Healthcare Facts and Myths

It's been just over 100 days since the Dems passed Obamacare. Though many progressives opposed the final healthcare reform law as insufficiently radical, the President hailed it as "Another stone. . . laid in the foundation of the American dream."

How is it affecting the rest of us? Not good, according to a study by Senators Tom Coburn (R-OK) and John Barrasso (R-WY), both physicians. Among the documented and hyperlinked findings:

• Promise: Barack Obama repeatedly assured Americans that they could keep their health plan if they like it.
  
  Reality: The Departments of Treasury, Labor and Health and Human Services estimate "that 66 percent of small employer plans and 45 percent of large employer plans will relinquish their grandfather status by the end of 2013." 75 Fed. Reg. No. 116, page 34552 (June 17, 2010), cited in Coburn/Barrasso at 2. See also ABC News.



• Promise: President Obama assured voters that Obamacare would not fund health care for illegal immigrants (though he cited that fact to support immigration reform that would legitimize illegals).
  
  Reality: Illegal aliens are bared from receiving the health insurance subsidies Obamacare establishes. But, concomitantly, the approximately 9 million illegals in America (see pages 5-6) cannot be penalized for non-compliance with the mandate to purchase insurance (page 26)--but still qualify for uncompensated care in hospitals, paid, ultimately, by taxpayers. And, in any event, about half of all illegal aliens are in the workplace with fraudulent documents, suggesting that some will qualify for insurance subsidies.



• Promise: The President vowed to cover the uninsured.
  
  Reality: Obamacare does so by forcing millions onto Medicaid, at a cost of nearly $400 billion in the first decade. That's not reform--because Medicare spending is out-of-control and its performance often is appalling, cited in Coburn/Barrasso at 12-16. The net result is to shift costs to those covered by private insurance. Which means higher taxes.

Conclusion: Expect to pay much more than advertised. The good news: Much of Obamacare hasn't yet taken effect. So there's still time to repeal it.