top 10 reasons obamacare must be repealed

7/31/2019 Top 10 Reasons Obamacare Must Be Repealed

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Top 10 Reasons Obamacare Must Be Repealed

1. Obamacare will cause millions of Americans to lose their current insurance2. Obamacare adds trillions of dollars in new taxes, including a devastating tax on

medical device manufacturers

3. Obamacare will increase the debt by hundreds of billions of dollars4. Obamacare will destroy jobs in a struggling economy5. Obamacare will cause Americans health care premiums to skyrocket6. Obamacare is unconstitutional7. Obamacare will lead to rationing of health care by Washington bureaucrats8. Obamacare is an assault on religious liberty and freedom of conscience9. Obamacares exchanges limit consumer choice, drive costs up, and illegally expand

tax credits

10.There is a better path forwardThe following document was compiled using source material from theHouse GOP Conference,

theHouse Committee on Ways and Means, and theHeritage Foundation.

1. Obamacare will cause millions of Americans to lose their current insurance:Despite President Obamas repeated assurance that if you like your current plan, you can

keep it, aMcKinsey and Company studyin 2011 concluded that because of increased costs andemployer penalties, nearly half of all surveyed employers said they would drop or change theiremployee coverage plans after 2014.

A similar 2011study by Deloittefound that up to 65 million Americans could lose theiremployer-sponsored health insurance because of Obamacare's employer mandate requirement.The report found that 71 Fortune 100 companies responding to the survey could save almost $30billion in 2014 alone by eliminating employer-sponsored health plans and instead paying theemployer mandate penalty.
http://www.gop.gov/http://www.gop.gov/http://www.gop.gov/http://waysandmeans.house.gov/http://waysandmeans.house.gov/http://waysandmeans.house.gov/http://www.heritage.org/http://www.heritage.org/http://www.heritage.org/http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/How_US_health_care_reform_will_affect_employee_benefits_2813http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/How_US_health_care_reform_will_affect_employee_benefits_2813http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/How_US_health_care_reform_will_affect_employee_benefits_2813http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_US/us/Insights/Browse-by-Content-Type/Newsletters/health-care-reform-memo/3798840f0b627310VgnVCM3000001c56f00aRCRD.htm?id=us_email_CHS_HCRM_050712%20http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_US/us/Insights/Browse-by-Content-Type/Newsletters/health-care-reform-memo/3798840f0b627310VgnVCM3000001c56f00aRCRD.htm?id=us_email_CHS_HCRM_050712%20http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_US/us/Insights/Browse-by-Content-Type/Newsletters/health-care-reform-memo/3798840f0b627310VgnVCM3000001c56f00aRCRD.htm?id=us_email_CHS_HCRM_050712%20http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_US/us/Insights/Browse-by-Content-Type/Newsletters/health-care-reform-memo/3798840f0b627310VgnVCM3000001c56f00aRCRD.htm?id=us_email_CHS_HCRM_050712%20http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/How_US_health_care_reform_will_affect_employee_benefits_2813http://www.heritage.org/http://waysandmeans.house.gov/http://www.gop.gov/


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The Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation nowpredictthat a nettotal of 3 to 5 million people will no longer be able to obtain health coverage through theiremployers each year from 2019 through 2022 as a result of the presidents law.

Former CBO Director Douglas Holtz-Eakinhas concludedthe presidents health care law

provides strong incentives for employersto drop employer-sponsored health insurance for asmany as 35 million Americans, perhaps leading to widespread turmoil in labor compensation andemployee insurance coverage.

2. Obamacare adds trillions of dollars in new taxes, including a devastating tax on medicaldevice manufacturers:

According to a recentreportfrom the Joint Economic Committee (based on CBO data), thepresidents health care law will add an additional $4 trillion in new taxes onto the economy

between 2012 and 2035. The tax burden may have been just $15 billion in 2012, but in 2035 thatburden will be magnified more than twenty-fold to $320 billion.

