Ivey Back From Presidential Address

Toccoa resident Brittany Ivey is back from Washington, D.C. after hearing President Donald Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress.

Ivey said it was a humbling experience to sit in the Capitol building on Tuesday night to hear that speech and see everything that took place.

“The experience was surreal,” said Ivey. “That is the best way I know to describe it. It was so neat to see people that you see on TV on a regular basis in one place at one time, coming together. It was very exciting.”

Ivey was the guest of 9th District U.S. Representative Doug Collins for the speech, as each member of Congress gets to bring one guest.

Collins invited Ivey because of her experiences and challenges she and her family faced with the Affordable Care Act.

According to Ivey, her premiums under a mid-level plan through the Affordable Care Act took 65 percent of her monthly gross income after a federal subsidy and the plan was not accepted by her or her children’s doctors.

Ivey said she is somewhat optimistic after hearing health care brought up during the speech.

“What he shared is kind of what has been shared over the last month or so since he has taken office,” said Ivey. “I would have liked a little more about what they planned to do. There was not much laid out there, but it is still promising to hear that they are working on it and there are some problems and they hope to repeal and replace it with something else soon, so that was promising.”

Collins said there was no better occasion than the president’s annual address to Congress to bring attention to the Affordable Care Act and the problems that the law has brought on.