ObamaCare And Its Unconstitutional Mandate Raises Taxes, Destroys Jobs, And Drives Up Costs

	Nearly $570 Billion In Tax Hikes
	Destroys New Jobs
	Unconstitutional Individual Mandate
	Will Cost Taxpayers Up To $2.5 Trillion
	Increases Cost Of Health Insurance
	Does Not Keep Health Care Costs Down
	You Won’t Be Able To Keep Your Health Care Plan
	Over $500 Billion In New Debt
	Crushes Small Business With Endless Paperwork
	Over 1,000 Waivers To ObamaCare Granted

 

1.     Nearly $570 Billion In Tax Hikes

 

Obama Pays For His Government Takeover Of Health Care With Nearly $570 Billion In Job-Destroying Taxes On Small Businesses, Investments And Innovation. (Douglas W. Elmendorf, Letter To Nancy Pelosi, Congressional Budget Office, 3/20/10; “Estimated Revenue Effects Of The Amendment In The Nature Of A Substitute To H.R. 4872: JCX-17-10,” Joint Committee On Taxation, 3/20/10)

 

“One-Third Of Employers Subject To Major Requirements Of The New Health Care Law May Face Tax Penalties…” “About one-third of employers subject to major requirements of the new health care law may face tax penalties because they offer health insurance that could be considered unaffordable to some employees, a new study says.” (Robert Pear, “Study Points to Health Law’s Penalties,” New York Times, 5/23/10)

 

·         “If An Employer With 50 Full-Time Employees Offers Coverage And 10 Of Those Workers Receive Premium Credits, Or Subsidies, The Employer Would Face A Penalty Of $30,000. If 30 Workers Receive Subsidies, The Penalty Would Be $40,000.” (Robert Pear, “Study Points to Health Law’s Penalties,” New York Times, 5/23/10)

 

2.     Destroys New Jobs

 

CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf Said ObamaCare Will Reduce Employment By 800,000 Jobs.  “CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf told the House Budget Committee on Thursday that the health care law will reduce employment by 0.5 percent by 2021 because some people will no longer have to work just to afford health insurance. ‘That means that if the reduction in the labor used was workers working the average number of hours in the economy and earning the average wage, that there would be a reduction of 800,000 workers,’ Elmendorf said in an exchange with Rep. John Campbell (R-CA).”  (J. Lester Feder and Kate Nocera, “CBO: Health Law To Slash Workforce,” Politico, 2/10/11)

 

168 Economics Professors, Two Former CBO Directors And Four Federal Reserve Economists, Including A Nobel Laureate Wrote A Letter To Members Of Congress Stating That ObamaCare Is “A Threat To U.S. Businesses.” “[A] letter making the economic case for repealing the law, signed by 168 tenured economics professors and academic institution-affiliated scholars, two former CBO directors and four Federal Reserve economists, including a Nobel Laureate, among others. ‘We believe the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a threat to U.S. businesses and will place a crushing debt burden on future generations of Americans, ‘the 200 economists write, in a letter organized by the American Action Forum and obtained by PULSE. They charge that the law is a barrier to job growth and a ‘massive spending increase,’ adding $1 trillion in government spending over the next decade.”  (Sarah Kliff And Jennifer Haberkorn, Politico’s” Pulse,” 1/18/11)

 

CBO: Penalizing Businesses Who Do Not Provide Full-Time Employees Insurance Will Encourage Businesses To Cut Hours And Salaried Positions. “Alternatively, because firms are penalized only if their full-time employees receive subsidies from exchanges, some firms may instead hire more part-time or seasonal employees.” (“The Budget and Economic Outlook: An Update,” CBO, 8/19/10)

3.     Unconstitutional Individual Mandate

 

ObamaCare’s Individual Mandate Will Hit Middle Class Americans, Breaking Obama’s Promise Not To Raise Their Taxes. “Nearly 4 million Americans — the vast majority of them middle class — will have to pay a penalty if they don’t get insurance when President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul law kicks in, according to congressional estimates released Thursday. The penalties will average a little more than $1,000 apiece in 2016, the Congressional Budget Office said in a report. Most of the people paying the fine will be middle class ... In his 2008 campaign for the White House, Obama pledged not to raise taxes on individuals making less than $200,000 a year and couples making less than $250,000.” (Stephen Ohlemacher, “Nearly 4m People Could Pay Without Health Coverage,” The Associated Press, 4/22/10)

 

