Obamacare's Fourth Anniversary

Statement

Yesterday was not a day of celebration, but a day marked by broken promises, numerous delays, and special exemptions. Sunday marked the four year anniversary of Obamacare becoming law.

Before and after Obamacare was enacted, the President promised that "if you like your health care plan, you can keep it." This statement was repeated by the President's allies in Congress, defended by his allies in the media, and for which he was awarded "Lie of the Year" by Politifact in 2013. He also promised that under Obamacare, "If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor." Unfortunately for the American people this was simply not true. The President's health care law has left millions of Americans with cancelled health plans -- at least 4.7 million according to the Associated Press.

President Obama also promised affordable health care, claiming that Obamacare would bring down premiums for families by $2,500. Instead, Americans have watched their premiums increase by an average of 41% in the individual market with reports of more double digit increases on the way.

The President's $2.6 trillion budget-busting law took over $700 billion from Medicare to fund new entitlements and expanded Medicaid--an unsustainable and broken health care program in which some 40% of physicians on average will not even see Medicaid patients.

To help control and keep costs down, the President's healthcare law established an unelected, unaccountable board of bureaucrats--the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB)--with the power to make arbitrary cuts to Medicare. Such arbitrary cuts by unaccountable Washington bureaucrats will threaten seniors' access to care.

It seems like every day another employer reduces hours or stops offering insurance in response to Obamacare's mandates. Last week I posted a story from WTVD in North Carolina describing how "employers are trying to get their arms around what the new health care law will mean, both for their bottom line and their workers, specifically their part-time workers." The President only continues to create further uncertainty for businesses and employees with each new delay for his unworkable law.

Obamacare's costly mandates are resulting in lost jobs, including an estimated 43,000 jobs lost in the medical device industry alone due to the medical device tax.

This week the Supreme Court will hear arguments in the Hobby Lobby case, reminding the American people how Obamacare--in addition to its government mandates driving up the cost of health care and hurting our nation's economy--also violates our nation's long-standing principles of religious freedom and conscious protections.

Senate Democrats clearly see Obamacare as a problem for them, and have already begun holding hearings about follow-on healthcare reforms. Rather than absorbing the lessons of the last four years, Senate Democrats appear eager to double down on the Obamacare experiment by getting the government even more involved in healthcare. The American people have a vested interest in the direction our nation's health care system is headed, and reform legislation must be focused on empowering them and their doctors--not the government.

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