North Texas Reacts to Uncertain Future Of Obamacare
By Bianca Castro	• Published November 10, 2016 • Updated on November 11, 2016 at 4:14 am
The Obama Administration says 100,000 people signed up for Obamacare plans Wednesday of this week.
Sylvia Burwell, Secretary of Health and Human Services, tweeted November 9 was the best day this open enrollment period with more than 100,000 plan selections on Healthcare.gov.
President-elect Donald Trump has said that he will repeal and replace Obamacare.
Office manager Patty Pierce says she welcomes any change to the federal exchange, which she has used since its inception.
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She's 50-years-old, healthy, single and makes an annual income of $45,000, yet she says her costs have continued to rise every year on Obamacare.
"A deductible of $6,800 dollars! I can't afford that, either. So, if I was to go into the hospital, I'd be in debt the rest of my life with hospital bills. Who wants that?" said Pierce.
What she wants is the kind of change President-elect Trump is expected to make in the coming months.
Trump has said he wants to modify laws to make it legal to sell health insurance across state lines.
Competition in the market, he said, will drive down costs and increase consumer satisfaction.
At the Los Barrios Unidos Community Clinic in Grand Prairie, employees are busy helping families sign up for health care on the federal exchange.
"Those that we helped enroll in Obamacare would be distraught if suddenly they found themselves without insurance whatsoever," said Joleen Bagwell, director of development and marketing.
It's estimated that nationwide, 22 million fewer Americans would have health insurance if the six-year-old health reform law is repealed.
"I hope that they just don't throw it all out and leave all those millions of people enrolled, including some of our patients and those who come here, without anything. That would be a disaster," said Bagwell.
Some analysts say a repeal of the health reform law will be difficult, but the president-elect can instead, cut funding to key parts of the law.
He's also said the best way to lower the number of Americans who need access to federal assistance is to create more jobs.
Donald TrumpNorth TexasPRESIDENTGovernorBianca Castro