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Four More Years for ObamaCare?

October 18, 2012

Four More Years for ObamaCare?

Even as ObamaCare’s Rising Costs Crush Middle Class Families, Democrats Vow That They Will Keep Implementing their Disastrous Law

  • President Obama’s debate performance Tuesday evening was noteworthy for his failure to outline any plans for a second term, other than doubling down in a defense of his failed policies of the last four years.

  • The Democrats’ signature government healthcare takeover is already crushing middle class families with its rising costs and increasing premiums.

  • Democrats apparently plan to keep pushing their failed policies by continuing the implementation of ObamaCare. Working families just can’t afford four more years of failure.

President Obama’s debate performance Tuesday evening was noteworthy for his failure to outline any plans for a second term, other than doubling down in a defense of his failed policies of the last four years:

TIME’S MARK HALPERIN: “THE PRESIDENT DID NOT LAY OUT A SECOND TERM AGENDA.” MARK HALPERIN: “I just want to say one thing we haven’t brought up yet but it’s incredibly important. The President did not lay out a second term agenda. And if there’s an undercurrent here, that could really hurt him, not in the room, because it wasn’t evident, it was absent. He didn’t lay out a second term agenda any more than he did in the first debate. And that is where he is the weakest. And he didn’t address it, I thought at all.” (MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” 10/17/2012)

NBC NEWS’ DAVID GREGORY: OBAMA WAS A “LITTLE LIGHT ON HIS VISION FOR THE FUTURE”: “I think liberals can breathe a sigh of relief. It’s not curtains for the President. He showed up and showed up big tonight. He was more aggressive; he had a lot of fight in him. A little light on his vision for the future, Brian.” (Jonathan Sanger and M. Alex Johnson, “First Take: Obama, Romney ‘Throw Down’ On Long Island,” NBC News, 10/17/12)

TIME’s JOE KLEIN: “OBAMA’S GREATEST WEAKNESS IS THAT HIS PROPOSALS FOR THE FUTURE ARE NONEXISTENT”: (Joe Klein, “The Hofstra Debate: No Clear Winner,” TIME’s Swampland, 10/16/12)

THE NEW YORK TIMES’ TOM FRIEDMAN: OBAMA’S WEAKNESS IS ANSWERING “HOW WILL THE NEXT FOUR YEARS REALLY BE DIFFERENT?”: TOM FRIEDMAN: “I continue to believe Obama has a weakness when it comes to the question of will the next four years really be different? Do you have a plan that excites you and me to get out of my chair and say that’s the guy, that’s it, that’s the person I want to follow now. He has not closed that deal.” (MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” 10/17/2012)

BUT OBAMA DID DOUBLE DOWN IN DEFENSE OF OBAMACARE:

OBAMA DOUBLED DOWN ON OBAMACARE AS A PROMISE KEPT: “I said that we would put in place health care reform to make sure that insurance companies can’t jerk you around, and if you don’t have health insurance, that you’d have a chance to get affordable insurance — and I have.” (“Remarks by the President and Governor Romney in Second Presidential Debate,” The White House, 10/17/2012)

The Democrats’ signature government healthcare takeover is already crushing middle class families with its rising costs and increasing premiums:

OBAMACARE IS FILLED WITH BROKEN PROMISES:

OBAMA PROMISED OBAMACARE WOULD REDUCE PREMIUMS BY $2,500 PER FAMILY IN 2007: “I will sign a universal health care bill into law by the end of my first term as president that will cover every American and cut the cost of a typical family’s premium by up to $2,500 a year.” (J.B. Wogan, “No Cut in Premiums for Typical Family,” Politifact.com, 8/31/2012)

AND AGAIN IN 2009: “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 — $2,500 per family.” (“Statement by the President After Meeting With House Democratic Leadership,” The White House, 5/13/2009)

