“The House voted Wednesday evening to repeal the Health Care law by a count of 245-189, and already Republicans are turning up the heat on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to allow a vote for repeal in the Senate. All 242 House Republicans voted Wednesday evening for repeal. Three House Democrats joined the House GOP in supporting repeal: Rep. Dan Boren of Oklahoma, Rep. Mike McIntyre of North Carolina, and Rep. Mike Ross of Arkansas.”

“House Republicans are voting to repeal the health-care overhaul bill today, and the Democratic message machine has whirred into 4th gear or so, easing up just shy of the seizure-inducing pace of spin seen during campaign season.
People don’t want the law repealed, Democrats say. The GOP posturing is unpopular and lame, they allege.  ‘Not only would repeal not pass, but according to a poll by AP over the weekend, three out of four people don’t want it to,’ a Democratic leadership spokesman told the Las Vegas Sun.
Well, don’t believe it — at least not on its face. People do want to repeal health reform … when given only two options: repeal it or leave it the same.”

“Once ObamaCare becomes fully effective in 2014, the cost of newly eligible Medicaid enrollees will be almost fully covered by the federal government through 2019, with federal financial support expected to be extended thereafter. But ObamaCare provides states with zero additional federal financial support for new enrollees among those eligible for Medicaid under the old laws. That makes increased state Medicaid costs from higher enrollments by ‘old-eligibles’ virtually certain as they enroll into Medicaid to comply with the mandate to purchase health insurance. This study estimates and compares potential increases in Medicaid costs from ObamaCare for the five most populous states: California, Florida, Illinois, New York, and Texas.”

“What these polls show is that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act remains a political millstone around the neck of Democrats. Republicans are right to push for its repeal, on both substantive and policy grounds. In the unfolding entitlement debate, ObamaCare should be front and center. Conservative lawmakers should make a very simply argument: if President Obama is serious about getting America’s fiscal house in order, he needs to repeal last year’s health-care bill and start over again. It’s a budget buster, as this op-ed makes clear. Until Obama himself admits as much, until he undoes the enormous damage of his own making, his credibility on fiscal matters is shattered beyond repair.”

“The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is an impediment
to economic growth and federal fiscal balance, threatening
nearly 700,000 jobs and increasing the deficit by nearly
$300 billion in the near term. At a time when too many
Americans remain unemployed and the country faces a
daunting budgetary outlook, alternative approaches to
health care reform would be preferable.”