Obamacare contains 18 separate taxes. These taxes will not be restricted to the wealthy andprofitable healthcare businesses. Instead, the weight of $4 trillion in new taxes will be spreadacross all sectors and all income classes as incomes and economic growth decline. One of thelargest tax increases just took effect at the beginning of this year: a .9% increase in Medicaretaxes for individuals earning more than $200,000 a year, estimated to yield nearly $318 billion innew revenue through 2022. This tax is on top of the increased rates on individuals making morethan $400,000 due to the fiscal cliff deal.

One particularly egregious tax targets medical device manufacturers, many of whom arebased in Indiana. Shortly after Obamacare was enacted into law, 90 of the 100 medical devicefirms attending a conference in Bostonstatedthey would be forced to reduce costs, such as laborexpenses or research and development costs, because of Obamacares 2.3 percent excise tax onmedical devices.

Medical device manufacturer Boston Scientificannouncedthat it plans to lay-off 1,200 to1,400 Americans, shifting those jobs to China. Stryker Corporation, an orthopedic-devicebusiness based in Michigan,announcedplans to cut five percent of its workforce over concernsabout the medical device tax. And some Indiana innovators, includingZimmerand Hill-Rom,have also been forced to schedule hundreds of layoffs as a result of this tax.

In February 2012, Rep. Todd Rokita led 74 colleagues in aletterto House leadership urgingthem to repeal the medical device tax. In June 2012, the House of Representatives voted to repealthe tax, but President Obama threatened to veto the bill if it reached his desk, and the Senate didnot act to repeal it
http://www.cbo.gov/publication/43090http://www.cbo.gov/publication/43090http://www.cbo.gov/publication/43090http://americanactionforum.org/files/AAF_Labor%20Markets%20and%20Health%20Care%20Reform_5-27-2010.pdf?phpMyAdmin=yVaoFIsOJaixGsCDQKevn,gw,Q9http://americanactionforum.org/files/AAF_Labor%20Markets%20and%20Health%20Care%20Reform_5-27-2010.pdf?phpMyAdmin=yVaoFIsOJaixGsCDQKevn,gw,Q9http://americanactionforum.org/files/AAF_Labor%20Markets%20and%20Health%20Care%20Reform_5-27-2010.pdf?phpMyAdmin=yVaoFIsOJaixGsCDQKevn,gw,Q9http://www.jec.senate.gov/republicans/public/index.cfm?p=Studies&ContentRecord_id=c35381b7-0876-4c45-8db5-443ead0ee882http://www.jec.senate.gov/republicans/public/index.cfm?p=Studies&ContentRecord_id=c35381b7-0876-4c45-8db5-443ead0ee882http://www.jec.senate.gov/republicans/public/index.cfm?p=Studies&ContentRecord_id=c35381b7-0876-4c45-8db5-443ead0ee882http://www.bostonherald.com/jobfind/news/healthcare/view.bg?articleid=1252494http://www.bostonherald.com/jobfind/news/healthcare/view.bg?articleid=1252494http://www.bostonherald.com/jobfind/news/healthcare/view.bg?articleid=1252494http://articles.boston.com/2011-07-29/business/29830200_1_latest-job-cuts-boston-scientific-investmentshttp://articles.boston.com/2011-07-29/business/29830200_1_latest-job-cuts-boston-scientific-investmentshttp://articles.boston.com/2011-07-29/business/29830200_1_latest-job-cuts-boston-scientific-investmentshttps://www.massdevice.com/news/stryker-plans-lay-5-its-workforce-ahead-med-tech-taxhttps://www.massdevice.com/news/stryker-plans-lay-5-its-workforce-ahead-med-tech-taxhttps://www.massdevice.com/news/stryker-plans-lay-5-its-workforce-ahead-med-tech-taxhttps://www.massdevice.com/news/zimmer-axes-jobs-cut-costs-ahead-med-tech-tax-personnel-moveshttps://www.massdevice.com/news/zimmer-axes-jobs-cut-costs-ahead-med-tech-tax-personnel-moveshttps://www.massdevice.com/news/zimmer-axes-jobs-cut-costs-ahead-med-tech-tax-personnel-moveshttp://rokita.house.gov/press-release/rokita-sends-letter-house-leadership-urging-repeal-medical-device-taxhttp://rokita.house.gov/press-release/rokita-sends-letter-house-leadership-urging-repeal-medical-device-taxhttp://rokita.house.gov/press-release/rokita-sends-letter-house-leadership-urging-repeal-medical-device-taxhttp://rokita.house.gov/press-release/rokita-sends-letter-house-leadership-urging-repeal-medical-device-taxhttps://www.massdevice.com/news/zimmer-axes-jobs-cut-costs-ahead-med-tech-tax-personnel-moveshttps://www.massdevice.com/news/stryker-plans-lay-5-its-workforce-ahead-med-tech-taxhttp://articles.boston.com/2011-07-29/business/29830200_1_latest-job-cuts-boston-scientific-investmentshttp://www.bostonherald.com/jobfind/news/healthcare/view.bg?articleid=1252494http://www.jec.senate.gov/republicans/public/index.cfm?p=Studies&ContentRecord_id=c35381b7-0876-4c45-8db5-443ead0ee882http://americanactionforum.org/files/AAF_Labor%20Markets%20and%20Health%20Care%20Reform_5-27-2010.pdf?phpMyAdmin=yVaoFIsOJaixGsCDQKevn,gw,Q9http://www.cbo.gov/publication/43090


