Federal policymakers must bring healthcare costs down

As the owner of a health insurance brokerage, I see firsthand how health coverage is becoming increasingly unaffordable. I spend a lot of time educating and strategizing with my clients on how to meet their needs and protect themselves against risk, but I’ve come to realize that choosing the coverage that meets their needs is simply out of reach for many of them.

I am also not immune to rising healthcare costs as mine have increased in every possible way. Over the past three years, I’ve rotated between my W2 job’s insurance, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace, and my husband's W2 insurance plan to try and save as much as possible. The desperation in the health insurance market is palpable and was made worse by federal cuts to healthcare programs.

That’s why I recently visited Washington, D.C., to talk with my members of Congress and their staff in support of the Patients Deserve Price Tags Act and the Break Up Big Medicine Act. These bipartisan bills would increase price transparency and reduce healthcare consolidation. I urge federal policymakers to come together and pass this legislation to make real progress in bringing healthcare costs down.

Samantha Allbritton the owner of a Colorado health insurance brokerage and is one of the 85,000 small business owners in Small Business Majority's network.