FixHealthCarePolicy

A First Look at the President’s Health Summit Proposal: Liberal Proposal Number Three

In the run-up to his proposed health care summit, President Barack Obama this morning unveiled an 11-page outline of his health care proposal. Within the outline, there are 33 specific policy changes. Of course, there is no legislative text yet, so the full impact of what the President is proposing will not be known for some time.

The President’s revisions are based on the Senate bill, as amended by Senate majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), and passed last Christmas Eve. According to the February 22, 2010, edition of Congress Daily, on paper, at least, the President’s outline would increase the cost of the Senate bill from $871 billion to $950 billion over ten years. Of course, the real costs depend upon the years of implementation, counting both the revenues and the benefits together.

Bridging the Gap between House and Senate Liberals. The President describes his proposal as a set of policy changes that would “ bridge the gap” between the unpopular House and Senate health care bills. The President stresses that his proposal “… adds new provisions to crack down on waste, fraud and abuse.” He also says that his proposal “puts American families and small business owners in control, of their own health care.” This latter claim is, in point of fact, disingenuous. Americans would have less control over health care decisions today, what kind of plans and benefits they get, and Washington would exercise even more control over health care financing and delivery than it does today.

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Tags: Cornhusker Kickback, employer mandate, new taxes, ObamaCare, President's proposal, public plan

The Obamacare Threat to Your Job

Heritage consultant Mark Wilson published a new study Friday, detailing how the “play-or-pay” employer mandates in H.R. 3200 will put 5.2 million low-wage workers at risk of unemployment or reduced working hours. Fox News covered the story:

Also from the report:

• The mandates will cost businesses at least $49 billion per year.
• Another 10.2 million workers would be at risk of slower wage growth and cuts in other benefits.
• The mandate will cause 9 million mostly low-wage and part-time workers to lose their employment-based health insurance.

Tags: employer mandate

Congress Raises Taxes on Poor to Pay for Health Care … Again

Throughout his campaign, President Barack Obama repeatedly promised the American people: “If you’re a family that’s making $250,000 a year or less you will see no increase in your taxes. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your personal gains tax, not any of your taxes.” Just 15 days into office, President Obama signed a bill expanding the children’s health insurance program that was paid for with a 156% tax hike on tobacco. Since slightly more than half of today’s smokers (53%) earn less than $36,000 per year, Obama’s first effort at expanding government’s role in health care also became his first broken promise.

But that first Medicaid expansion was minor league compared to the estimated $1.3 trillion health care plan Congress is considering now. And how is Obama planning to pay for his health care bill? Tax hikes. Including employer health care mandates, which as Heritage scholars James Sherk and Robert Book explain, are really just a tax on low-income workers: (more…)

Tags: employer mandate, pay or play, surtax