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3. Obamacare will increase the debt by hundreds of billions of dollars :According to a recentreportby Medicare public trustee Charles Blahous, after taking into

account Medicare double-counting and other unrealistic assumptions, the presidents health carelaw will likely increase the deficit by at least $340 billion between 2012 and 2019. The White

Housesresponseto the report noted favorable scores from the Congressional Budget Officeeven though CBO itselfadmittedthat the major savings assumptions in the law were unrealisticand unlikely to be sustained over the long-term.

The fact of the matter is, CBO was required to play along with the budget gimmicks thepresident used to pass this law, masking$841 billionworth of increased costs. These gimmicksinclude double-counting Medicare savings ($400 billion), not paying for the Medicare doc-fix($208 billion), not accounting for the cost of implementation ($115 billion), and more.Obamacare also enacted tax hikes immediately, while delaying new program spending for 4years to give the illusion of savings. If these gimmicks had been properly accounted for in 2010,Obamacare would have actually increased the deficit by nearly $700 billion.

In a March 2010op-ed for the New York Times, former CBO Director Douglas Holtz-Eakinsaid: if you strip out all the gimmicks and budgetary games and rework the calculus[t]hehealth care reform legislation would raise, not lower, federal deficits, by $562 billion.

4. Obamacare will destroy jobs in a struggling economy:A recent small businesssurveyby the U.S. Chamber of Commerce found that nearly three

quarters (73%) of small businesses surveyed cite the presidents health care law as an obstacle togrowing their business and hiring more employees.

According to a February 2012Gallup poll, almost half of small businesses said they were nothiring due to concerns about possible rising health care costs and worries about new governmentregulations.

TheWall Street Journal profileda growing small business in January 2013 that is trying tokeep their employee roster under 50 people, even though they are poised to triple their businessthis year. If the company crosses the 50-person threshold, they will have to provide government-approved health insurance, or pay a penalty. This is why many small businesses are hiring morepart time employees and subcontractors.

In a January 2012 U.S. Chamber of Commercesurveyof small businesses, 74 percent saidthat the health care law makes it harder for their firms to hire new workers and 30 percent saidthey are not hiring at all thanks to the law.

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) concluded that President Obamashealth care law will reduce the labor supply by800,000thanks to the laws perverse incentives,which according to CBO will effectively increase marginal tax rates, thereby discouragingwork. Other estimates are as high as 670,000 lost job opportunities per year.
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5. Obamacare will cause Americans health care premiums to skyrocket:The presidents desire to fund his new subsidies and entitlement expansions with tax

increases and new fees only creates a greater burden for consumers. Although President Obamapromised that health insurance premiums would be $2,500 cheaper compared to 2008, premiumsactually increased by more than $3,000 in the last four years.

