Congressman Tom Price (R-GA) issued the following statement after participating in a House GOP Health Care Solutions Group forum examining ObamaCare’s harmful consequences for job creators.

“Violating fundamental principles of health care by reducing choices for patients, decreasing competition, limiting access, and decreasing quality are just the beginning of ObamaCare’s trail of damage,” said Congressman Price. “Democrats promised their health care bill would create jobs and help employers, but the bureaucratic mess they created will actually take job opportunities away from workers all across the country. Times are tough enough without adding new mandates and costs that cause employers to stop hiring. The small and medium-sized businesses hardest hit by these changes are also the ones that create the majority of new jobs in this country.

“This disappointing reality is a pointed reminder that under ObamaCare we have a string of promises made by Democrats which have been summarily broken. We have found, in just a few short months, cost estimates that proved to be wildly off the mark by hundreds of billions of dollars. Individuals are discovering – namely senior citizens on Medicare Advantage and the 51% of those receiving employer-provided health care – that they will not be able to keep the coverage they currently have despite President Obama’s continued assertions to the contrary. And in a lasting tribute to the fundamental failures of this new law, the cost of health care is predicted to rise for virtually every single American.

“We need health care reform that makes life better, not tougher, for working families and America’s job creators. There’s a simple way to avoid these job-killing mandates and tax increases and restore confidence in the wake of the Democrats’ broken promises. Repeal ObamaCare and replace it with the Empowering Patients First Act (HR 3400) which ensures Americans can make their own health care decisions, without the intrusion of the federal government.”