The ObamaCare Backup Plan
House Democrats Want to Put the Government Takeover of Healthcare On Steroids, Dump Millions More Families Into Government-Controlled Insurance
- As if ObamaCare wasn’t bad enough, House Democrats now have a plan to put ObamaCare on steroids and force millions more American families into government-run insurance.
- This new push comes amidst a pending Supreme Court decision on the constitutionality of ObamaCare. Democrats have already shown they will stop at nothing to defend their “greatest accomplishment,” and now that includes taking their government healthcare takeover even further.
- The fact that Democrats are responding to the unpopularity of government-run healthcare by proposing even more government control of healthcare makes clear that they have learned nothing from ObamaCare’s broken promises.
As if ObamaCare wasn’t bad enough, House Democrats now have a plan to put ObamaCare on steroids and force millions more American families into government-run insurance:
HOUSE DEMOCRATS DRAFTING A PLAN FOR GOVERNMENT-RUN HEALTHCARE EXPANSION: “Universal coverage, Medicare for all, single payer — call it what you will. It’s clear that conservative forces are determined to prevent such a system from ever being introduced at the national level. So it’s up to the states. … But legislation quietly being drafted by Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) would change that. It would create a mechanism for states to request federal funds after establishing their own health insurance programs.” (David Lazarus, “Legislation May Enable States to Offer Universal Healthcare,” Los Angeles Times, 5/25/2012)
DEMOCRATS CLAIM THEIR PLAN WILL BUILD ON OBAMACARE: “Kinsey Kiriakos, a spokesman for McDermott, said by email that the bill is intended to advance the goals of President Obama’s healthcare reform law, which would extend coverage to about 30 million of the 50 million people nationwide without insurance.” (David Lazarus, “Legislation May Enable States to Offer Universal Healthcare,” Los Angeles Times, 5/25/2012)
This new push comes amidst a pending Supreme Court decision on the constitutionality of ObamaCare. Democrats have already shown they will stop at nothing to defend their “greatest accomplishment,” and now that includes taking their government healthcare takeover even further:
OBAMA HHS SECRETARY KATHLEEN SEBELIUS ALREADY SAID DEMOCRATS WILL “KEEP GOING” WITH OBAMACARE NO MATTER WHAT SUPREME COURT RULES: (Sam Baker, “Sebelius: ‘We Keep Going’ if Court Strikes Down Mandate to Have Insurance,” The Hill, 1/24/2012)
DEMOCRAT LEADER NANCY PELOSI: OBAMACARE IS DEMOCRATS’ “GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT” AND “CROWN JEWEL”: (Jake Sherman, “Pelosi: Health Care is Obama’s ‘Crown Jewel,’” Politico, 4/3/2012)
AND PELOSI COMPARED OBAMACARE TO THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE: (Peter Kasperowicz, “Pelosi Speech Connects the Healthcare Law and the Declaration of Independence,” The Hill, 3/21/2012)
56% SUPPORT OBAMACARE REPEAL, 37% OPPOSE: (“Health Care Law,”Rasmussen Reports, 5/14/2012)
52% OF INDEPENDENTS WOULD BE HAPPY IF OBAMCARE IS RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL: “A growing number of Americans, 59 percent, believe the Supreme Court will find President Obama’s signature domestic accomplishment unconstitutional, and a majority of independents, 52 percent, would be happy if that happened.” (Conn Carroll, “Majority of Independents Want ObamaCare Overturned,” The Washington Examiner, 4/24/12)
DEMS HAVE REPEATEDLY PROVED THEY WON’T REPEAL OR EVEN FIX OBAMACARE:
98% OF HOUSE DEMS VOTED AGAINST REPEALING OBAMACARE: (Roll Call 14, Clerk of the U.S. House, 1/19/2011)
95% OF HOUSE DEMS VOTED AGAINST REPEALING OBAMACARE SLUSH FUNDS: (Roll Call 264, Clerk of the U.S. House, 4/13/2011)
95% OF HOUSE DEMS VOTED AGAINST REPEALING FUNDS FOR OBAMACARE STATE EXCHANGES: (Roll Call 285, Clerk of the U.S. House, 5/3/2011)
97% OF HOUSE DEMS VOTED AGAINST REPEALING FUNDS FOR OBAMACARE HEALTH CENTERS: (Roll Call 290, Clerk of the U.S. House, 5/4/2011)
83% OF HOUSE DEMS VOTE AGAINST REPEALING FISCALLY DISASTROUS “CLASS” PROGRAM: (Roll Call 18, Clerk of the U.S. House, 2/1/2012)
90% OF HOUSE DEMS VOTED AGAINST REPEALING IPAB: (Roll Call 126, Clerk of the U.S. House, 3/22/2012)
87% OF HOUSE DEMS VOTED AGAINST REPEALING OBAMACARE SLUSH FUNDS TO PREVENT STUDENT INTEREST RATE HIKES: (Roll Call 195, Clerk of the U.S. House, 4/27/2012)
