21, 2018
Reality: Obamacare Health Care Options Keep Dwindling in Indiana
INDIANAPOLIS - Hoosiers are experiencing fewer health care options as part of the failed Obamacare law, which directly contradicts claims made by Democrat Joe Donnelly in 2009. When selling the bill to Hoosiers, he said that he would vote against any health care legislation that limited these options or made people lose their health coverage.
To make matters worse, just days ago Democrat Joe Donnelly revealed at the 2018 Indiana Democratic State Convention that he was the deciding vote last year that blocked the repeal of the disastrous Obamacare law.
"We now know who's responsible for the Obamacare headache that Hoosiers throughout the state are experiencing -- Democrat Joe Donnelly," said Kyle Hupfer, chairman of the Indiana Republican Party. "Democrat Donnelly told Hoosiers one thing in 2009 when selling the bill, but just as Republicans warned, Hoosiers today are now living with a very different Obamacare, with lost coverage and dwindling choices. Democrat Donnelly had a chance to correct his mistake last year, but instead he's proud to tout that he cast the deciding vote to make sure this Obamacare headache continues."
Here’s a breakdown of what Donnelly has said on Obamacare, and how the program has actually played out in Indiana:
Democrat Donnelly Said He'd Only Support a Bill That Increaseed Health Care Options
Democrat Joe Donnelly, in his own words:
To make matters worse, just days ago Democrat Joe Donnelly revealed at the 2018 Indiana Democratic State Convention that he was the deciding vote last year that blocked the repeal of the disastrous Obamacare law.
"We now know who's responsible for the Obamacare headache that Hoosiers throughout the state are experiencing -- Democrat Joe Donnelly," said Kyle Hupfer, chairman of the Indiana Republican Party. "Democrat Donnelly told Hoosiers one thing in 2009 when selling the bill, but just as Republicans warned, Hoosiers today are now living with a very different Obamacare, with lost coverage and dwindling choices. Democrat Donnelly had a chance to correct his mistake last year, but instead he's proud to tout that he cast the deciding vote to make sure this Obamacare headache continues."
Here’s a breakdown of what Donnelly has said on Obamacare, and how the program has actually played out in Indiana:
Democrat Donnelly Said He'd Only Support a Bill That Increaseed Health Care Options
Democrat Joe Donnelly, in his own words:
- “The bill, as it stands now, would increase competition, lower health care costs and reduce the deficit.”
-Democrat Joe Donnelly, November 2009, Logansport Pharos-Tribune
- “I don’t want just one company bidding on your health care. I want four or five different companies.”
-Democrat Joe Donnelly, August 2009, Plymouth Pilot-News
- “If you have health coverage and like it, the new bill will not force you to change your plan or your doctor.”
-Democrat Joe Donnelly, November 2009, Office of Congressman Joe Donnelly
- "People who have health care can keep their health care."
-Democrat Joe Donnelly, Rochester (Indiana) Sentinel (VIDEO: 4:44 mark)
But what has actually happened under Obamacare is the opposite of what Democrat Donnelly said while he was trying to sell the bill to Hoosiers. Today, Hoosiers are continuing to lose health care options under Obamacare -- with only one viable option in some parts of Indiana.
Donnelly Lied: Hoosiers Have Fewer Health Care Options & Lost Coverage Under Obamacare
Donnelly Lied: Hoosiers Have Fewer Health Care Options & Lost Coverage Under Obamacare
- The number of health insurers participating in Obamacare in Indiana has dropped from eight in 2015 to just two in 2018 – CareSource Indiana and Managed Health Services.
-Kaiser Family Foundation, Accessed June 2018
- Anthem and MDwise stopped offering plans under Obamacare in Indiana starting just this year, following the exit of UnitedHealthCare, Humana and Aetna.
-Fox 59 Indianapolis, June 2017
- Hoosiers in Lake and Porter County only have one Obamacare option – Managed Health Services.
-Times of Northwest Indiana, June 2017
- Hoosiers in Wayne County only have one option – CareSource -- if they want to see a doctor at Reid Health, the community’s main health network.
-Richmond Palladium-Item, November 2017
- PolitiFact reported that following the implementation of Obamacare, about 4 million Americans were projected to have their health insurance plans cancelled. The organization called former President Obama' claim that, "If you like your health care plan, you can keep it," the Lie of the Year for 2013.
-PolitiFact, December 2013
- Even Barack Obama admitted that, under Obamacare, many people are being forced to change their plan or their doctor: “There is no doubt that the way I put that forward unequivocally ended up not being accurate."
-The White House, November 2013
But while Obama claimed responsibility for lying to the American people in order to pass Obamacare, Democrat Donnelly is not accepting responsibility for lying to Hoosiers. Instead, Democrat Donnelly is choosing to blame President Donald Trump, calling Indiana's loss of two prominent insurers through Obamacare as "an outcome forced by this administration" (Office of Senator Joe Donnelly, June 2017).
"It's time for Democrat Donnelly to accept responsibility for what Obamacare is -- bad public policy that's limiting Hoosiers' health care options," said Hupfer. "It's now been years since Obamacare became law, and while we've seen the reality of dwindling options and lost coverage, Democrat Donnelly just won't admit that Obamacare isn't working. Instead, last year he cast the deciding vote keeping Obamacare as law. It's become clear that the only way to replace Obamacare with real, market-based solutions is to send Democrat Donnelly home, and to elect Mike Braun to the U.S. Senate."
"It's time for Democrat Donnelly to accept responsibility for what Obamacare is -- bad public policy that's limiting Hoosiers' health care options," said Hupfer. "It's now been years since Obamacare became law, and while we've seen the reality of dwindling options and lost coverage, Democrat Donnelly just won't admit that Obamacare isn't working. Instead, last year he cast the deciding vote keeping Obamacare as law. It's become clear that the only way to replace Obamacare with real, market-based solutions is to send Democrat Donnelly home, and to elect Mike Braun to the U.S. Senate."
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