Opinion Pieces
Mr. President, how will you clean up Obamacare mess?
As Americans embrace the fresh start that a new year brings, the Obama administration is busy recycling four-year-old talking points in a desperate attempt to build support for its faltering health care law.
The most recent example is Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’ editorial in The Enquirer earlier this week (“A new era in health care,” Dec. 30). Instead of stale talking points, many Americans would prefer the administration address Obamacare’s many failings. They could start by explaining why millions of Americans who liked their health care plans are now losing those plans. Fact-checkers across the country have declared the president’s “you can keep your plan” pledge was false. And now, 5 million Americans have discovered this falsehood for themselves as their insurance has been canceled. Next, the administration could explain why Obamacare is increasing costs for American families. Despite promises that Obamacare would lower costs by $2,500 per family per year, a recent Kaiser Family Foundation study found that costs have actually risen by nearly that much. Another survey of seven states, including Ohio, revealed that deductibles for many who have enrolled in Obamacare have increased 26 percent. And the administration should explain how it expects small businesses to cope with the law’s new burdens. According to the administration’s own estimates, complying with Obamacare will cost businesses, families and health care providers more than 189 million hours per year. That is time and energy that could be spent on more productive activities, like creating jobs. But those are all issues we discovered in 2013. Unfortunately, I fear with the new year come new problems. The most immediate impact will be the tax on health insurance premiums which, as the Wall Street Journal explained, “targets the small business and individual markets.” This burdensome new tax is expected to collect $8 billion in 2014 and $101 billion over the next decade, more than Obamacare’s taxes on medical devices and prescription drugs combined. Next to feel the pinch will be those who purchased new Obamacare plans. Unfortunately, many will likely soon discover to their dismay that, due to the restrictive provider networks necessary to contain costs, they will no longer have access to their doctor or the hospital of their choice. And don’t forget that the Obama administration unilaterally delayed the employer mandate until 2015. As a result, another round of insurance cancellations is expected this fall as employers prepare to grapple with Obamacare’s onerous burdens. Unfortunately, none of this includes the soaring premium increases millions of Americans may face in 2015 if too few young people sign up for Obamacare this year. I doubt many realized this is what Nancy Pelosi meant when she famously said that Congress would have to pass Obamacare to find out what was in it. Well, now that the American people are finding out what’s in it, it’s not surprising poll after poll reveals that Obamacare is more unpopular than ever. Simply put, this wasn’t the change Americans wanted. So, instead of stale, tired talking points, it would be refreshing to hear how the Obama administration plans to address Obamacare’s broken promises and clean up the mess it has made.
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