Obamacare’s Second Anniversary and its Negative Effects

Obama did not throw one of his lavish parties to celebrate today’s two year anniversary of his beloved health care reform. Americans did not celebrate either. Obamacare’s far-reaching negative effects are coming into focus and the worst is yet to come. Many provisions of Obamacare will conveniently become effective after the 2012 election. Here are some examples of Obamacare’s negative impact:

Obamacare adds to premium increases: “Americans are paying more for health insurance every year, a concerning trend that is already getting worse under Obamacare—even though the most costly provisions don’t kick in until 2014.”

See entire slideshow here.

The Impact of Obamacare: It grows dependence on government. Obamacare expands government control over health care by expanding Medicaid and creating new government exchanges. By the year 2020, more than 50 percent of Americans will be enrolled in a government-run health care program. It hurts jobs and the economy. Obamacare may be the cause of a slowed private-sector recovery. After it was signed into law, job growth in the private sector stalled. Also, Obamacare contains 17 new taxes on Americans that will total $502 billion between 2010 and 2019. Several of these will hit the middle class. It threatens Americans’ existing coverage. Despite President Obama’s promise, “if you like your health care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health care plan,” there are many provisions in Obamacare that will cause Americans to lose existing coverage. Some estimates show the loss of employer coverage will be as high as 35 million people. It undermines state authority. Obamacare pushes approximately 20 million additional people onto state Medicaid rolls…26 states have filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Obamacare’s individual mandate and forced Medicaid expansion. Obamacare Kills Jobs: Employer mandate. Obamacare requires all businesses with 50 or more full-time employees to provide health coverage for their workers or pay a $2,000 penalty for each employee after the first 30 workers. The employer mandate creates incentives for businesses to avoid higher costs by, for example, hiring part-time employees instead of full-time employees, since businesses will not be penalized for failing to provide health insurance to part-time employees…Businesses can also avoid penalties by keeping the number of employees under the mandate threshold of 50, which further discourages creating new jobs. New taxes and regulations. Obamacare adds tons of taxes on employers. These additional costs reduce the ability to hire workers and could even prompt layoffs. One particularly damaging tax will be the 2.3 percent excise tax on medical devices…[which] could result in job losses in excess of 43,000 and employment compensation losses in excess of $3.5 billion…Taxing capital reduces economic growth and investment. Future costs and regulations are unpredictable. A recent study found that 33 percent of business owners cited new requirements in Obamacare as either the biggest or second-biggest obstacle to hiring… Obamacare Inflicts Harm on all that it Touches: – Obamacare rips vast powers from the hands of individual patients and their families, and it vests control in Washington bureaucrats. – The costs are far greater than the Administration claim — heading as high as $2.134 trillion with millions Americans dependent on government for their health care. – 20 million Americans could lose their employer-sponsored health benefits [CBO] – Individual and employer penalties related to the mandates could hit $221 billion [CBO] – Seniors will suffer as Obamacare robs savings from Medicare in order to fund new government spending while threatening seniors’ access to care and ending Medicare as we know it. – Obamacare makes extreme cuts to Medicare Advantage, which allows seniors to receive their Medicare benefits through a private health care plan of their choice. And it puts a group of 15 unelected officials in charge of finding cuts in Medicare to meet new spending limits. – Young Americans will suffer as well…they ultimately will face higher premiums, perverse incentives to stay uninsured, and the burden of paying the extraordinary costs that the law brings with it. – Families will pay higher taxes. – Businesses will face new mandates and costs. – Investment income will get hit with new taxes, discouraging investment and harming economic growth. – Americans who purchase medicine with Health Savings Account or Flexible Savings Accounts will face new limitations. – Those who purchase medical devices will face higher taxes. – Marriage is penalized as a result of the new subsidy scheme. MORE – Obamacare’s Top 5 Broken Promises

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