On the recordDecember 2, 2015
The way the market has responded, in order to make insurance affordable despite the mandates, is there are so-called narrow networks. So someone signs up for the most affordable policy they can get. It turns out that the doctor they previously saw is not on this plan. So the narrow network is going to be just a small set of doctors. The specialists may be in another town; one hospital, not all hospitals. And patients are unfamiliar with this. They did not expect it. But that was their only affordable option. The mandates have driven up the costs so much. By the way, going back to the letter you got about the mandated benefits, in my recent campaign, I had a woman walk up to me, and she said: My name is Tina, and I am angry. I had a hysterectomy. I am 56 years old and I have no children. My husband and I are paying $500 more per month for insurance, which we cannot afford, and I am paying for pediatric dentistry, and I am paying for obstetrical services. She had had a hysterectomy, was 56 years old, and had no children. Another woman--she was 58 and her husband was 57--told me: The only reason I would need obstetrical services, which I am forced to buy, is if my name is Sarah and my husband is Abraham, but that is not the case.
