Stopping ObamaCare Is Now Up To The American People
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OBAMA PROMISED LOWER HEALTH CARE PREMIUMS BY THE END OF HIS FIRST TERM
As A Candidate, Obama Promised That His Health Care Reform Would Save American Families $2,500 A Year By The End Of His First Term. OBAMA: “If you are ready for change, then we can stop talking about the outrage of 47 million people without health insurance and start doing something about it. I’ve put forward a plan that says everybody will have the same health care if they want it that I have as a member of Congress, that you can’t be excluded for pre-existing conditions, we’ll negotiate with the drug companies for the cheapest available prices. If you’re 25 or younger you can stay on your parents’ health insurance. If you’ve got health insurance, we’re going to work with you to lower your premiums by $2500 per family per year. And we will not wait 20 years from now to do it or 10 years from now to do it. We will do it by the end of my first term as president of the United States of America.” (Senator Barack Obama, Remarks At Campaign Event, Columbus, OH, 2/27/08)
As A Candidate, Obama Promised His Plan Would “Bring Down Premiums By $2,500 For The Typical Family .“ “And if you already have health insurance and you want to keep that health insurance, we will bring down premiums by $2,500 for the typical family. And we will prevent insurance companies from discriminating against those who need care the most.”(Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks At Campaign Event, Raleigh, NC, 6/9/08)
Obama: “Their efforts will help us take the next and most important step, comprehensive health care reform, so that we can do what I pledged to do as a candidate and save a typical family an average of $2,500 on their health care costs in the coming years.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks On Health Care Reform , Washington, D.C., 5/11/09)
Obama: “Coupled with comprehensive reform, this could result in our Nation saving over $2 trillion over the next 10 years, and that could save families $2,500 in the coming years, $2,500per family.” (President Barack Obama, Statement By The President After Meeting With House Democratic Leadership , Washington, D.C., 5/13/09)
Obama’s Premium Promise … Broken
FactCheck.org: ObamaCare “Falls Short Of Making Health Care ‘Affordable And Available To Every Single American,’ As Promised.” “Furthermore, the law falls short of making health care ‘affordable and available to every single American,’ as promised. The law provides subsidies to help some Americans buy insurance, expands Medicaid and doesn’t allow insurance companies to exclude persons with preexisting conditions. But still, the director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projected 23 million persons will remain uninsured – some because they can’t afford coverage.” (D’Angelo Gore, “Promises, Promises,” FactCheck.org, 1/4/12)
FactCheck.org: ObamaCare Is Actually Making Health Care “Less Affordable.” “At the moment, the new law is making health care slightly less affordable. Independent health care experts say the law has caused some insurance premiums to rise. As we wrote in October, the new law has caused about a 1 percent to 3 percent increase in health insurance premiums for employer-sponsored family plans because of requirements for increased benefits. Last year’s premium increases cast even more doubt on another promise the president has made – that the health care law would ‘lower premiums by up to $2,500 for a typical family per year.’” (D’Angelo Gore, “Promises, Promises,” FactCheck.org, 1/4/12)
The Washington Post ‘s The Fact Checker: “Insurance premiums have gone up, in part because of new benefits mandated by the law.” (Glenn Kessler, “The Fine Print In Obama’s ‘Promises Kept’ Ad,” The Washington Post’s “The Fact Checker,” 1/6/12)
Under Obama, The Average Cost Of Family Health Care Premiums Have Increased From $13,375 To $15,073. (Phil Galewitz And Andrew Villegas, “Workers Face Higher Costs For Employer-Sponsored Insurance,” Kaiser Health News, 9/15/09; Julie Appleby, “Costs Of Employer Insurance Plans Surge In 2011,” Kaiser Health News , 9/27/11)