In The “Biggest Setback” To ObamaCare, A Federal Judge Ruled That The Individual Mandate “Exceeds The Constitutional Boundaries Of Congressional Power.” “A federal court ruled Monday that a central plank of the health law violates the Constitution, dealing the biggest setback yet to the Obama administration's signature legislative accomplishment.  In a 42-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson said the law's requirement that most Americans carry insurance or pay a penalty ‘exceeds the constitutional boundaries of congressional power.’”  (Janet Adamy, “Judge Cans Health Law Unconstitutional,” The Wall Street Journal, 12/13/10)

4.     Will Cost Taxpayers Up To $2.5 Trillion

 

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) Admits Budget Gimmick Hides True Cost Of Bill, Which Could Be As Much As $2.5 Trillion. Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT): “Just for a second -- health care reform, whether you use a ten-year number or when you start in 2010 or start in 2014, wherever you start at, so it is still either $1 trillion or it’s $2.5 trillion, depending on where you start...” (Sen. Max Baucus, Floor Remarks, 12/2/09)

5.     Increases Cost Of Health Insurance

 

Health Insurers Will Need To Increase Premiums As A Result Of ObamaCare.  “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, 9/8/10)

 

Premiums For Families Will Increase By $2,100 As A Result Of ObamaCare. “Average premiums per policy in the nongroup market in 2016 would be roughly $5,800 for single policies and $15,200 for family policies under the proposal, compared with roughly $5,500 for single policies and $13,100 for family policies under current law.”  (Douglas W. Elmendorf, CBO Director, Letter To Senator Evan Bayh, 11/30/09)

Premiums Plus Out-Of-Pocket Costs Are Expected To Increase By 12.4 Percent In 2011.  “In 2011, the combined average of premium and out-of-pocket costs for health care coverage for an employee is projected to climb to $4,386, according to an annual study by Hewitt Associates to be released this week. That's a 12.4 percent increase, or $486, over this year.” (Bruce Jaspen, “Higher Health Care Bills Ahead,” Chicago Tribune, 9/27/10)

6.     Does Not Keep Health Care Costs Down

Medicare’s Chief Actuary Richard Foster Said ObamaCare Won’t Keep Costs Down. “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.”  (“Medicare Official Doubts Health Care Law Savings,” The Associated Press, 1/26/11)

Foster Was Asked To Respond True Or False In Regards To The Claim That ObamaCare Will Bring Down Health Care Costs.  “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.”  (“Medicare Offical Doubts Health Care Law Savings,” The Associated Press, 1/26/11)

·       “On The Costs Issue, ‘I Would Say False, More So Than True,’ Foster Responded.”  (“Medicare Offical Doubts Health Care Law Savings,” The Associated Press, 1/26/11)

CMS Says Health Care Spending Will Increase More Than Before ObamaCare Was Passed. “In February, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services projected that overall national health spending would increase an average of 6.1% a year over the next decade. The center's economists recalculated the numbers in light of the health bill and now project that the increase will average 6.3% a year, according to a report in the journal Health Affairs. Total U.S. health spending will reach $4.6 trillion by 2019, accounting for nearly one of every five U.S. dollars spent, the report says.” (Janet Adamy, “Health Outlays Still Seen Rising,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/9/10)

 

·         “U.S. Health Spending Is Projected To Rise 9.2% In 2014, Up From The 6.6% Projected Before The Law Took Effect.”(Janet Adamy, “Health Outlays Still Seen Rising,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/9/10)

 

7.     You Won’t Be Able To Keep Your Health Care Plan

 

Gov. Bredesen (D-TN):  As A Result Of ObamaCare, It Will Be More Economical For Employers To Drop Employees’ Health Care. “But there's a very large third group that can also enter and that may have been grossly underestimated: the 170 million Americans who currently have employer-sponsored group insurance. Because of the magnitude of the new subsidies created by Congress, the economics become compelling for many employers to simply drop coverage and help their employees obtain replacement coverage through an exchange.” (Philip Bredesen, Op-Ed, “ObamaCare’s Incentive To Drop Insurance,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/21/10)

 

As Much as 69 Percent of Employees and 80 Percent of  Small Businesses Could Be Forced To Change Health Care Plans Under ObamaCare’s New Regulations. “The administration estimated that by 2013, health plans covering as few as 39 percent and as many as 69 percent of employees could lose protected status. For small employers, the total could be as high as 80 percent; for large ones, it could reach 64 percent.” (David S. Hilzenrath and N.C. Aizenman, “New health-care rules could add costs, and benefits, to some insurance plans,” The Washington Post, 6/15/10)

 