POLITIFACT: “PROMISE BROKEN”: (J.B. Wogan, “No Cut in Premiums for Typical Family,” Politifact.com, 8/31/2012)

STUDY: HEALTHCARE COSTS TO RISE 6.2% IN 2012: “Employers anticipate total health care costs will reach $11,664 per active employee in 2012, up from $10,982 in 2011 — a 6.2% increase in total costs over the period.” (“Performance in an Age of Uncertainty,” 17th Annual Towers Watson/National Business Group on Health Employer Survey on Purchasing Value in Healthcare, August 2012)

RISING PREMIUMS FOR EMPLOYEES: “Employees, on average, paid 23.0% of total premium costs in 2011 and are expected to pay 23.7% in 2012, as companies take steps to control their costs.  In paycheck deductions, this translated into an average employee contribution of $2,529 to premiums in 2011, which is expected to rise to $2,764 in 2012 — a 9.3% increase in one year.” (“Performance in an Age of Uncertainty,” 17th Annual Towers Watson/National Business Group on Health Employer Survey on Purchasing Value in Healthcare, August 2012)

RISING OUT OF POCKET COSTS: “The share of total health care expenses paid by employees, including premium and out-of-pocket costs, is expected to be 34.4% in 2012, up from 33.2% in 2011.” (“Performance in an Age of Uncertainty,”17th Annual Towers Watson/National Business Group on Health Employer Survey on Purchasing Value in Healthcare, August 2012)

EMPLOYEES’ SHARE OF PREMIUM COSTS HAS ALREADY INCREASED 9.3% FROM 2011 TO 2012, $235 PER PERSON: “Employees’ share of premium costs increased 9.3% between 2011 and 2012, with the dollar burden rising from $2,529 to $2,764.” (“Performance in an Era of Uncertainty,” Towers Watson/National Business Group on Health Employer Survey on Purchasing Value in Healthcare, March 2012)

FAMILY HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIUMS ROSE 9% IN 2011, WITH OBAMACARE PLAYING A ROLE: (Julie Appleby, “Cost of Employer Insurance Plans Surge in 2011,” Kaiser Health News, 9/27/2011)

Democrats apparently plan to keep pushing their failed policies by continuing the implementation of ObamaCare. Working families just can’t afford four more years of failure:

HEALTHCARE COSTS TO RISE 7.4% AS OBAMACARE TAKES FULL EFFECT: ”In 2014, health spending growth is expected to accelerate to 7.4 percent as the major coverage expansions from the Affordable Care Act begin.” (Sean P. Keehan, Gigi A Kuckler, et al, “National Health Expenditure Projections: Modest Annual Growth Until Coverage Expands and Economic Growth Accelerates,” Health Affairs, July 2012)

OBAMACARE TO INCREASE HEALTHCARE COSTS BY $478 BILLION THROUGH 2021: ”For 2011 through 2021, national health spending is projected to grow at an average rate of 5.7 percent annually, which would be 0.9 percentage point faster than the expected annual increase in the gross domestic product (GDP) during this period. During this period, the Affordable Care Act is projected… to add about $478 billion in cumulative health spending.” (Sean P. Keehan, Gigi A Kuckler, et al, “National Health Expenditure Projections: Modest Annual Growth Until Coverage Expands and Economic Growth Accelerates,” Health Affairs, July 2012)

OBAMACARE TO INCREASE PRIVATE INSURANCE PREMIUMS BY 4.1% IN 2014: ”In 2014, growth in private health insurance premiums is expected to accelerate to 7.9 percent, or 4.1 percentage points higher than in the absence of health reform.” (Sean P. Keehan, Gigi A Kuckler, et al, “National Health Expenditure Projections: Modest Annual Growth Until Coverage Expands and Economic Growth Accelerates,” Health Affairs, July 2012)

2013:

