RNC chief: Time for Democrats to admit ObamaCare fails Americans

This week, thousands of people in Indiana and Wisconsin were devastated to learn that Anthem would be pulling out of the ObamaCare exchanges in their states. And just weeks ago, people in Ohio were met with the same terrible news, leaving the residents of 20 counties without a single insurance provider.

Since running for office, President Trump has traveled around the country to hear from these very people, and so many others, who have fallen victim to the harmful effects of ObamaCare.

{mosads}At a recent rally in Ohio, he met with a couple that owns a small local business in the state. They recounted their experience of being forced to give up coverage under their company’s plan — along with all their employees — because of ObamaCare’s burdensome regulations. Instead, they and their workers were forced to purchase insurance through Ohio’s ObamaCare exchange, which cost more and forced them to find new doctors.

Another family in Burlington, Wisconsin, told the president a similar story. A retired volunteer fire department captain, Robert, and his wife Sarah were forced onto ObamaCare exchanges, where their monthly premiums doubled. Sarah was forced to work a part-time job to afford their insurance, but the additional income disqualified them from the tax credits their family once depended on. They were forced to pay the government thousands of dollars on top of their increased premiums.

Unfortunately, these stories aren’t unique. People in every corner of our country are experiencing the devastating effects of the Democrats’ failed healthcare experiment.

The costs are untenable. The regulations are unbearable.

Republicans have heard the calls for relief and have worked overtime to find a solution.

But what have Democrats done while Republicans spent long nights hashing out a healthcare plan? They sat on their hands, held “talk-a-thons,” and refused to participate in the process. All the while, the people they claim to be fighting for are losing insurance because they can no longer afford to pay astronomical premiums.

Not only have Democrats refused to work with Republicans on fixing our broken system, but they’ve even bragged about their obstruction of any progress in a Republican-led Congress.

However, this message of “resist” and “obstruct” isn’t resonating with the American people. The Democrats tried these themes in the four special elections. It didn’t work.

This came as no surprise to us at the Republican National Committee, though. According to our internal data, people overwhelmingly want Democrats in Congress to work with the president to find common ground on solutions. In Montana, 86 percent of voters supported cooperation and 56 percent of those voters said that politicians who do nothing but obstruct should be replaced in the 2018 midterms.

In fact, in nearly every state Donald Trump won with a Democrat senator up for reelection in 2018, voters want these Democrats to find common ground by margins of 50 percent to 60 percent.

We don’t need obstruction, and the American people neither want nor can afford it. We need to work together to pass a new system that will provide better care for the millions of Americans who cannot afford to suffer under ObamaCare’s crippling costs for one more day.

Our country is in a healthcare crisis, and Republicans in Congress have made it a top priority to craft legislation that reflects the reforms that we’ve been talking about for years. Republican healthcare reforms will replace ObamaCare’s status quo with affordable and quality care. It addresses the issues with ObamaCare that Democrats have swept under the rug for too long.

It couldn’t be clearer: the American people have had enough of do-nothing Democrats in Washington and have given President Trump and Republicans in Congress a mandate to act swiftly on his agenda. It’s time for Democrats to put aside their partisan calculations and work with Republicans to pass meaningful healthcare reforms that will benefit all Americans.

Ronna McDaniel is chairwoman of the Republican National Committee.

The views expressed by contributors are their own and are not the views of The Hill.