THE CASE AGAINST OBAMACARE: HEALTH CARE POLICY SERIES FOR THE 112TH CONGRESS
- Cites specific sections of the 2,700-page health care law
- Provides detailed analysis of specific Obamacare provisions
- Identifies key principles for a better way to reform health care
The unmistakable conclusion of this series is that Obamacare must be fully repealed. Congress cannot build sound market-based health care reform on the flawed foundation of this health care law. Until it can be repealed, Congress must employ its full powers authorized by the Constitution to:
- De-fund the new law’s critical aspects
- Block any further provisions from going into effect
- Engage in aggressive oversight of Obamacare – its regulations and implementation.
Upon repeal, Congress should pursue a careful and thoughtful process to develop targeted solutions that address practical problems in the health care system based on the principles of personal ownership, consumer choice, and free markets.
Introduction: Repealing Obamacare and Getting Health Care Right
1. Obamacare and the Individual Mandate
4. Obamacare and the Employer Mandate
5. Obamacare and Health Subsidies
6. Obamacare and Federal Health Exchanges
7. Obamacare and Insurance Benefit Mandates
8. Obamacare and Insurance Rating Rules
9. Obamacare and the Hidden Public Option
10. Obamacare and Medicare Advantage Cuts
11. Obamacare and Medicare Provider Cuts
12. Obamacare and the Independent Payment Advisory Board
14. Obamacare and the CLASS Act
15. Obamacare and the Ethics of Life
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Introduction: Repealing Obamacare and Getting Health Care Right
by Nina Owcharenko
The new law transfers vast powers to Washington bureaucrats who will control the dollars and decisions that should be in the hands of individual patients and their families.
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1. Obamacare and the Individual Mandate: Violating Personal Liberty and Federalism
by Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D.
The individual mandate is an intrusion into personal liberty.
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2. Obamacare and New Taxes: Destroying Jobs and the Economy
by Curtis Dubay
Tax increases in the new health care law will impede an already stagnant economic recovery.
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3. Obamacare and the Budget: Playing Games with Numbers
by James C. Capretta and Kathryn Nix
An honest accounting of the new health care law’s fiscal impact reveals Obamacare as a trillion-dollar budget buster.
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4. Obamacare and the Employer Mandate: Cutting Jobs and Wages
by Brian Blase
The employer mandate will raise the cost of doing business and discourage job growth.
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5. Obamacare and Health Subsidies: Expanding Perverse Incentives for Employers and Employees
by Edmund F. Haislmaier
Health care exchanges and subsidies in Obamacare further complicate the tax structure and discourage work.
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6. Obamacare and Federal Health Exchanges: Undermining State Flexibility
by Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D.
The new law’s concept of health insurance exchanges reduces states to mere agents of federal health policy.
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7. Obamacare and Insurance Benefit Mandates: Raising Premiums and Reducing Patient Choice
by Edmund F. Haislmaier
Benefit mandates prescribed by the new health care law will make all health benefits uniform, increase the cost of coverage, and stifle insurance innovation.
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8. Obamacare and Insurance Rating Rules: Increasing Costs and Destabilizing Markets
by Edmund F. Haislmaier
The age-rating rules of Obamacare and blanket prohibition on pre-existing condition exclusions will destabilize insurance markets.
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9. Obamacare and the Hidden Public Option: Crowding Out Private Coverage
by Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D.
Giving the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) power to sponsor national health insurance plans could crowd out private coverage in the health insurance exchanges.
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10. Obamacare and Medicare Advantage Cuts: Undermining Seniors’ Coverage Options
by James C. Capretta
The new health care law cuts deeply into Medicare Advantage plans, resulting in substantial reductions in the value of health care services for enrollees.
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11. Obamacare and Medicare Provider Cuts: Jeopardizing Seniors’ Access
by Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D.
Using projected Medicare savings to finance new entitlements expansion jeopardizes Medicare beneficiaries’ access to care.
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12. Obamacare and the Independent Payment Advisory Board: Falling Short of Real Medicare Reform
by Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D.
The new Medicare board is prohibited by law from making any meaningful reforms.
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13. Obamacare and Medicaid: Expanding a Broken Entitlement and Busting State Budgets
by Brian Blase
Instead of reforming Medicaid, the new health care law doubles down on the program’s existing flaws.
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14. Obamacare and the CLASS Act: Creating a Long-Term Care Entitlement Burden
by Brian Blase
A new entitlement created by Obamacare, the Community Living Assistance Services and Support (CLASS) program is actuarially unsound and fiscally irresponsible.
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15. Obamacare and the Ethics of Life: Weakening Medical Conscience and the Protection of Life
by Chuck Donovan
The new health care law fails to protect the conscience rights of physicians who refuse to provide or refer patients for abortions… or the conscience rights of taxpayers who refuse to pay for abortions.
http://www.heritage.org/research/projects/the-case-against-obamacare
May 10, 2011