Meet the Former Democrat Hill Staffer Who is Now Furious with ObamaCare

Sue Klinkhamer worked for former Illinois Democrat Congressman Bill Foster until he lost his seat in 2010 due to his support for ObamaCare. Klinkhamer, as part of his team, was a loyal advocate of the law and fought for it in Congress, and even continued supporting it after she left the Hill.

That is, until she received a letter from her insurance company a few weeks ago notifying her that her current health care plan is being cancelled thanks to ObamaCare, and that the most similar option will cost her hundreds of dollars more.

Now, Klinkhamer isn’t a big fan of the law. “This is not affordable to me,” she told the Sun Times.

She can now count herself among the millions of Americans who were not expecting (and were not ready for) ObamaCare to cancel their health care plans and raise the costs of their insurance by hundreds of dollars a month. Her story is only the latest reminder that President Obama lied when he promised Americans ‘if you like your healthcare plan, you can keep it.’

From the Sun Times:

And the irony of her situation is not lost on her. In a recent email addressed to her former boss, Illinois Congressman Bill Foster, and other Democratic colleagues, she wrote:

“I spent two years defending Obamacare. I had constituents scream at me, spit at me and call me names that I can’t put in print. The congressman was not re-elected in 2010 mainly because of the anti-Obamacare anger. When the congressman was not re-elected, I also (along with the rest of our staff) lost my job. I was upset that because of the health care issue, I didn’t have a job anymore but still defended Obamacare because it would make health care available to everyone at, what I assumed, would be an affordable price. I have now learned that I was wrong. Very wrong.”

For Klinkhamer, 60, President Obama’s oft-repeated words ring in her ears: “If you like your health plan, you will keep it.”

…

When Klinkhamer lost her congressional job, she had to buy an individual policy on the open market.

Three years ago, it was $225 a month with a $2,500 deductible. Each year it went up a little to, as of Sept. 1, $291 with a $3,500 deductible. Then, a few weeks ago, she got a letter.

“Blue Cross,” she said, “stated my current coverage would expire on Dec. 31, and here are my options: I can have a plan with similar benefits for $647.12 [or] I can have a plan with similar [but higher] pricing for $322.32 but with a $6,500 deductible.”

She went on, “Blue Cross also tells me that if I don’t pick one of the options, they will just assume I want the one for $647. … Someone please tell me why my premium in January will be $356 more than in December?”

The sticker shock Klinkhamer is experiencing is something millions of individual policyholders are reeling from having gotten similar letters from their private insurers.