Union Leader Editorial Board:  ObamaCare’s Mandates Will Result In Millions Of Americans Losing Their Health Insurance Or Doctors – Or Both. “Obama pretends that because the law doesn't order you to change insurers, that means you can keep what you've got. That's nonsense and he knows it. The law's mandates will force insurers to make drastic changes, making it inevitable that millions of Americans will lose the coverage or the doctors they have -- or both.”  (Editorial, “The ObamaCare Myth: Keeping Your Coverage,” Union Leader, 10/3/10)

8.     Adds Over $500 Billion In New Debt

 

Washington Post Editorial Board Says The Obama-Reid-Pelosi Bill Pretends To Be Budget Neutral Because Of “A Fiscal Sleight Of Hand.” “First off, $247 billion -- the 10-year cost of the fix -- is one whopper of a ‘discrepancy.’ … President Obama has vowed that health reform will not add a single dime to the deficit -- but he is seemingly unfazed about adding more than a quarter-trillion dollars to the deficit by changing the Medicare reimbursement formula without finding a way to pay for it. … This latest maneuver only heightens the fiscal irresponsibility of what already was a fiscal sleight of hand.” (Editorial, “2.47 Trillion Dimes,” The Washington Post, 10/19/09)

 

Former CBO Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin: Without “Gimmicks And Budgetary Games,” The Health Care Reform Legislation Increases Deficits By $562 Billion. “In reality, if you strip out all the gimmicks and budgetary games and rework the calculus, a wholly different picture emerges: The health care reform legislation would raise, not lower, federal deficits, by $562 billion.” (Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Op-Ed, “The Real Arithmetic Of Health Care Reform,” The New York Times, 3/21/10)

 

·         Which Includes $114 Billion To Implement ObamaCare. “Even worse, some costs are left out entirely. To operate the new programs over the first 10 years, future Congresses would need to vote for $114 billion in additional annual spending. But this so-called discretionary spending is excluded from the Congressional Budget Office’s tabulation.” (Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Op-Ed, “The Real Arithmetic Of Health Care Reform,” The New York Times, 3/21/10)

 

The Associated Press: “The Idea That Obama's Health Care Law Saves Money For The Government Is Based On Assumptions That Are Arguable, At Best.”  (Calvin Woodward, “Fact Check: Obama Ledger Out Of Balance,” The Associated Press, 1/25/11)

 

·       ObamaCare’s Savings Claims Are “Unrealistic.”  “To be sure, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has estimated the law will slightly reduce red ink over 10 years. But the office's analysis assumes that steep cuts in Medicare spending, as called for in the law, will actually take place. Others in the government have concluded it is unrealistic to expect such savings from Medicare.” (Calvin Woodward, “Fact Check: Obama Ledger Out Of Balance,” The Associated Press, 1/25/11)

9.     Crushes Small Businesses With Endless Paperwork

 

ObamaCare Will “Swamp U.S. Businesses With A Flood Of New Tax Paperwork” By "Radically Alter[ing] The Nature Of 1099s.” “An all-but-overlooked provision of the health reform law is threatening to swamp U.S. businesses with a flood of new tax paperwork. ... The stealth change radically alters the nature of 1099s and means businesses will have to issue millions of new tax documents each year.” (Neil deMause, "Health Care Law's Massive, Hidden Tax Change," CNNMoney.com, 5/5/10)

 

·         New Burdensome Tax Reporting Requirements In ObamaCare Effects 10 Times More Small Businesses Than The Tax Credit. “BIG NUMBER - 40 million. That's the number of small businesses that will be subject to the new health reform requirement to file 1099 forms to any vendor where they spend more than $600 in a given year. To put that in perspective, the IRS expects new tax filing requirement to effect 10 times more small businesses than the small business tax credit (earlier IRS estimates placed that number around 4 million).” (Jennifer Haberkorn and Sarah Kliff, “Politico Pulse,” Politico, 7/8/10)

10.     Over 1,000 Waivers To ObamaCare Granted

 

Department Of Health & Human Services Has Now Granted More Than 1,000 Waivers To ObamaCare.  “The number of temporary healthcare reform waivers granted by the Obama administration to organizations climbed to more than 1,000, according to new numbers disclosed by the Department of Health and Human Services. HHS posted 126 new waivers on Friday, bringing the total to 1,040 organizations that have been granted a one-year exemption from a new coverage requirement included in the healthcare reform law enacted almost a year ago.” (Jason Millman, “Number Of Healthcare Reform Law Waivers Climbs Above 1,000,” The Hill, 3/6/11)

·          NOTE: Over 250 Unions Have Received Waivers From ObamaCare. (HHS’s The Center for Consumer Information & Insurance Oversight  Website, cciio.cms.gov, Accessed 3/14/11)