GOP Doctors Caucus: Six Months Later and ObamaCare Still Isn't Working
Today Members of the GOP Doctors Caucus offered the following comments on the six month anniversary of ObamaCare being signed into law:
"With the 6 month anniversary of the enactment of ObamaCare looming, we continue to learn just how counter-productive this disastrous policy really is. The bill has accomplished everything the President said it would not. It has resulted in higher health care costs, higher taxes, higher premiums for patients, and made it more difficult for children and seniors to access care. In short, it has been an abject failure. But, rather than work with Congress to fix our broken healthcare system, President Obama is still trying to sell the American people a product they just aren't buying. As a physician and as a Member of Congress, I have one plea for President Obama: stop trying to put lipstick on a pig and work with both Democrats and Republicans in Congress on healthcare solutions that work for patients, not government bureaucrats." -- Congressman Phil Gingrey (R-GA), Co-Chair of the GOP Doctors Caucus
"In just six short months, the new law has punished American families and businesses with higher premiums, fewer choices, and threats of future tax hikes. Instead of fixing our broken healthcare system, the new law finances it. We need to pass real reform that improves the quality of healthcare delivered in America." -- Congressman Tim Murphy (R-PA), Co-Chair of the GOP Doctors Caucus
"The more opportunity we have to examine ObamaCare and its consequences, the more the American people dislike it. Nearly everyday we're reading more bad news; the cost of our health care tab is bad for our budget, bad for senior citizens' and bad for small businesses. We're working to defund and repeal this legislation to provide Americans what they deserve, quality affordable health care," Congressman John Boozman (R-AR) said.
"ObamaCare is the signature disappointment of a disastrous big government agenda pursued by the White House and its allies in Congress," said Congressman Tom Price (R-GA). "Six months since it was signed into law against the will of the American people, ObamaCare's foundation of broken promises and dishonest accounting gimmicks have only become more apparent and appalling. Health care costs are rising and will continue to under the new plan. Individuals, including senior citizens, will lose access to their current health care plans. And the quality of care in America will be surrendered to the whims and wishes of an overzealous Washington bureaucracy. Six months is long enough to have seen the detrimental effects of this government takeover of health care. It is time we repeal and replace ObamaCare with sound, patient-centered health care reforms."
"In the six-months since ObamaCare was signed into law, Americans have already seen higher premiums and a likelihood they will not keep the insurance plan they prefer, while news stories and the government have estimated we will continue to see rising costs, lost jobs, physician shortages and cuts to seniors benefits," said Congressman John Fleming (R-LA). This law is bad for Americans, bad for seniors and bad for jobs. The American people have rejected ObamaCare, and Republicans we will continue to fight to repeal this awful law and replace it with market-based, patient-centered reform."
"The last six months have just confirmed what many of us knew before the bill was passed: expanding government control of health care is the wrong way to fix the numerous problems that were created by prior government interventions. Congress must repeal this bill and replace it with free-market and constitutional health care policies that put patients in charge of health care." -- Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX)
"Six months after the Democrat's health care bill was signed into law, we know what Americans were promised would happen, and we know what really has happened. Health care costs and insurance premiums are rising for all Americans, including businesses, which may be forced to drop coverage for their employees. Taxes are going up for every American, doctors are having to make the tough choice to no longer see Medicare and Medicaid patients, and state budgets, already stretched thinly, are set to suffer even more due to Medicaid expansions. Health reform negotiations were conducted secretively behind closed doors, and as a result Americans are wary and of the law and its opposition is growing. There was a better way -- Republicans, including the members of the Doctor's Caucus, have introduced dozens of health care bills that offer better solutions. It is not too late to repeal the health care law and replace it with the commonsense reforms Americans wanted to begin with, and with the support of the American people, I will continue to work to fix the six-month-old mess Democrats in Washington created." -- Congressman Michael Burgess (R-TX)
"During the health care debate, Speaker Pelosi said we need to pass the bill to find out what's in it. Six months later, the American people have learned more about the unconstitutional law and opposition has only increased. The simple truth is ObamaCare actually kills jobs, raises costs, and cuts seniors' benefits. Rather than throw money at the problem, I support repealing Obamacare and replacing it with commonsense, market-based reforms that lower costs and increase accessibility," said Rep. Paul Broun, M.D.
Dr. Phil Roe (TN-01): "Just six months after the health care legislation passed this Congress, we have already seen a rise in insurance premiums, we are learning more and more about what the bill will actually cost the American people, and we are beginning to understand the reality that taxes to pay for this legislation will be harmful to our already fragile economy. As we learn more about this legislation, we see bad elements tucked away like the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) -- a board that has a mandate to meet a budget. This will harm patient care because the only way to meet a budget is by delaying access to care or denying care altogether. Ultimately, this bad bill will not only reduce access to care, but it will also certainly reduce the quality of care because rationing is inevitable. This is not what I want, nor is it what the American people want -- but the emerging details indicate that is what we're going to get unless we act soon to change it."
"The first six months of ObamaCare reinforce the urgency of repealing it and replacing it with patient-centered health reform," said Congressman Cassidy (R-LA). "Costs have gone up, jobs have been lost, and access has been denied. Only by empowering patients can we lower costs and expand access to high quality health care."