Even More Inconvenient Truths About ObamaCare

Americans Are Slowly Learning the Ugly Secrets Democrats Covered Up to Pass their Healthcare Law

Testifying Wednesday morning before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Medicare’s top actuary Rick Foster admitted that ObamaCare will force many businesses to drop coverage for low-income workers, breaking a promise Obama made that Americans would be able to keep their insurance if they liked it:

FOSTER: “For businesses that have relatively low-income workers, it can turn out to be a win-win for them to drop their former coverage and assist their employees into getting coverage through the exchange.” (CMS Chief Actuary Rick Foster, testifying before the Health Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, 3/30/2011)

This is the second day in a row where an Obama administration official has conceded that ObamaCare will not live up to its billing. Just yesterday, a top officer overseeing ObamaCare’s new health insurance exchanges admitted that the law may force major employers to drop their insurance programs. And those dropped employees will find themselves at the mercy of state-run insurance exchanges instead:

JOEL ARIO, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: “Big companies may eventually look to dump their employees onto new state-run health insurance markets in the future if a key aspect of healthcare reform turns out to be successful, an Obama administration health official predicted Tuesday morning.

“Starting in 2014, millions of individuals are expected to purchase insurance through new state health insurance exchanges, which are supposed to offer more affordable and quality coverage. But comments from some large employers have sparked fears that major corporations will eliminate health insurance when the exchanges open, adding an unanticipated burden of millions more onto the new markets.

” ‘If it plays out the exchanges work pretty well, then the employer can say ‘This is a great thing. I can now dump my people into the exchange and it would be good for them, good for me,’ Ario continued.” (Jason Millman, “HHS Official: Employers May Gradually Move to Exchanges,” The Hill, 3/29/2011)

These sober admissions follow an earlier string of revelations regarding adverse effects of ObamaCare that Democrats kept under wraps during one-party control of government. How many more revelations of broken promises will it take before Democrats stop defending their government takeover of healthcare?:

CBO: OBAMACARE WILL COST 800,000 JOBS:

(VIDEO AVAILABLE HERE)

“Chairman [Paul] Ryan: “[I]t’s been argued…that the new health care law will create jobs and increase labor force participation. But if I recall from your analysis, it was quite the opposite. Is that not the case?”

“Director [Douglas] Elmendorf : “Yes.”…

“Rep. [John] Campbell: Thank you, Mr. Chairman, we’ll — and Dr. Elmendorf — and we’ll continue this conversation right now. First on health care, before I get to — before I get to broader issues, you just mentioned that you believe — or that in your estimate, that the health care law would reduce the labor used in the economy by about 1/2 of 1 percent, given that, I believe you say, there’s 160 million full-time people working in ’20-’21.  That means that, in your estimation, the health care law would reduce employment by 800,000 in ’20-’21. Is that correct?

“Director Elmendorf: Yes. The way I would put it is that we do estimate, as you said, that…employment will be about 160 million by the end of the decade.  Half a percent of that is 800,000.” (Jeffrey H. Anderson, “CBO Director Says ObamaCare Would Reduce Employment by 800,000 Workers,” The Weekly Standard, 2/10/2011)

CMS ACTUARY RICK FOSTER AGAIN: OBAMACARE WON’T CONTROL COSTS, WON’T LET PEOPLE KEEP THEIR INSURANCE:

“The landmark legislation probably won’t hold costs down, and it won’t let everybody keep their current health insurance if they like it, Chief Actuary Richard Foster told the House Budget Committee. His office is responsible for independent long-range cost estimates.…

“Foster was asked by Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., for a simple true or false response on two of the main assertions made by supporters of the law: that it will bring down unsustainable medical costs and will let people keep their current health insurance if they like it.

“On the costs issue, ‘I would say false, more so than true,’ Foster responded.

“‘As for people getting to keep their coverage, I would say ‘not true in all cases.'”(“Medicare Official Doubts Health Law Savings,” Associated Press, 1/26/2011)