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WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?: It's Been A Rough First Year For ObamaCare
WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?: It's Been A Rough First Year For ObamaCare
• AP: ObamaCare’s Savings From Medicare Are “Unrealistic.” “To be sure, the nonpartisan
Congressional Budget Office has estimated the law will slightly reduce red ink over 10 years. But the
office's analysis assumes that steep cuts in Medicare spending, as called for in the law, will actually
take place. Others in the government have concluded it is unrealistic to expect such savings from
Medicare.” (Calvin Woodward, “Fact Check: Obama Ledger Out Of Balance,” The Associated Press, 1/25/11)
CMS Says Health Care Spending Will Increase More Than Before ObamaCare Was Passed. “In
February, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services projected that overall national health
spending would increase an average of 6.1% a year over the next decade. The center's economists
recalculated the numbers in light of the health bill and now project that the increase will average 6.3% a
year, according to a report in the journal Health Affairs. Total U.S. health spending will reach $4.6 trillion by
2019, accounting for nearly one of every five U.S. dollars spent, the report says.” (Janet Adamy, “Health Outlays Still Seen
Rising,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/9/10)
Medicare’s Chief Actuary Richard Foster Said ObamaCare Won’t Keep Costs Down. “The landmark
legislation probably won't hold costs down, and it won't let everybody keep their current health insurance if
Resistance To ObamaCare Has Already Emerged, As State Legislatures Have Rejected Bills To Create
Insurance Exchanges, And Governors Are Looking To Slow Down Medicaid Expansion. “But resistance
to the new law has already emerged in several statehouses. Legislatures in Minnesota and Rhode Island in
the last year have rejected bills to create insurance exchanges. … Now, several governors are also looking at
ways to slow down a major expansion of the Medicaid program, the federal-state insurance program
originally designed for poor children.” (Noam N. Levey And Bruce Japsen, “States, Not Congress, Can Thwart Healthcare Law,” Los Angeles
Times, 11/7/10)
• It Will Be Difficult For Financially Strapped States To Shoulder Expected Increases. “While the
federal government is to provide most of the new funding, some state analysts predict it will be
difficult for financially strapped states to shoulder even a small increase. ‘This recession was so big
and broad and wide that it will have repercussions for a decade or more,’ said Ray Scheppach,
executive director of the National Governors Assn. State lawmakers may also resist efforts by the
Obama administration to expand state oversight of insurance premiums, a key goal of the new
healthcare law.” (Noam N. Levey And Bruce Japsen, “States, Not Congress, Can Thwart Healthcare Law,” Los Angeles Times, 11/7/10)
• “U.S. Health Spending Is Projected To Rise 9.2% In 2014, Up From The 6.6% Projected Before
The Law Took Effect.” (Janet Adamy, “Health Outlays Still Seen Rising,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/9/10)
• “The Nation's Health Care Tab Will Go Up — Not Down — As A Result Of President Barack
Obama's Sweeping Overhaul.” (“Health Care Spending Will Increase After Overhaul, But Not By Much,” The Associated Press, 9/9/10)
The Wall Street Journal: “The Administration contends that not purchasing insurance—inactivity—is really
activity, because everyone will eventually need medical care and their costs will be transferred to the
insured. But Judge Vinson dissects that as a ‘radical departure’ from the Constitution and U.S. case law.”
(Editorial, “The Constitutional Moment,” The Wall Street Journal, 2/1/11)
The Waivers Are Necessary Because Otherwise Workers Would Lose Their Health Insurance Due To
ObamaCare’s Expensive Requirements. “Thirty companies and organizations, including McDonald's
(MCD) and Jack in the Box (JACK), won't be required to raise the minimum annual benefit included in low-
cost health plans, which are often used to cover part-time or low-wage employees. The Department of
Health and Human Services, which provided a list of exemptions, said it granted waivers in late September
so workers with such plans wouldn't lose coverage from employers who might choose instead to drop
health insurance altogether.” (Drew Armstrong, “McDonald’s. 29 Other Frims Get Health Care Coverage Waivers,” USA Today, 10/7/10)
A New Report Finds That As A Result Of ObamaCare, 34 States No Longer Offer Child-Only Insurance
Policies. “Health insurers in 34 states have stopped selling child-only insurance policies as a result of the
health reform law, and the market continues to destablize. … Since September, the health reform law has
barred insurers from withholding policies to children under 19 who have a pre-existing condition. Rather
than take on the burdensome cost of writing policies for potentially-pricey medical conditions, many
carriers decided to leave the market altogether.” (Sarah Kliff And J. Lester Feder, “Child-Only Health Plans Endangered,” Politico, 1/27/11)
• “One Of The Largest Insurance Markets In The Country, Texas, Has Seen All Their Carriers
Drop Child-Only Health Insurance, As Have Other Large States Including Florida And Illinois.”
(Sarah Kliff And J. Lester Feder, “Child-Only Health Plans Endangered,” Politico, 1/27/11)
• “Other States That No Longer Have Carriers Selling Child-Only Plans Include Alaska, Arizona,
Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota,
Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia And Wyoming ….”
(Sarah Kliff And J. Lester Feder, “Child-Only Health Plans Endangered,” Politico, 1/27/11)
• HHS Secretary Sebelius Said The American People Just Didn’t Understand The Law, But When
They Did They’d Be “Enthusiastic” About ObamaCare. “Secretary of Health and Human Services
Kathleen Sebelius says that, despite a new CBS News poll showing widespread skepticism and
confusion, Americans will be ‘enthusiastic’ about the health reform bill passed by the House of
Representatives once they understand it. ‘I think what's been going on for the better part of a year is
a lot of attempts to confuse and scare Americans,’ Sebelius told ‘Early Show’ co-anchor Maggie
Rodriguez.” (Tucker Reals, “Sebelius: Americans Will Embrace Health Reform,” CBS News, 3/22/10)
65 Percent Of Americans Oppose ObamaCare’s Individual Mandate. (Bloomberg, 1,001 A, MoE 3.1%, 3/4-7/11)
50 Percent Of Americans Oppose Most Or All Of ObamaCare. (CNN Opinion Research, 1,014 A MoE 3%, 1/14-16/11)
• Only 6 Percent Of Americans Favor The Entire Bill. (CNN Opinion Research, 1,014 A MoE 3%, 1/14-16/11)
50 Percent Of Americans Want All Of ObamaCare Repealed. (CNN Opinion Research, 1,014 A MoE 3%, 1/14-16/11)
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