The fact that Democrats are responding to the unpopularity of government-run healthcare by proposing even more government control of healthcare makes clear that they have learned nothing from ObamaCare’s broken promises:
BROKEN PROMISE: OBAMACARE WOULD LOWER COSTS AND FAMILIES WOULD SAVE $2,500/YEAR ON PREMIUMS: OBAMA: “Coupled with comprehensive reform, this could result in our nation saving over $2 trillion over the next 10 years, and that could save families $2,500 in the coming years — $2,500 per family.” (“Statement by the President After Meeting With House Democratic Leadership,” The White House, 5/13/2009)
BROKEN: FAMILY HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIUMS ROSE 9% IN 2011, WITH OBAMACARE PLAYING A ROLE: (Julie Appleby, “Cost of Employer Insurance Plans Surge in 2011,” Kaiser Health News, 9/27/2011)
EMPLOYEES’ SHARE OF PREMIUM COSTS HAS ALREADY INCREASED 9.3% FROM 2011 TO 2012, $235 PER PERSON: “Employees’ share of premium costs increased 9.3% between 2011 and 2012, with the dollar burden rising from $2,529 to $2,764.” (“Performance in an Era of Uncertainty,” Towers Watson/National Business Group on Health Employer Survey on Purchasing Value in Healthcare, March 2012)
BY A MARGIN OF 8 TO 1, EMPLOYERS EXPECT OBAMACARE TO INCREASE COSTS: “By a margin of 8 to 1, those who believe Health Care Reform will trigger a cost increase outnumber those who believe Health Care Reform will create savings. Yet the survey responses reflect that few employers have started to reframe employee expectations relative to Health Care Reform.”(“The Health Care Reform Survey: 2011-2012,” Willis, March 2012)
BROKEN PROMISE: OBAMACARE WOULD REDUCE THE DEFICIT: PELOSI: “‘The bill is fiscally sound, will not add one dime to the deficit,’ Pelosi proclaimed.” (Chris Good, “Pelosi: Health Care Bill Reduces Deficit, Spends More Than Senate Bill,” The Atlantic, 10/29/2009)
MORE PELOSI: OBAMACARE WILL “CREATE 4 MILLION JOBS IN THE LIFE OF THE BILL AND DOING ALL OF THAT BY SAVING THE TAXPAYER $1.3 TRILLION DOLLARS.” (Speeches, Office of Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, 3/22/2010)
MEDICARE TRUSTEE: OBAMACARE TO ADD AT LEAST $340 BILLION TO THE DEFICIT: (Lori Montgomery, “Health-care Law Will Add $340 Billion to Deficit, New Study Finds,” The Washington Post, 4/9/2012)
OBAMACARE TO COST $1.76 TRILLION OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS: (Phillip Klein, “CBO: ObamaCare to Cost $1.76 Trillion Over 10 Years,” The Washington Examiner, 3/13/2012)
TOTAL COSTS FOR OBAMACARE: $2.6 TRILLION: (“ObamaCare: A Budget-Busting, Job-Killing Healthcare Law,” Speaker of the House John Boehner, 1/6/2011)
BROKEN PROMISE: OBAMACARE WILL LET YOU KEEP THE CARE YOU HAVE:OBAMA: “And that means that no matter how we reform health care, we will keep this promise: If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor. Period. If you like your health care plan, you will be able to keep your health care plan. Period. No one will take it away. No matter what.” (Mary Lu Carnavale, “Obama: ‘If You Like Your Doctor, You Can Keep Your Doctor,’” The Wall Street Journal, 6/15/2009)
20 MILLION WORKERS COULD LOSE THEIR EMPLOYER-SPONSORED INSURANCE: “A new report from the Congressional Budget Office hands critics of the health reform law a great new talking point: Under a worst-case scenario, the law could lead to 20 million people losing their employer-sponsored insurance in 2019.” (J. Lester Feder, “CBO: ACA Could Jeopardize Workplace Coverage,” Politico, 3/15/2012)
MCKINSEY STUDY: 30% OF EMPLOYERS SAY THEY “DEFINITELY” PLAN TO DROP EMPLOYEE COVERAGE: “Our survey found, however, that 45 to 50 percent of employers say they will definitely or probably pursue alternatives to [employer-sponsored insurance] in the years after 2014. Those alternatives include dropping coverage, offering it through a defined-contribution model, or in effect offering it only to certain employees. More than 30 percent of employers overall, and 28 percent of large ones, say they will definitely or probably drop coverage after 2014.” (John Tozzi, “Health Reform Won’t Dismantle Employer Coverage, Report Says,” Bloomberg Businessweek, 10/21/2011)
THREE-FOURTHS OF COMPANIES CONSIDERING DROPPING HEALTH COVERAGE FOR EMPLOYEES: Only 23% of companies are confident that they will offer health benefits in 10 years, down from 73% in 2007 and 57% in 2009. (“Performance in an Era of Uncertainty,” Towers Watson/National Business Group on Health Employer Survey on Purchasing Value in Healthcare, March 2012)