Just weeks before talks on healthcare open over the Obamacare overhaul, a Republican U.S. senator has attacked the plan saying sticker shock could be experienced by Americans due to the higher prices.
Sen. John Barrasso spoke on a weekly address saying that the new Affordable Care Act was going to hurt most Americans in the middle class.
Barrasso warned that the majority of the families would suffer from sticker shock after viewing the new rates they will be paying for healthcare, even those families helped by government subsidies.
An official at the White House disputed the characterization by Barrasso, who is an orthopedic surgeon. The official said studies have shown that if the law were to be repealed it would lead to prices increasing for health care.
The White House official said consumers could buy health insurance from their state exchanges, one of the key components of the overall staring October 1. The exchanges give residents of every state a change to get subsidized health coverage.
In just the first year of the program, the government is hoping to sign up over 7 million Americans. By 2016, the number is expected to increase to 22 million.
Republicans bitterly oppose the healthcare plan, which in 2010 was passed without one Republican vote in all of Congress. Supporters of Obama consider the plan to be one of the president’s greatest achievements since taking office.
Barrasso however said he was sure the healthcare system in the U.S. needed reform but at a cost that was lower for Americans not higher.
He mentioned a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation this week that showed the premium for the average family for getting healthcare through an employer is close to $3,000 higher from when the president took office in 2009.
