“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People don’t want the law repealed, Democrats say.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.”
“The political sea change marked by the November elections on Tuesday pulled six more states into Florida’s lawsuit challenging the national health care legislation, making it one of the biggest tests of federal authority in the country’s history with 26 states now in line.”
“When assumptions are broadened to include more realistic scenarios, it’s clear that, despite the CBO calculations, the health care law is a costly entitlement that America cannot afford. Repealing the law would shrink the deficit, not increase it.”
Supporters of the new health care law are quick to tout it as a patients bill of rights. But the real “rights” given through ObamaCare and things like the “right to lose your job” and the “right to lose your insurance plan.”
“On the eve of a House vote to repeal ObamaCare, the Department of Health and Human Services has released a report claiming that if repeal succeeds, ‘1 in 2 non-elderly Americans could be denied coverage or charged more due to a pre-existing condition.’ A few problems with that claim…”
“A close examination of CBO’s work and other evidence undercuts this budget-busting argument about repeal and leads to the exact opposite conclusion, which is that repeal is the logical first step toward restoring fiscal sanity.”
“In fighting against Obamacare repeal this week, Democrats portray their health care law as a money saver, claiming Republicans would add to the deficit by abolishing the legislation. But in their franker moments, the bill’s authors admit that “reform” could be something of a time bomb that will cause exploding health care costs down the line. One top Senate aide plainly stated last summer, “This is a coverage bill, not a cost reduction bill.” The time-bomb nature of Obamacare was presaged by Mitt Romney’s health care bill in Massachusetts, which also expanded health insurance coverage by mandating that all individuals buy insurance, prohibiting insurers from dropping customers, and subsidizing the insurance of those with difficulty affording it.”