Wait, What? President Obama Admits ObamaCare Not Cutting Costs Like He Promised | Republican Leader John Boehner

Wait, What? President Obama Admits ObamaCare Not Cutting Costs Like He Promised | Republican Leader John Boehner

More Employers Report Squeeze From ObamaCare’s Job-Killing Tax Increases and Health Care Cost Hikes

Washington, Mar 30 - With his new health care law already hurting our economy, President Obama now admits ObamaCare is not cutting costs like he repeatedly promised it would. Apparently, the federal government is spending a trillion dollars, raising taxes, cutting Medicare, and imposing job-killing mandates for a “first step” that will require “further adjustments.” Tell that to the employers, workers, and small businesses who are watching ObamaCare take money out of their pockets.

We’ve seen this presidential switcheroo before: when it became clear the trillion-dollar ‘stimulus’ wasn’t working, the President claimed it was never about creating jobs anyway. For the American people, who have always considered lowering costs to be their highest health care priority, ObamaCare is fast becoming just another Washington program that overspends and underdelivers. That’s why we need to repeal this government takeover of health care and replace it with reforms focused first on lowering costs and protecting American jobs.

According to a new USA Today/Gallup poll, a majority of Americans say ObamaCare is “too costly”:

“Nearly two-thirds of Americans say the health care overhaul signed into law last week costs too much and expands the government's role in health care too far, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, underscoring an uphill selling job ahead for President Obama and congressional Democrats. Those surveyed are inclined to fear that the massive legislation will increase their costs and hurt the quality of health care their families receive…”

• Higher costs for employers: “Insurer Prudential Financial Inc. said Monday that it will take a $100 million charge in the first quarter in relation to the recent health care overhaul legislation. … Prudential joins a growing list of companies that have said they will take accounting charges because of the health care bills. AT&T said last week it would take a $1 billion charge in the first quarter. AK Steel Corp., 3M Co., Caterpillar Inc., Deere & Co. and Valero Energy have also said they would take smaller charges.” (Associated Press, 3/29/10)

• Higher costs for workers: “Officials at Fort Smith-based Baldor Electric Co. also have not determined the financial impact of the new bill, although they anticipate it will add costs for the company. ‘We do know, however, that the legislation which passed last week will have a negative effect on our overall health care costs. Health care costs for our company and our employees will increase next year as a result of the new provisions required by the law,’ said Tracy Long, Baldor’s vice president-investor relations. … The company employs between 7,000 and 7.500 in 26 plants in five countries and sales offices serving more than 80 countries. About 2,000 are employed in the Fort Smith area.” (Fort Smith (AR) City Wire, 3/30/10)

• Higher costs for younger workers: “Health premiums could rise 17 pct for young adults. Beginning in 2014, most Americans will be required to buy insurance or pay a tax penalty. That's when premiums for young adults seeking coverage on the individual market would likely climb by 17 percent on average, or roughly $42 a month, according to an analysis of the plan conducted for The Associated Press. … The higher costs will pinch many people in their 20s and early 30s who are struggling to start or advance their careers with the highest unemployment rate in 26 years.” (Associated Press, 3/29/10)

• Higher costs for small businesses: “Local pharmacy, small business owners worry about cost of health care bill. John Kempinski, owner of Crossroads Pharmacy in Hanover Twp., fears the health care bill … will burden him with crushing taxes. ‘If they raise taxes, it’s going to affect every small business,’ Mr. Kempinski said. ‘Luzerne County’s taxes are going up. All those taxes are going up and if they throw another tax on us, it curtails me from remodeling, hiring, advertising and giving contributions to the Little League. It curtails all of that.” (Scranton Times-Tribune, 3/23/10)

• Higher costs for those who already have insurance: “For most Americans insured through their work, coverage with the new health bill is expected to stay the same, but premiums will rise. … How much? No one's certain.” (CBS News, 3/22/10)

• Higher costs for taxpayers: “Provisions of the health-care law that expand benefits for home-bound elderly, certain early retirees and coal miners will likely cost more than expected, say analysts and even some of the measures' proponents. The Congressional Budget Office warned last year that the Class program’s own benefits eventually would grow so large that it would drain the government's finances. ‘The Class program would inevitably add to future deficits…by more than it reduces deficits in the near term,’ the office said in a letter to lawmakers. … The second program, to subsidize health-care plans that cover lots of retirees under age 65, will benefit cities and states as well as old-line manufacturing firms. … A spokesman for Rep. Sander Levin (D., Mich.), the House Ways and Means Committee chairman and a close ally of the auto industry, left open the possibility of additional funding.” (The Wall Street Journal, 3/29/10)