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Earlier this month, a column appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer which celebrated the Affordable Care Act’s recent signup success. However, despite over 7 million "enrollees", intelligent questions remain, especially when it comes to actually getting care.

Question #1: How many have actually paid their premium.  Without paying, you have no insurance, and therefore, no care.

Question #2: How many were previously without insurance? if they had insurance before, they are not newly insured.

Question #3: How many enrolled in Medicaid? Medicaid is a system already plagued with limited access to doctors and poor health outcomes.  

But what gave me pause was when the author declared “The ACA is doing exactly what its supporters said it would do.”

Really?

The Affordable Care Act was sold to the American people on three central promises:

1. If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan
2. If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor
3. The average family will save $2,500 on health care costs

Everyone, from President Obama to the average Ohioan, knows none of these promises have proven true. The ACA is not doing exactly what its supporters said it would. If it were, why has the Obama Administration unilaterally delayed dozens of provisions over the last year?

1. If you like your health care plan, you can keep your plan

Politifact, a fact checking website, rated this promise as 2013’s Lie of the Year.  Millions of people and families have lost their plans because of Obamacare’s mandates, forcing Americans to invest countless hours in finding a new plan while trying to keep their doctors and limit new costs.

President Obama has taken a new tact since his promise has proven false, alleging that anyone whose plan was cancelled had a “junk plan,” even if a person was perfectly happy with their existing coverage. This is a classic example of Washington claiming that it knows your health care needs better than you do.

2. If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor

The health care law’s cuts to Medicare Advantage are causing insurance companies to narrow their networks. Additionally, Americans who sought insurance on the new exchanges were surprised to learn that their trusted doctors were often not covered under their new plans. Local parents were dismayed to learn that only 3 of 7 insurers in Ohio include Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in their networks. This is disrupting the caring relationship between specialized physicians and surgeons and the children they treat: too often children with complex or chronic conditions.  

3. The average family will save $2,500 on health care costs

Compare this to recent headlines like “Premiums will rise in 2015, says Sebelius,” where the Obama administration admits families won’t be saving money on premiums. I’m hearing from Ohioans who are seeing their premiums increase by 100 and 200 percent. As displayed below, premiums are increasing at the highest rate in years:

Read about more of the broken promises used to sell Obamacare here: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2013/oct/02/10-things-obamacare-supporters-say-arent-entirely-/

As a physician and member of the House Doctors’ Caucus, I am actively working towards free-market health care solutions that empower patients and doctors, lower costs, and increase access to quality health care. Read more about our pragmatic, practical, and portable free-market alternative to the current health care system, H.R. 3121, American Health Care Reform Act:

• Fully repeals President Obama's health care law, eliminating billions in taxes and thousands of pages of unworkable regulations and mandates that are driving up health care costs.
• Spurs competition to lower health care costs by allowing Americans to purchase health insurance across state lines and enabling small businesses to pool together and get the same buying power as large corporations.
• Reforms medical malpractice laws in a commonsense way that limits trial lawyer fees and non-economic damages while maintaining strong protections for patients.
• Provides tax reform that allows families and individuals to deduct health care costs, just like companies, leveling the playing field and providing all Americans with a standard deduction for health insurance.
• Expands access to Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), increasing the amount of pre-tax dollars individuals can deposit into portable savings accounts to be used for health care expenses.
• Safeguards individuals with pre-existing conditions from being discriminated against when they purchase health insurance by bolstering state-based high risk pools and extending HIPAA guaranteed availability protections.
• Protects the unborn by ensuring no federal funding of abortions.

As a nation we must address who are uncared for in America and how we can best provide care.  The uninsured fall in this category, as would the sickest, and the neediest, as well as those with pre-existing conditions. 

We need to address physician shortages, especially primary care doctors.  We need to get non-emergent patients out of the ER and into a sustainable relationship with a primary care physician. These are key components if we are to have a successful healthcare system.

Pretending something is working well, when it is not, puts all of us at risk, both providers and patients.