Obamacare Update

It's been six months since Obamacare became law.  Let's take a look at how's it going now.

The most general effect of the new law is that -- contrary to what Obama promised -- it's going to cost a LOT!  Current studies are showing it'll be about 600% worse in the first year than even the falsely rosy projections the Dems tossed out while ramming it into law.  It's going to be so bad that even now millions are already seeing higher prices, even on plans for sick children, when they're not dropping them altogether.  College students may get dropped, as well.  States are getting screwed, too, and some (like Arizona) have already seen premium increases for employees.  Small businesses will be hammered, perhaps more than anyone else.  It appears that doctors will actually be penalized for offering high quality care.  Study after study shows premiums rising...until coverage is dropped completely, that is.  And no, the so-called tax incentives the administration loves to tout won't really help.  Obamacare will make the current doctor shortage vastly more painful for everyone.  And what about seniors?  Not only will their coverage become more expensive, too, but some Democrats have crassly joked about outright denying them end-of-life care.  Hmmm...death panels, anyone?  But don't ask the Medicare czar tough questions about things like rationing - he won't answer.  And don't bother HHS Secretary Sebelius, either - she'd rather talk about 're-educating' Americans into blindly accepting Obamacare.  Speaking of seniors, recall that one of the models for Obamacare was that nifty system in Massachusetts; unfortunately, it appears that major insurers in Massachusetts are planning to dump thousands of seniors off of their Medicare Advantage plans by next year.  Why?  Because it was not viable in the long-term.  But don't worry, the national Obamacare plan will be different.

How is Obamacare making things more expensive?  Aside from the rather obvious issue of essentially writing blank checks for unlimited health care for 'free', it also includes loads of new regulations, rules, and hoops to jump through.  Let's look at just one.  In Section 9006 there is a mandate that all small businesses must fill out a 1099 form for every other business with which they spend at least $600 in a year.  Stop and think about that.  As an individual or family, to how many different companies do you pay at least $50/month?  Cable bill...cellphone bill...water bill...QuikTrip for gas...groceries...heat and air conditioning...daycare...Walmart or Target...McDonald's...the mortgage company...trash collection...and so on.  And that doesn't even include those one-time purchases that come up, like tires for the car, braces for the kid, plane tickets to see Grandma and Grandpa at Christmas, etc.  Can you imagine having to fill out a tax form for each one of those?  Now imagine how many forms a fully functioning business with suppliers, vendors, repairs, and inventory would have to do, and you're starting to see how much extra time and hassle was created by just a few lines of this 2000+ page monstrosity!

Companies like McDonald's (and an increasing number of others) are already announcing plans to ditch their health care plans because they will be too expensive.  Of course, this was the whole point of Obamacare - to drive out private insurance companies, then sweep in with government 'insurance' -- providing exactly what they say you can have according to your worth to society regardless of your willingness or ability to pay for yourself -- to save the day.  Of course, the government hasn't quite gotten its own plans together yet, so if companies drop their people now there really is nowhere else for them to turn.  Oops!  Speaking of extreme competence, the federal government has failed to meet a full third of their own self-imposed deadlines for rolling out Obamacare.  Don't get me wrong, I'm okay with that...I just thought I'd point it out to suggest that maybe they aren't capable of running health care at all.

Oh, and remember all those promises about how you can keep your current health care if you like it?  You can...for a couple more years.  It is estimated that as much as 69% of current plans will fail to qualify under Obamacare by 2013.  Too bad, so sad, take the pill and go die quietly in the corner, would you?

But aren't the Dems who fought so bravely spat in the face of the American people to enact Obamacare just bursting with pride?  Well, let me answer that question by asking another question: six months after the Obamacare bill was signed into law, guess how many Democrats in national races are running ads bragging about how proud they are of what they've done?  Zero.  In fact, some are even running ads against it themselves.  Of course, that doesn't mean they'll actually support a repeal...no, this is all about political expediency, not principles.  It's probably too late, though, since new polling data shows that voters intend to punish representatives who supported Obamacare and other massive Obama initiatives.