In 2011, The Increasing Cost Of Health Insurance Climbed, Outpaced “Any Growth In Workers’ Wages.” “The cost of health insurance for many Americans this year climbed more sharply than in previous years, outstripping any growth in workers’ wages and adding more uncertainty about the pace of rising medical costs.” (Reed Abelson, “Health Insurance Costs Rising Sharply This Year, Study Shows,” The New York Times , 9/27/11)
Kaiser Study Found That Family Coverage Premiums “Climbed” 9 Percent In 2011. “A new study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit research group that tracks employer-sponsored health insurance on a yearly basis, shows that the average annual premium for family coverage through an employer reached $15,073 in 2011, an increase of 9 percent over the previous year.” (Reed Abelson, “Health Insurance Costs Rising Sharply This Year, Study Shows,” The New York Times , 9/27/11)
Workers Paid An Average Of $132 More For Family Coverage In 2011 Than They Did In 2010. “Although premiums rose, employers kept the percentage of the premium workers pay about the same: An average of 18 percent for single coverage and 28 percent for family plans. Still, with rising costs, workers paid more, up an average of $132 a year for family coverage. Since 1999, the dollar amount workers contribute toward premiums nationally has grown 168 percent, while their wages have grown by 50 percent, according to the survey.” (Julie Appleby, “Costs Of Employer Insurance Plans Surge In 2011,” Kaiser Health News , 9/27/11)
The Cost Of Single Employee Coverage Grew 8 Percent According To The Kaiser Survey. “Family plan premiums hit $15,073 on average, while coverage for single employees grew 8 percent to $5,429, according to a survey released Tuesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research & Educational Trust. (KHN is an editorially-independent program of the foundation.)” (Julie Appleby, “Costs Of Employer Insurance Plans Surge In 2011,” Kaiser Health News , 9/27/11)
“The Results Mark A Sharp Departure From 2010, When The Same Survey Found Average Family Premiums Up Only 3 Percent.” (Julie Appleby, “Costs Of Employer Insurance Plans Surge In 2011,” Kaiser Health News , 9/27/11)
OBAMA PROMISED THAT YOU COULD KEEP YOUR HEALTH CARE PLAN
Obama Promised Americans That You Can “Keep Your Plan.” OBAMA: “If you like your doctor, you’re going to be able to keep your doctor. If you like your plan, keep your plan.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks At George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, 3/19/10)
Keeping Your Plan Was Obama’s “Core Belief” Of Health Care Reform. OBAMA:”The plans you are discussing embody my core belief that Americans should have better choices for health insurance, building on the principle that if they like the coverage they have now, they can keepit, …” (Barack Obama, President, Letter To Senate Democratic Leaders, 6/2/09)
Obama Said Keeping Your Plan Is “A Priority” To Him. OBAMA: “There’s no doubt that we have to preserve what’s best in the health care system, and that means allowing Americans who like their doctor and like their health care plan to keep their plan. And that’s going to be a priority for us.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks At Northern Virginia Community College, Annandale, VA, 7/1/09)
Obama’s “Keep Your Plan Promise” … Broken
Americans Are Finding Out That Obama’s “Keep Your Plan” Promise Is Just Not True. “President Barack Obama promised over and over during the health care debate that ‘if you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan.’ It turns out that, for a lot of people, that isn’t true.” (David Nather, “4 Inconvenient Truths,” Politico, 3/16/12)
More Americans Will Lose Their Employer Health Care Coverage Than Before ObamaCare Was Enacted. “For one thing, CBO says 11 million Americans won’t get employment-based health insurance they would have had before the law – so they will be forced out (technically by their employer, not by the president, but the context will be the changes brought about by the health law). Another 9 million would gain coverage – but everyone who loses it will see their lives disrupted, and it will be used as more evidence of broken Obama promises.” (David Nather, “4 Inconvenient Truths,” Politico, 3/16/12)