According to Medicare Actuary Richard Foster, we anticipate that these fees and the excisetax would generally bepassed through to health consumersin the form of higher drug and deviceprices and higher insurance premiums with an associated increase in overall national healthexpenditures ranging from $2.1 billion in 2011 to $18.2 billion in 2018 and $17.8 billion in2019.

Consultants at Aon Hewitt recentlyannouncedthat premiums for employer-sponsored

coverage continue their upward spiral, and are projected to rise by another 7 percent in 2012.Employee out-of-pocket costs will see even more of an increase. As the New York Timesreported, the Aon Hewitt study found that employees share of premiums will rise by an evengreater amount, nearly 11 percent.

According to anarticlein the March/April 2012 issue of the Annals of Family Medicine, ifhealth care costs continue to rise at current unsustainable rates, it is doubtful that affordableinsurance coverage will be available for low- to middle-income Americans in the near future.

According to a September 2010 Wall Street Journalarticle, major health insurers includingAetna Inc., some BlueCross BlueShield plans and other smaller carriers have asked forpremium increases of between 1% and 9% to pay for extra benefits required under the law.

6. Obamacare is unconstitutional:The Supreme Court announced their decision regardingNFIB vs. Sebelius in the summer of

2012. Although the Court determined Obamacares health insurance mandate violated theCommerce Clause of the Constitution, it upheld the law under the Congress taxing power. Thisdecision does not mean the entire law is constitutionalquite the opposite.

The law would require nearly 4 million Americans, most of them middle class, to pay apenalty averaging more than $1,000 each in 2016 if they dont purchase health insurance,according to the Congressional Budget Office.

A 2012USA Today/Gallup pollshows Americans overwhelmingly believe the individualmandate is unconstitutional, by a margin of 72% to 20%. Even a majority of Democrats, and amajority of those who think the healthcare law is a good thing, believe that provision isunconstitutional.
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In addition to ruling the individual mandate unconstitutional under the Commerce Clause, theCourt also ruled the Medicaid expansion violates the Tax and Spend Clause. Other provisionsnot considered underNFIB vs. Sebelius should also be considered, including the MedicareIndependent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) and the anti-conscience mandate.

The IPAB, which consists of 15 unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats, is tasked with cuttingMedicare with or without the approval of Congress. This violates the Legislative Powers Clausewhich forbids Congress from delegating its lawmaking powers. The anti-conscience mandaterequires religious employers to provide free sterilization and contraception services as part oftheir health coverage. This is a violation of the First Amendment. Several lawsuits are currentlypending before the courts, including the high-profile case withHobby Lobby.

7. Obamacare will lead to rationing of health care by Washington bureaucrats: TheIndependent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB)is not just unconstitutional. It wieldssubstantial power over the Medicare program with little accountability or oversight. The IPAB,

which again consists of 15 unelected individuals, is tasked with finding billions of dollars inMedicare savings. The catch is, Obamacare prohibits the IPAB from considering changes toMedicare eligibility, benefits, or rules. This means that they will undoubtedly recommend taxincreases and further cuts to doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers.

The effect of further cuts on health care providers will likely drive many of them frompractice entirely, thus shrinking the number of Medicare participating providers. With millionsof Baby Boomers becoming Medicare-eligible, the supply of doctors will not be sufficient tomeet the demand. It is not hard to see where we are headed. It starts with government price

controls, but where does it end? Will Washington bureaucrats eventually determine who can seea doctor and what procedures they are eligible for? The IPAB represents a slippery slope thatwill slowly erode our freedoms.

Interestingly, the IPAB must submit their savings recommendations to Congress. It willthen be Congress job to approve the recommendations or amend them with comparable savingsachieved. If Congress fails to act on IPAB recommendations, they will become lawautomatically. The IPAB is considered mandatory spending, and not subject to annualappropriations, making it much more difficult to shut down.

8.

