Two Arkansans talk of health law’s ills

As it attempts to repeal and replace the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the White House is highlighting the stories of Americans it says have been hurt by the Obama administration’s health care law.

On Friday, the Trump administration released testimonials from more than two dozen people — including two Arkansans — who say the current health care system is flawed and needs to be fixed.

One is Gina Martin, founder and vice president of Little Rock Tours and a longtime critic of the Affordable Care Act.

The other is Benton resident Tonya Horton, the 42-year-old owner of Horton’s Orthotics and Prosthetics.

Horton was invited to a June 14 listening session at the White House that featured Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price and Seema Verma, the new administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Until the White House summoned her, she’d never been to the nation’s capital.

“I’m not really sure how they got my name but they just called and asked me if I’d be interested in participating,” Horton said in a telephone interview Friday. “It was exciting to be able to go up and speak on behalf of myself and on behalf of my patients, but it was also, of course, very nerve-wracking.”

Many of her customers have been hurt by recent changes in the health care system, she said.

Because of the steep deductibles, some of them have to pay thousands of dollars before their insurance kicks in, she said. Co-pays also have jumped, she said.

As a result, “I’ve seen more patients that can’t afford our services. They go without,” she said.