The Non-Partisan CBO Found That ObamaCare Could Cause As Many As 20 Million Americans To Lose Their Employer-Provided Health Care Plan. “As many as 20 million Americans could lose their employer-provided healthcare because of President Obama’s healthcare reform law, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said in a new report Thursday.” (Julian Pecquet, “CBO Report Says Health Care Law Could Cause As Many As 20M To Lose Coverage, The Hill’s ” Health Watch ,” 3/15/12)
Despite A “Tremendous Amount Of Uncertainty” Regarding Employer-Sponsored Health Care, The CBO Still Expects 3 To 5 Million Americans To Lose Their Health Care Coverage Under ObamaCare. “The best estimate, subject to a ‘tremendous amount of uncertainty,’ is that about 3 million to 5 million fewer people will obtain coverage through their employer each year from 2019 through 2022.” (Julian Pecquet, “CBO Report Says Health Care Law Could Cause As Many As 20M To Lose Coverage, The Hill’s ” Health Watch ,” 3/15/12)
Any Loss Of Health Care Coverage Is “Disruptive” To Americans, Especially Those Who Lose Their Employer-Sponsored Health Care. “But any loss of employer-sponsored coverage could be disruptive to the people who lose their insurance, even if they’re able to replace it through another source, like the health insurance exchanges that will be created under the law.” (J. Lester Feder, “CBO: Health Reform Could Cause People To Lose Workplace Coverage,” Politico, 3/15/12)
“A Report By McKinsey & Co. Has Found That 30% Of Employers Are Likely To Stop Offering Workers Health Insurance After The Bulk Of The Obama Administration’s Health Overhaul Takes Effect In 2014.” (Janet Adamy, “Study Sees Cuts to Health Plans,”The Wall Street Journal, 6/8/11)
“The Findings Come As A Growing Number Of Employers Are Seeking Waivers From An Early Provision In The Overhaul That Requires Them To Enrich Their Benefits This Year.” (Janet Adamy, “Study Sees Cuts to Health Plans,” The Wall Street Journal, 6/8/11)
OBAMA PROMISED NO TAXES ON THE MIDDLE CLASS
Obama Promised That He Wouldn’t Raise Taxes On The Middle Class. OBAMA: “I can make a firm pledge. Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase, not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes.” (Senator Barack Obama, Remarks, Dover, NH, 9/12/08)
Obama’s Middle Class Tax Promise … Broken
The Joint Committee On Taxation Report Found That ObamaCare Raises Taxes On Middle-Class Americans. “There are a number of tax provisions in the health care bill that may directly increase taxes on some individuals and families earning less than $200,000 and $250,000 per year. Furthermore, other tax provisions in the bill that directly affect businesses may ultimately affect individuals and families earning less than $200,000 and $250,000, respectively, to the extent that increased taxes results in higher prices for the products of the affected businesses.” (Joint Committee On Taxation, Letter To Senator Tom Coburn, 3/20/12)
PolitiFact Gives Obama A “False” On His Claim That He “Didn’t Raise Taxes Once.” OBAMA: “I didn’t raise taxes once.” (“President Barack Obama Says He Didn’t Raise Taxes Once,”PolitiFact, 2/7/11)
Obama Did Raise Taxes On Americans Through ObamaCare. “The new health care law also includes a tax on people who decide not to have health insurance, as an incentive for them to get coverage. … More significantly, the health care law includes new taxes on the wealthy, starting in 2013. Individuals who make more than $200,000 and couples that make more than $250,000 will see additional Medicare taxes of 0.9 percent. They will also, for the first time have to pay Medicare taxes on their investment income at a 3.8 percent tax rate.” (“President Barack Obama Says He Didn’t Raise Taxes Once,” PolitiFact, 2/7/11)
PolitiFact: ObamaCare Raised Taxes On The Middle Class. “The health care law that Obama signed on March 23, 2010, raises taxes on some things regardless of income. Two taxes in particular stand out. A tax on indoor tanning services begins this year. And in 2014, people will have to pay a fine, levied through their income taxes, if they don’t have health insurance.” (Angie Drobnic Holan, “Smokers, Tanning Aficionados, The Happily Uninsured: More Taxes Coming At Ya!” PolitiFact, 4/8/10)
OBAMA PROMISED THAT OBAMACARE WOULD COST LESS THAN $1 TRILLION