Obamacare is an assault on religious liberty and freedom of conscience:

Last January, as one of the many rulemaking responsibilities delegated to bureaucrats underObamacare, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a new regulationforcing all employers of more than 50 people to provide free coverage for sterilization andcontraception services, including abortion-inducing drugs. These are referred to as preventivehealth benefits.
http://www.lifenews.com/2013/01/04/hobby-lobby-ceo-pens-tragic-letter-about-loss-of-religious-freedom/http://www.lifenews.com/2013/01/04/hobby-lobby-ceo-pens-tragic-letter-about-loss-of-religious-freedom/http://www.lifenews.com/2013/01/04/hobby-lobby-ceo-pens-tragic-letter-about-loss-of-religious-freedom/http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/302876/ipab-obamacare-s-super-legislature-michael-f-cannonhttp://www.nationalreview.com/articles/302876/ipab-obamacare-s-super-legislature-michael-f-cannonhttp://www.nationalreview.com/articles/302876/ipab-obamacare-s-super-legislature-michael-f-cannonhttp://www.nationalreview.com/articles/302876/ipab-obamacare-s-super-legislature-michael-f-cannonhttp://www.lifenews.com/2013/01/04/hobby-lobby-ceo-pens-tragic-letter-about-loss-of-religious-freedom/


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This rule not only forces employers to provide these services regardless of their religious ormoral objections, it forces them to pay for it. This is an egregious overreach of the federalgovernment and a direct violation of our constitutional rights enshrined in the First Amendment.

9.

Obamacares exchanges limit consumer choice, drive costs up, and illegally expand taxcredits

The so-called exchanges established by Obamacare are a bureaucratic nightmare. While

exchanges were designed to foster choice and competition in the health insurance marketplace,

Obamacare distorts these intentions with heavy-handed government mandates, regulations, and

taxes. Lawmakers initially expected states to implement their own health insurance exchanges,

but states are finding little incentive to take on the task, prompting HHS to push back

implementation timelines. So far, at least half of states (including Indiana) have declined to run

their own exchangesfar more than the laws authors budgeted for. It is estimated that by the

time the law fully takes effect, only 14 to 16 states (plus the District of Columbia) will operatestate-run exchanges. The law requires the federal government to set up an exchange in states

declining to implement their own.

Obamacares exchanges dictate what government-approved insurance products are available to

consumers. The essential health benefits requirement mandates what health services must be

provided in all insurance plans offered in the exchange, thus limiting patient choice and possibly

making people pay for services they would never use. Regulations like community rating

prohibit insurers from charging elderly beneficiaries more than three times what they charge

their youngest beneficiaries, drastically inflating prices for younger Americans. Additionally,

the actuarial value rule threatens high-deductible health plans by requiring insurers to cover atleast 60% of health costs, thus subjected consumers to a 40% maximum out-of-pocket cost. All

of these regulations limit consumer choice, drive up costs (especially on young people), and

perpetuate a Washington knows best mentality.

Finally, Obamacare seeks to illegally expand tax credits to federally-run exchanges. As passed,

Obamacare provides tax credits and subsidies for the purchase of health insurance in state-run

exchanges. Since so many states are opting not to stand up their own exchanges, federal

bureaucrats at the IRS wrote a rule expanding these tax credits and subsidies to federally-run

exchanges in addition to state-run exchanges. This move is a clear violation of the law.

10. There is a better path forward:

Our health care system should be patient-driven, patient-controlled, and patient-centered.One-size-fits-all government mandates do not work. Washington bureaucrats do not know best.Instead of Obamacare, which passed without a single bipartisan vote and without the support ofthe American people, we should focus on reforming our health care system through sensible,


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market-based reforms aimed at increasing choice and competition, reducing costs, and improvingaccess to care.

One of the first steps I would propose is passing Medicaid reform like my State HealthFlexibility Act. Instead of the Medicaid expansion adding millions of people to program rolls

under Obamacare, this bill would control Medicaids runaway costs by implementing a blockgrant to the states. Under a block grant arrangement, states would have the flexibility to designMedicaid programs tailored to their unique needs. It is estimated that this legislation would savethe federal government nearly $2 trillion over the next 10 years. Block granting Medicaid is aconcept supported by a number of state governors including Governors Mike Pence (IN), ScottWalker (WI), Chris Christie (NJ), Gary Herbert (UT), and former Florida governor Jeb Bush.

top 10 reasons obamacare must be repealed

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