Week in Review: Shuler Still Stands by Broken ObamaCare Promises

Washington — As we wrap up the first anniversary week of the passage and signing of ObamaCare, the saga is far from over with the highly unpopular law that Heath Shuler continues to defend. It should not be forgotten that Shuler refuses to repeal the law even though it is now clear that it places large burdens on job creators, contributes even more to the national debt than previously thought, and worsens skyrocketing medical costs. We can conclude that Shuler has put protecting the Democrat status quo in D.C. ahead of the needs of his constituents in North Carolina.

“Many have spent this week looking back at Heath Shuler’s defense of the Democrat healthcare law that was passed one year ago, and they do not like what they see,” said NRCC Communications Director Paul Lindsay. “Shuler’s North Carolina constituents will continue to wonder why he stands by this unpopular law which destroys jobs, continues to add more government spending and makes rising healthcare costs even worse. In the meantime, it’s crystal clear that Shuler will continue to protect the Democrat status quo in D.C. instead of the families and small businesses he is supposed to represent.”

Shuler voted against the opportunity to repeal ObamaCare in January 2011. (H.R. 2, Roll Call #14: Passed 245-189: R 242-0; D 3-189, 1/19/11)

ObamaCare is falling flat with small business:

“One of the chief promoters of the idea is Ron Rowe, an executive of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City. … But Rowe says many business owners found the math didn’t work for them. ‘The longer this has been out in the marketplace, the less appealing it’s been to small-business owners,’ he said. A typical employee with 10 workers would have to pay about $31,000 a year for health insurance and recover only 10 percent to 15 percent of that through the new tax credit.”  (Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, “Health law at one year: Future still in question,” Associated Press, 3/21/11)

The costs of ObamaCare are contributing even more to the national debt than previously thought:

“We thought you’d like to know, and we also want to underline a less-noticed section that shows that ObamaCare will be far more expensive than advertised. To wit, CBO says the entitlement’s health insurance subsidies will cost $1.13 trillion between 2012 and 2021, not $1.04 trillion, the prior estimate. This 8.6% jump is the result of revised assumptions, the so-called technical factors in CBO’s budget model. The bill’s total cost now stands at $1.445 trillion, according to another recent CBO estimate.” (Editorial, “Unhappy Anniversary,” The Wall Street Journal, 3/23/11)

And healthcare costs are actually rising instead of falling because of the law:

“Health insurers say they plan to raise premiums for some Americans as a direct result of the health overhaul in coming weeks, complicating Democrats’ efforts to trumpet their signature achievement before the midterm elections. Aetna Inc., some BlueCross BlueShield plans and other smaller carriers have asked for premium increases of between 1% and 9% to pay for extra benefits required under the law, according to filings with state regulators.” (Janet Adamy, “Health Insurers Plan Hikes,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/7/10)

As we look back at the one year anniversary of the Heath Shuler-protected law, we can conclude that ObamaCare continues to make matters worse and fails to accomplish what it set out to do. The only explanation we are left with for Shuler’s support is that he values maintaining the Democrat status quo in D.C. more than the needs of his constituents in North Carolina.

Week in Review: Dems Still Stand by Broken ObamaCare Promises http://ow.ly/4mhBD