Obama Promised That ObamaCare Would “Cost Roughly $900 Billion.” OBAMA: “Now, what I’ve proposed is going to cost roughly $900 billion, 800 to 900. That’s a lot of money. Keep in mind it’s over 10 years. So when you hear some of these figures thrown out there, this is not per year; this is over 10 years. So let’s assume it’s about $80 billion a year. It turns out that about two-thirds of that could be paid for by eliminating waste in the existing system.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks At A Town Hall Meeting, Grand Junction, CO, 8/15/09)
Obama Said His Health Care Package Would Cost “$900 Billion Over 10 Years.” OBAMA:”Now, add it all up, and the plan I’m proposing will cost around $900 billion over 10 years, less than we have spent on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and less than the tax cuts for the wealthiest few Americans that Congress passed at the beginning of the previous administration.” (President Barack Obama, Address Before A Joint Session Of Congress , Washington, D.C., 9/9/09)
ObamaCare’s Cost Promise … Broken
“According To An Analysis By House Budget Committee Republicans, The Health Care Law Will Cost The Nation $2.6 Trillion When Fully Implemented, And Add $701 Billion To The Deficit In Its First Ten Years.” (“ObamaCare: A Budget-Busting, Job-Killing Health Care Law,” Office Of The Speaker Of The U.S. House Of Representatives, Report, 1/6/11)
Congressional Budget Office: ObamaCare To Cost $1.76 Trillion By 2022. “The ACA’s provisions related to insurance coverage are now projected to have a net cost of $1,252 billion over the 2012-2022 period (see Table 2, following the text); that amount represents a gross cost to the federal government of $1,762 billion, offset in part by $510 billion in receipts and other budgetary effects (primarily revenues from penalties and other sources).” (“Updated Estimates For The Insurance Coverage Provisions Of The Affordable Care Act,” Congressional Budget Office, 3/13/12)
ObamaCare Projected To Cost $822 Billion More Than Previously Forecasted. “President Obama’s national health care law will cost $1.76 trillion over a decade, according to a new projection released today by the Congressional Budget Office, rather than the $940 billion forecast when it was signed into law.” (Philip Klein, “CBO: Obamacare To Cost $1.76 Trillion Over 10 Years,”Washington Examiner , 3/13/12)
Richmond Times-Dispatch : ObamaCare Costs Are Double Obama’s Estimates. “You might have missed the news – it’s not the sort a lot of national outlets care to dwell on, for obvious reasons – but the Congressional Budget Office’s latest cost estimates for Obamacare are roughly double the estimates of previous years. The original forecast came in at $940 million. The new estimate puts the cost at $1.76 trillion. Shouldn’t people have seen this coming?” (Editorial, “Health Care: Up, Up & Away,” Richmond Times-Dispatch, 3/19/12)
OBAMA PROMISED TO GET HEALTH CARE SPENDING IN CHECK
Obama Promised That ObamaCare Would Lower Health Care Costs. OBAMA: “Finally,my proposal would bring down the cost of health carefor millions — families, businesses, and the federal government.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks By The President On Health Care Reform, Washington, D.C., 3/3/10)
Obama’s Spending Promise … Broken
When ObamaCare Is “Fully Implemented,” ObamaCare Will Increase Health Care Spending 7.4 Percent. “Spending would jump 7.4% in 2014 when the federal health law is scheduled to be fully implemented, the analysts predicted, as millions of Americans gain medical coverage either through subsidized plans purchased through government-run exchanges or through Medicaid, the federal-state insurance program for low-income people.” (Louise Radnofsky, “Steep Rise In Health Costs Projected,” The Wall Street Journal , 6/12/12)
ObamaCare Will Increase Federal Health Care Spending $478 Billion From 2011-2012. “President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul will add $478 billion in spending from 2011-2021, the period covered by the projections. Some 30 million uninsured people will get coverage.” (“With Or Without Obama’s Law, U.S. Health Care Costs Will Keep Outpacing Economy,” The Associated Press , 6/12/12)
