Six months after enactment of the Democrats’ new health care law, a look at the first stages of its implementation reveals how the legislation falls short with respect to costs, premiums, preserving Americans’ existing coverage, and providing full transparency and accountability:
4,103—Pages of regulations issued on the health care law through September 17, 2010
12—Number of final regulations not subjected to public scrutiny before taking effect
5—Missed implementation deadlines to date
16—Unanswered letters from House and Senate Republicans to the Administration on the health law
22—States that have joined legal actions to block all or part of the law from taking effect
667,680—Number of Missouri voters that rejected the health care law’s individual mandate, supporting a ballot referendum objecting to the federal law by a 71%-29% margin
500,000—Individuals with pre-existing conditions who could be denied coverage due to under-funding of the law’s high-risk pool program, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
40,000,000—Firms subject to the health law’s new 1099 reporting requirements, which the National Federation of Independent Business called a “tremendous new paperwork compliance burden”
9—Regulations released to date that will increase premium costs for individuals and employers, according to the Administration’s own estimates
$2,500—Premium reduction promised by candidate Obama “by the end of my first term as President”
750,000—Reduction in the American labor force due to provisions in the law that “will effectively increase marginal tax rates, which will also discourage work,” according to the CBO
$310,800,000,000—Projected increase in health care costs as a direct result of the legislation, according to the Administration’s own actuaries
7,400,000—Reduction in Medicare Advantage enrollment as a result of the health care law, resulting in a loss of choice for seniors and millions of beneficiaries losing their current health plan
51%—Percentage of American workers who will lose their current health coverage by 2013, according to the Administration’s own estimates
0—Public hearings held before President Obama appointed Dr. Donald Berwick—an advocate of health care rationing—to head an agency that “finances health care for one in three Americans” and spends $800 billion annually
Even though we have seen only a few of the law’s initial provisions take effect, the impact can already be felt by American families and businesses, who face higher costs, economic uncertainty, and loss of their current coverage. How much longer will these ill effects persist before the President and Democrats in Congress admit that their legislation will harm, not help, the American people?
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