Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., who passionately spoke out against the Affordable Care Act during a congressional hearing this week, said Thursday he opposes Obamacare because it forces Americans like him to choose between healthcare and life necessities.
"For many years I was a police officer," Rep. Higgins told Fox News' "Fox & Friends." "Sea to shining sea they make $12, $13 an hour. For many years health insurance was quite affordable."
But when the ACA came along, policies went up and deductibles became unreachable, Higgins said.
"My personal story I believe is multiplied many millions of times by working-class Americans across the country," Higgins said. "Obamacare has just not worked. You have unaffordable premiums and unattainable, unreachable deductibles. You pay more for health insurance for the privilege to pay cash for your healthcare. You never reach your deductible."
Higgins told House members Wednesday his family's premiums had gone up over $1,000 a month, leaving them to decide between buying groceries or paying for insurance.
"I'm not opposed to the ACA because it was President [Barack] Obama's crown jewel," Higgins said in the hearing Thursday. "I'm opposed to the ACA because it has been an abysmal failure."
Those are the kinds of decisions Americans are making, Higgins said, and "Congress must act."
However, he fears, with a Democratic majority, lawmakers will not act on healthcare, but will focus on "Medicare for All" plans.
"We had an alternative in the 115th Congress," Higgins said. "This was a good solution, my friend. It failed by one vote famously in the Senate or else we would be two years into fixing this thing right now."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.