Here's one example that's close to home.  If you work for Boeing, here's what Obamacare has done to for you:

Deductibles, the share of medical costs that employees pay annually before their plan kicks in, will go up to $300 for individuals, an increase of $100. For families, the new deductible will be $900, an increase of $300.

In addition, Boeing is instituting a copayment of 10 percent after the deductible has been met. The copayment will rise to 20 percent in 2012.

I'm not sure how this is bending the cost curve down, but that's what we were promised, as I'm sure you recall.  My company just distributed our new benefits information for next year, and it's getting more painful for us, too:

"Beginning January 1 associates will pay a $25 pre-tax premium, or may choose to waive participation in the medical plan.  There will also be an increase in the cost for dependent coverage, with slightly higher annual deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums."

What?  We have to pay in order to participate in a medical plan that is now more expensive as the result of Obamacare?  Funny, I thought Obamacare was supposed to make things less expensive!  Ah, but there are other new benefits, such as the opportunity to participate in "educational programs" to teach me how to be healthy because I'm too stupid to figure it out for myself.  Cool, that makes all the extra costs worth it!

Keep in mind all this is happening before Obamacare really gets going - the first year it really goes into full force is 2014, with a gradual ramping up until then.  So...how is your own coverage changing?  Might want to take a look before you go vote.  You can find out more about how badly you personally will be hit by Obamacare with this Obamacare impact calculator.  Hopefully you won't be one of the several hundred thousand of people who won't have a job because of Obamacare.  Another fun factoid: did you know there's a real estate tax hiding in Obamacare?  This was truly a legislative gem, wasn't it?

And that brings us to the pushback.  There are lawsuits against Obamacare in over 20 states now, including Missouri.  Heritage provides a way to keep track of them if you're interested.

Think it's a moral imperative to provide healthcare to everyone?  Then you should probably check out this intriguing look at Obamacare shows how it violates all ten of the  Ten Commandments.

So how does this play out in the real world?  If we win this election as big as we think, understand what it means.  As long as Barack Obama is in the White House, he'll veto any attempt to repeal Obamacare, and there's no way we'll have veto-proof majorities after just this one election.  But...the critical factor is the control of the House of Representatives, where all budgetary measures originate.  If a conservative GOP controls the House, they can simply refuse to fund Obamacare, thus delaying its rollout until the GOP takes back Congress and the White House.  At that point, it's repeal city, guns blazin'.  But, that's all in the future - let's start with step one, and that means getting every possible Dem OUT right now.  And, in fact, let's throw out the Washington Republicans, too, some of whom are also making it clear that they don't plan to support the repeal effort.  Bottom line: get rid of anyone who supported Obamacare or is talking down the idea of repealing it.  Whether they have a D or an R by their name, those are the people who think the government should control your health care, and those are the ones who present the biggest danger to our way of life and our core freedoms.  Personally, I'd love to see the new GOP majorities pass legislation to repeal Obamacare on a monthly basis simply on principle, forcing Obama to veto it over and over and over again, and nailing the Dems on record for it, too.  Who knows?  If enough Dems are scared enough, maybe those veto-proof majorities would materialize after the third or fourth veto...

Interestingly enough, the Obama administration has already granted waivers to a few dozen companies which will basically exempt them from the disastrous consequences of Obamacare.  Um...doesn't this prove our point?  If it's too expensive for these companies, then isn't it too expensive for all companies?  And if the Obama administration grants exceptions to their own legislation, doesn't that render it completely meaningless?  Is this not governing by whim rather than governing by law?  Is that really the kind of country we want to live in?  Also, think about this: with those waivers in place, those companies are now beholden for their very survival to the good graces of the federal government.  With the threat of waiver withdrawal on one side, and prosecution for not providing health care on the other, these companies -- and their employees -- are quite literally dependent upon the government for their survival.  This just continues hammering nails into the already pin-cushioned lid of the coffin on whether or not Obama is simply gunning for supreme control of American citizens rather than giving a damn about your health care.

Bottom line: from just about any objective angle the message from the American people to Republicans and Democrats alike is very simple: WE DON'T WANT THIS.  Accept nothing less than repeal from your elected representatives.