IPAB GOES LIVE: DEMOCRATS’ MEDICARE-GUTTING BOARD OF BUREAUCRATS CREATED UNDER OBAMACARE: “Beginning in 2013, the Board is required to begin its work organized around a standard and repeating three-year cycle of activity, starting in a ¯determination year, then proceeding through a ¯proposal year and ending with the ¯implementation year, as summarized below and in the table that follows.” (Jack Ebeler, Tricia Neuman and Juliette Cubanski, “The Independent Payment Advisory Board: A New Approach to Controlling Medicare Spending,” Kaiser Family Foundation, April 2011)

MEDICARE PAYROLL TAX INCREASES: (David Lightman, “When Health Bill’s Provisions Would Take Effect,” McClatchy, 3/21/2010) 

NEW TAX ON MEDICAL DEVICES THAT WILL DISCOURAGE INNOVATION OF NEW LIFESAVING TECHNOLOGIES: (“Implementation Timeline,” Kaiser Family Foundation, Accessed 4/30/2012) 

NEW LIMITS ON MEDICAL EXPENSE INCOME TAX DEDUCTIONS: (“Healthcare Reform Law – Implementation Timeline for Small Business,” NFIB, Accessed 4/30/2012) 

2014:

INDIVIDUAL MANDATE TO BUY HEALTH INSURANCE GOES INTO EFFECT: (“Healthcare Reform Law – Implementation Timeline for Small Business,” NFIB, Accessed 4/30/2012) 

OPPRESSIVE NEW FEES AND PENALTIES HARMING JOB CREATORS GO INTO EFFECT: “Employer mandate: The bill contains a complex employer mandate requiring some firms to provide insurance, pay penalties or both. The penalties are based on (1) the number of full-time (or part-timers counted as full-time equivalent) employees, (2) whether or not the firm offers coverage, and (3) whether or not one or more employees qualify for government subsidies toward the purchase of health insurance. An employee qualifies for a subsidy if his or her household income is below 400% of the federal poverty line ($88,000 for a family of four today).” (“Healthcare Reform Law – Implementation Timeline for Small Business,” NFIB, Accessed 4/30/2012) 

$8 BILLION NEW TAX ON SMALL BUSINESSES: “Small business health insurance tax: An annual fee on health insurance providers will be passed on to consumers. This tax will fall on the vast majority of plans that small businesses purchase, but not on self-insured plans (such as most big business and labor union policies). The fee is $8 billion for 2014, $11.3 billion for 2015 and 2016, $13.9 billion for 2017, $14.3 billion in 2018. For years beginning 2019, the $14.3 billion figure will be adjusted upwards for the growth in medical costs.” (“Healthcare Reform Law – Implementation Timeline for Small Business,” NFIB, Accessed 4/30/2012)

TENS OF MILLIONS OF MORE AMERICANS TO FACE RISK OF LOSING INSURANCE, BEING DUMPED INTO MEDICAID: (“Implementation Timeline,”Kaiser Family Foundation, Accessed 4/30/2012)

2015:

OBAMACARE MANDATE TAXTRIPLES TO $325 PER AMERICAN: (“Healthcare Reform Law – Implementation Timeline for Small Business,” NFIB, Accessed 4/30/2012)

2016:

OBAMACARE MANDATE TAXRISES TO NEARLY $700 PER AMERICAN: (“Healthcare Reform Law – Implementation Timeline for Small Business,” NFIB, Accessed 4/30/2012)

TAX DEDUCTIONS FROM MEDICAL EXPENSES EXPIRE FOR SENIORS:“Fewer deductible medical expenses: New limits are placed on the deductibility of medical expenses on individual income tax returns. This provision raises the 7.5% AGI floor on medical expenses deductions to 10%. The AGI floor for those 65 and older (and their spouses) remains at 7.5% through 2016.” (“Healthcare Reform Law – Implementation Timeline for Small Business,” NFIB, Accessed 4/30/2012) 

Four More Years for ObamaCare? http://ow.ly/eyPzS#iwantrepeal