Americans Not Sold on Dem’s Healthcare Takeover – And With Good Reason

FYI, a version of the release below went out to the following districts: Tim Bishop (NY-01); John Boccieri  (OH-16); Leonard Boswell (IA-03); Allen Boyd (FL-02); Dennis Cardoza (CA-18); Russ Carnahan (MO-03); Chris Carney (PA-10); Gerry Connolly (VA-11); Jim Costa (CA-20); Kathy Dahlkemper (PA-03); Joe Donnelly (IN-02); Steve Driehaus (OH-1); Bill Foster (IL-14); Gabby Giffords (AZ-08); Alan Grayson (FL-08); John Hall (NY-19); Debbie Halvorson (IL-11); Martin Heinrich (NM-01); Baron Hill (IN-09); Jim Himes (CT-04); Steve Kagen (WI-08); Paul Kanjorski (PA-11); Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15); Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ-01); Ron Klein (FL-22); Suzanne Kosmas (FL-24); Betsy Markey (CO-04); Jerry McNerney (CA-11); Harry Mitchell (AZ-05); Patrick Murphy (PA-08); Scott Murphy (NY-20); Bill Owens (NY-23); Ed Perlmutter (CO-07); Tom Perriello (VA-05); Earl Pomeroy (ND-AL); Ciro Rodriguez (TX-23); John Salazar (CO-03); Loretta Sanchez (CA-47); Mark Schauer (MI-07); Kurt Schrader (OR-05); Carol Shea-Porter (NH-01); John Spratt (SC-05); Betty Sutton (OH-13); Dina Titus (NV-03); Niki Tsongas (MA-5); Tim Walz (MN-01); and  David Wu (OR-01).

Americans Not Sold on Earl Pomeroy’s Healthcare Takeover – And With Good Reason
Democrats Scramble to Revive Sales Pitch as ObamaCare Flatlines 

Washington– While President Obama and Democrats like Earl Pomeroy claimed the Democrats’ government healthcare takeover would provide economic benefits to the American public, evidence continues to stack up against their empty promises as skepticism spreads among the American public. Recent news reveals that the negative implications of ObamaCare are far more serious than originally predicted. While the White House attempts to clean up their mess, the American public continues to see no indication that the Democrats’ healthcare takeover that Pomeroy helped pass will provide economic benefits at all. In fact, evidence has shown that ObamaCare could stunt job growth, impose even more new taxes and strip working-class families of their already-existing healthcare coverage.

“President Obama promised economic benefits as a result of the Democrats’ healthcare takeover, but the months since he’s signed it into law have brought a string of bad news,” said NRCC Communications Director Ken Spain. “While evidence mounts against the economic benefits of ObamaCare, it has become painfully clear that Democrats like Earl Pomeroy were walking the party line when they rubber-stamped a trillion dollar government healthcare takeover against the best interests of their constituents. While the White House attempts to ‘sell’ their healthcare agenda once again, middle-class families in North Dakota are left wondering how much more taxpayer money will be wasted on Washington’s incompetence.”

The White House and allies are scrambling in an attempt to revive their campaign to defend and “sell” the healthcare takeover to the public:

“The extraordinary campaign, which could provide an unprecedented amount of cover for a White House in a policy debate, reflects urgency among Democrats to explain, defend and depoliticize health reform now that people are beginning to feel the new law’s effects…President Barack Obama on Tuesday will kick off a series of high-profile health-reform events heading into the November election. The job will continue as long as he is president, since the biggest provisions — including the requirement that individuals carry health insurance — don’t kick in until 2014.” (Mike Allen, “Dems Launch $125M Health Campaign,” Politico, 06/07/10)

Meanwhile, polls show a deep skepticism over ObamaCare, giving Obama and his allies reason to be concerned: 

“Polls show that the public remains confused and deeply split over the health law. A CBS survey released last month found that 43 percent approved of the measure; 47 percent disapproved. Yet a Wall Street Journal poll last month found that 55 percent of Americans thought the law should be given a chance to work, versus 42 percent who wanted to repeal it and start over.” (Sheryl Gay Stolberg, “White House and Allies Set to Build Up Health Law, New York Times, 06/06/10)

Evidence continues to prove that President Obama’s promise of economic benefits have been unfullfilled:

A Recent Columbus Dispatch Editorial States That Obamacare Is “Poised To Unleash Massive Harm” On The Economy As Small Businesses Fight Back Against Provisions That Stunt Job Growth: “Last month, the nation’s most prominent small-business association joined in a lawsuit against the health-care overhaul signed into law earlier this year by President Barack Obama. The National Federation of Independent Business concluded that the law will be harmful to small businesses and to prospects for small-business job creation. Small business is the economy’s employment powerhouse, because new jobs are created disproportionately by this sector….Others have pointed out that the law requires any employer with 50 or more employees either to provide health coverage or to pay a penalty. This could deter small employers from increasing their work forces and could induce some who are just over the 50-employee threshold to cut workers in order to get under it…All of which adds to the evidence that this was not a rational attempt to solve the nation’s health-care problems but a bill forced through Congress for political reasons and justified with fraudulent accounting and false promises. It is poised to unleash massive harm on the nation’s economy.” (“Bad Business,” Columbus Dispatch Editorial, 06/05/10)

$20 Billion In New ObamaCare Taxes Has Forced Medical Device Manufacturers To Lay Off Workers:  “Medical device manufacturers are bristling over a key provision in the nation’s new health care law which they say forces them to shoulder an unfair cost of expanded insurance coverage. A 2.3 percent excise tax on companies that supply medical devices like heart defibrillators and surgical tools to hospitals, health centers and ambulance services will cost medical device manufacturers an estimated $20 billion in new taxes over the next decade. And they say that will force them to lay off workers and curb the research and development of new medical tools. ‘Many small to midsize medical device companies will owe more to the federal government in taxes than they make in profits,’ said Mark Leahy of the Medical Device Manufacturers Association.'” (Steve LeBlanc, “Medical Device Makers: New Tax Will Cost Jobs,” Associated Press, 06/06/10)

More Than One Million Could Lose Coverage Under ObamaCare: “Part of the health care overhaul due to kick in this September could strip more than 1 million people of their insurance coverage, violating a key goal of President Barack Obama’s reforms. Under the provision, insurance companies will no longer be able to apply broad annual caps on the amount of money they pay out on health policies. Employer groups say the ban could essentially wipe out a niche insurance market that many part-time workers and retail and restaurant employees have come to rely on…A cadre of employers and trade associations, including 7-Eleven, Lowe’s, the National Restaurant Association, the National Retail Federation and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, have asked the administration to allow the plans — at least through 2014, when the insurance exchanges are set up and tax credits become available for low-wage workers.” (Jennifer Haberkorn, “Comprehensive, but not for all,” Politico, 06/08/10)

In Virginia, A Local Startup Health Insurance Company Has Shut Down After Regulatory Changes In The New Healthcare Legislation Prevented It From Raising Additional Capital: “The hotly debated healthcare reform bill signed into law in March has killed a local insurance company. At least that’s according to a brief letter Richmond-based nHealth sent to insurance agents explaining the reason behind the shuttering of the once promising local startup… The letter explained that ‘considerable uncertainties’ in the health insurance market caused by the recent federal healthcare legislation made the two year-old company’s business model unsustainable… According to nHealth CEO Paul Kitchen and Paul Nezi, one of the company’s original investors and former board members, regulatory changes the company believes are coming as a result of the legislation will require levels of capital beyond what nHealth’s business model can sustain.” (Michael Schwartz, “Startup health insurer shutting,” Richmond BizSense, 06/04/10)

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