Dems: “Full Speed Ahead” on ObamaCare

Democrats Say They Will Defend ObamaCare No Matter What the Supreme Court Decides

• As the nation awaits the Supreme Court’s ruling on the constitutionality of ObamaCare, Democrats are making clear that they will defend their healthcare disaster no matter what.
• Sadly, Democrats have already proven that they will defend ObamaCare at all costs as ObamaCare’s failures have piled up.
• Even the political costs of defending ObamaCare haven’t deterred Democrats, since disapproval of their healthcare disaster remains sky-high.

As the nation awaits the Supreme Court’s ruling on the constitutionality of ObamaCare, Democrats are making clear that they will defend their healthcare disaster no matter what:

OBAMACARE IMPLEMENTATION TO “ABSOLUTELY” MOVE “FULL SPEED AHEAD”: “Surviving parts of the law would ‘absolutely’ move ahead, said the congressional official. A Congress mired in partisan trench warfare would be unable to repeal or amend what’s left of the law, allowing the administration to advance. … ‘Legislatively we can’t do a thing, and we are going to move full speed ahead (with implementation),’ the official said.” (Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, “AP Sources: Administration Mulls Pared Health Law,” Associated Press, 6/18/2012)

MANDATE OR NO MANDATE, DEMOCRATS PREPARE TO DOUBLE DOWN ON OBAMACARE: “Nevertheless, the Obama administration will move ahead to implement major elements of the law if the individual coverage requirement is struck down, two senior Democrats told The Associated Press. One is a leading Democrat familiar with the administration’s thinking, the other a high-level Capitol Hill staffer. The two Democrats spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid appearing to be out of step with the administration’s public stance.”(Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, “AP Sources: Administration Mulls Pared Health Law,” Associated Press, 6/18/2012)

BLOOMBERG: OBAMA TOLD DONORS HE “MAY HAVE TO REVISIT HEALTHCARE” IN A SECOND TERM: “President Barack Obama is confiding to Democratic donors that he may have to revisit the health-care issue in a second term, a position at odds with his publicly expressed confidence that the U.S. Supreme Court will uphold the Affordable Care Act, according to three Democratic activists.” (Hans Nichols, “Obama Tells Donors Health-Care Fight May Loom After Court Rules,” Bloomberg, 5/31/2012)

Sadly, Democrats have already proven that they will defend ObamaCare at all costs as ObamaCare’s failures have piled up:

BROKEN PROMISE: OBAMACARE COULD 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)

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)

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)

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: (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)

Even the political costs of defending ObamaCare haven’t deterred Democrats, since disapproval of their healthcare disaster remains sky-high:

REAL CLEAR POLITICS AVERAGE ON OBAMACARE: 39% FAVOR, 50% OPPOSE: (“Obama and Democrats’ Health Care Plan,” Real Clear Politics, 6/19/2012)

RASMUSSEN: 53% FAVOR REPEAL, 39% OPPOSE: (“Health Care Law,” Rasmussen Reports, 6/19/2012) 

CBS/NYT: 48% DISAPPROVE OF OBAMACARE, 34% APPROVE: (“The Supreme Court, Healthcare and Immigration,” CBS News/New York Times Poll, 6/7/2012)

PEW: 50% OF INDEPENDENTS SAY THEY WOULD BE HAPPY IF COURT OVERRULES OBAMACARE ENTIRELY: (Stephanie Condon, “Poll: Half of Independents Would Be Happy if Supreme Court Throws Out Health Care Law,” CBS News, 6/18/2012)