The gauntlet has been laid down. With less than 50 days until the election, and what many agree will be the most significant political and philosophical decision point of our lifetimes, it’s time to take the gloves off. Not in terms of dirty politics, misleading television commercials or mud-slinging, but with regard to educating the American public about exactly what calamity will befall us if we do not vote President Obama out of the White House and repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The clock has run out; the time is nigh. Failure to repeal this legislation before it is fully implemented will have nothing less than devastating consequences for our country and our lives. Americans need to fully engage in this battle.
In writing the majority opinion of the Supreme Court and upholding the constitutionality of the ACA, Chief Justice John Roberts stated:
“Members of this Court … possess neither the expertise nor the prerogative to make policy judgments. Those decisions are entrusted to our nation’s elected leaders, who can be thrown out of office if the people disagree with them. It is not our job to protect the people from the consequences of their political choices.”
In so writing, Chief Justice Roberts challenged the American people to speak loudly and decisively with their votes on November 6th. In the critical remaining days before this election, we need to be armed with the overwhelming and compelling facts about the travesty known as ObamaCare and we need to broadcast these truths from every pulpit:
1) ObamaCare will increase healthcare costs
Although one of the primary stated goals of ObamaCare was to bend the cost curve downward, the average price of a family policy has risen by $2,200 since passage of the law. Costs for families, individuals, doctors and hospitals are expected to rise further as additional components of the law are put in place. In addition to the direct impact on healthcare costs, ObamaCare will levy more than $569 billion in new taxes to offset its massive entitlement spending. Many of these taxes have nothing to do with healthcare, including new taxes on bio-fuel, investment income, and tanning salons.
2) ObamaCare will increase the deficit
When the bill was passed in March 2010, leading House Democrats proclaimed that it would significantly reduce the deficit. Within less than 6 months of its passage, the CBO essentially doubled the cost estimates from $940 billion to $1.76 trillion and those same House Democrats were forced to admit that the bill was not even “budget neutral.” Current estimates put the cost of ObamaCare at over $2.6 trillion between 2014 and 2023. The reality of this bill’s monumental impact on increasing the deficit has become clear.
3) ObamaCare will limit patients’ healthcare choices
Despite President Obama’s promise that “you will be able to keep your health plan and your doctor” under the new system, that is far from likely; more and more physicians will refuse to accept Medicare and Medicaid patients as a result of inadequate reimbursement from these programs. A large percentage of businesses will drop their current healthcare insurance plans rather than try to meet onerous requirements and rising costs. Furthermore, the law prohibits Americans from paying out of pocket for services that are not covered by healthcare insurance and makes it unlawful for physicians to render those services. This hardly constitutes legislation that promotes choice or provides any element of control to patients and their families!
4) ObamaCare will decrease quality
Think of all the people that you know who fly to Canada, Cuba or the United Kingdom for their healthcare. Can’t think of any? That’s not a coincidence. Government run healthcare systems rely on a capitated budget. What that gets you is rationing of services, long wait times and limited access to the newest drugs and latest technologies. Significant increases in the number of insured, combined with a host of new entitlements promised in ObamaCare, will tax the supply of practitioners beyond capacity. More than 60 percent of physicians say that the increase in patient volume will hurt the level of care they can provide. There will be a leveling of quality amongst physicians because physicians will no longer have to compete for patient business, they will lose their autonomy regarding patient care decisions and their incomes will be capped. The vast majority of physicians will ultimately become government employees and Americans will get exactly the type of compassionate and personalized care that we currently receive at the U.S. Post Office and the Department of Motor Vehicles.
5) ObamaCare will control decisions made by doctors and other healthcare providers
Make no mistake: ObamaCare represents a clear and absolute government takeover of the healthcare system. Federal bureaucrats – not physicians – will determine what healthcare benefits and services are “essential.” Doctors and hospitals will face a tsunami of new regulations and reporting requirements to ensure that they are following the government’s definition of “quality care.” Hundreds of pages of new “guidelines” have already been produced, aimed at “educating” practitioners on ways to “manage finite resources” and “limit overuse of services.” Everything from preventive care and screening services to chronic disease treatment protocols are being rewritten by government appointees and bureaucrats – not based on new scientific studies, but based on actuarial reports that evaluate the cost of services rendered. These new guidelines are nothing less than a thinly veiled manifest for healthcare rationing.
6) ObamaCare will decrease access to care and increase the physician shortage
What good is an insurance card in your wallet if there aren’t any doctors to see you? The United States was already facing a significant shortage of physicians prior to the passage of the ACA; studies have estimated that there will be a deficit of more than 69,000 doctors by 2015. Adding an additional 30 million people to the rolls of the insured will make that shortage worse. More importantly, increased patient volumes and decreased reimbursement is driving physicians out of practice; 43 percent say that they are considering retiring within the next five years as a result of the new law.
7) ObamaCare slashes Medicare
Maintaining his usual distant but cordial relationship with the truth, former President Bill Clinton proclaimed at the Democratic National Convention that the new legislation “does not cut Medicare services.” While technically correct, it is irrefutable that the ACA cuts $716 billion from Medicare, and those cuts will come from drastic reductions in payments to doctors and hospitals. Medicare actuaries predict that 40 percent of physicians will either go bankrupt or stop seeing Medicare patients altogether as a result of these cuts. So while ObamaCare may theoretically extend the life of the Medicare trust fund, the reality is that there will be no Medicare providers to staff it and seniors will be left with a worthless insurance subscription.
8) ObamaCare negatively impacts job creation
Small business is the engine for job growth in America. As a result of the “employer mandate” – that portion of the legislation that requires employers with more than 50 employees to provide government-approved health insurance for their workers or face federal fines – many companies will limit hiring in order to stay below the 50 employee minimum. Furthermore, as many as 60 percent of employers intend to increase the portion of premiums that workers are required to pay. Recent surveys indicate that others – as many as 35-40 percent – will simply stop providing coverage for their workers and opt to pay the fine, forcing employees to purchase their own insurance from state exchanges. The most powerful job creation plan Congress could enact would be to repeal ObamaCare!
9) ObamaCare violates religious freedom
Despite its many promises to the contrary, the Obama administration has refused to respect religious liberty in implementing the Affordable Care Act. The new law guarantees women access to “free” sterilization procedures and contraceptives, including drugs that are intended to induce abortions. At issue is the requirement that faith-based institutions such as Catholic universities and hospitals either violate fundamental tenets of their faith by providing the offending drugs and services in their employee healthcare plans or face the federal fines for failing to meet the employer mandate. Although HHS has promised to issue some type of “accommodation” following the election, it is unlikely that it will truly allow religious organizations and individuals to freely follow the teachings of their faith without government intrusion.
10) ObamaCare violates personal freedom
In a breathtaking assertion of congressional authority, for the first time in history, the federal government will force citizens to use their own money to purchase a product – healthcare insurance. The fact that the Supreme Court ruled that the penalty for not complying is a “tax” does not attenuate this stunning conscription. Not only does it mean that Americans are compelled to purchase a product every month for the rest of their lives, but it reflects an intrusion of the government into our private lives in a way that was heretofore unimaginable.
Americans are just beginning to understand the misadventure that is ObamaCare. It is time that we accept Chief Justice Roberts’ challenge to protect ourselves from the consequences of our political choices. We must educate others on the facts about ObamaCare and the egregious assault it will levy on our personal liberties and healthcare as we know it. We must vote for the candidate who has vowed to repeal this abomination. Fight as if your life depends on it, because it does.