Health Care Spending Will Increase More Than If ObamaCare Had Not Been Enacted.” “Spending will jump 7.4 percent to $3.13 trillion in 2014 when the law will begin to extend subsidized coverage through private health insurance and the Medicaid program. This compares with a 5.3 percent hike if health care reform had not been enacted. In later years, rates of growth will return to levels consistent with recent history, the data show.” (Jeffrey Young, “Health Care Reform Boosts Spending A Tiny Fraction While Covering Millions,” The Huffington Post, 6/12/12)
Health Care Spending Will Outpace Growth Of The Economy. “By 2021, health care spending will be growing roughly 2 percentage points faster than the overall economy, about the same rate as the last 30 years. And that means hard choices ahead for government programs and private insurance.” (“With Or Without Obama’s Law, U.S. Health Care Costs Will Keep Outpacing Economy,” The Associated Press , 6/12/12)
Health Care Spending Will Grow An Annual Rate Of 5.7 Percent For 2011 Through 2021, “0.9 Percentage Point Faster Than The Expected Growth In The Gross Domestic Product.” “New estimates released today from the Office of the Actuary at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) project that aggregate health care spending in the United States will grow at an average annual rate of 5.7 percent for 2011 through 2021, or 0.9 percentage point faster than the expected growth in the gross domestic product (GDP).” (Chris Fleming, “Health Spending Growth Projected To Average 5.7 Percent Annually Through 2021,” Health Affairs, 6/12/12)
OBAMA PROMISED THAT OBAMACARE WOULDN’T ADD TO THE DEFICIT
Obama Said “Health Care Reform Must Not Add To Our Deficits.” “Health care reform must not add to our deficits over the next 10 years–it must be at least deficitneutral and put America on a path to reducing its deficitover time.” (Barack Obama, President, Letter To Senate Democratic Leaders On Health Care, 6/2/09)
Obama’s Deficit Promise … Broken
A Report Released By Obama Appointee Charles Blahous Found That ObamaCare Will “Add More Than $340 Billion” To The Federal Deficit. “President Obama’s landmark health-care initiative, long touted as a means to control costs, will actually add more than $340 billion to the nation’s budget woes over the next decade, according to a new study by a Republican member of the board that oversees Medicare financing.” (Lori Montgomery, “Health Care Law Will Add $340 Billion To Deficit, New Study Finds,” The Washington Post , 4/9/12)
The Medicare And Social Security Trustee’s Analysis Debunks “Conventional Wisdom” That ObamaCare Would Reduce The Deficit. “The study is set to be released Tuesday by Charles Blahous, a conservative policy analyst whom Obama approved in 2010 as the GOP trustee for Medicare and Social Security. His analysis challenges the conventional wisdom that the health-care law, which calls for an expensive expansion of coverage for the uninsured beginning in 2014, will nonetheless reduce deficits by raising taxes and cutting payments to Medicare providers.” (Lori Montgomery, “Health Care Law Will Add $340 Billion To Deficit, New Study Finds,” The Washington Post , 4/9/12)
The Medicare And Social Security Trustee Charles Blahous Found “That Federal Accounting Practices Have Obscured The True Impact” Of ObamaCare. “Reigniting a debate about the bottom line for President Barack Obama’s health care law, a leading conservative economist estimates in a study to be released Tuesday that the overhaul will add at least $340 billion to the deficit, not reduce it. Charles Blahous, who serves as public trustee overseeing Medicare and Social Security finances, also suggested that federal accounting practices have obscured the true fiscal impact of the legislation, the fate of which is now in the hands of the Supreme Court.” (Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, “Study: Obama’s Health Care Law Would Raise Deficit,” The Associated Press , 4/9/12)
Blahous Said ObamaCare Will Cost More And Add More To The Deficit Than Had It Never Been Enacted. “‘The (law) both increases a federal commitment to health care spending that was already unsustainable under prior law and would exacerbate projected federal deficits relative to prior law,’ Blahous said.” (Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, “Study: Obama’s Health Care Law Would Raise Deficit,” The Associated Press , 4/9/12)