Research Briefing

Despite Clear Public Opposition To The Law, Senate Democrats Continue To Block ObamaCare Repeal

Tonight, Senate Democrats Blocked The Repeal Of The Unpopular, Unconstitutional, Job-Destroying Health Care Bill.  (S. 223, Vote #9, Not Agreed To  47-51, 2/2/11)

THE AMERICAN PEOPLE CONTINUE TO OPPOSE OBAMACARE AND WANT ITS REPEAL

According To A CNN Poll, 50 Percent Of Americans Favor Repeal Of ObamaCare.  (CNN Opinion Research Poll, 1,014 Adults, MoE +/- 3%, 1/14-16/11)

According To The Same CNN Poll, Only 42 Percent Of Americans Want To Keep All Of ObamaCare’s Provisions In Place.  (CNN Opinion Research Poll, 1,014 Adults, MoE +/- 3%, 1/14-16/11)

A Kaiser Family Foundation And the Harvard School Of Public Health Find That Public Opposition To ObamaCare Is At The Highest Level Since April. “Public opposition to the health care reform law spiked to a record high in a new poll out today … Fifty percent of Americans have unfavorable views of the law, according to a joint survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health. Opposition to the law jumped 9 percentage points from last month and is the highest since April, when Kaiser began asking the question every month.”  (Jennifer Haberkorn, “Poll: Unpopularity Of Reform Spikes,” Politico, 1/25/11)

• Opposition To ObamaCare “Has Been Driven Largely By Independents.” “The new opposition to President Obama’s biggest domestic policy initiative has been driven largely by independents. Fifty-seven percent of independents had an unfavorable view of the law this month, up sharply from 41 percent in December.”  (Jennifer Haberkorn, “Poll: Unpopularity Of Reform Spikes,” Politico, 1/25/11)

WHICH IS NO SURPRISE, CONSIDERING OBAMACARE HAS TWICE

BEEN DECLARED UNCONSTITUTIONAL

On Monday, A Second Federal Judge Ruled The Individual Mandate Is Unconstitutional, Invalidating All Of ObamaCare. “A second federal judge ruled on Monday that it was unconstitutional for Congress to enact a health care law that required Americans to obtain commercial insurance … But unlike a Virginia judge in December, Judge Roger Vinson of Federal District Court in Pensacola, Fla., concluded that the insurance requirement was so ‘inextricably bound’ to other provisions of the Affordable Care Act that its unconstitutionality required the invalidation of the entire law.”  (Kevin Sack, “Federal Judge Rules That Health Law Violates Constitution,” The New York Times, 1/31/11)

• U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson: “It Would Be A Radical Departure From Existing Case Law To Hold That Congress Can Regulate Inactivity Under The Commerce Clause.” “In his decision, Judge Vinson wrote, ‘It would be a radical departure from existing case law to hold that Congress can regulate inactivity under the Commerce Clause.’ If Congress has such power, he continued, ‘it is not hyperbolizing to suggest that Congress could do almost anything it wanted.’”  (Kevin Sack, “Federal Judge Rules That Health Law Violates Constitution,” The New York Times, 1/31/11)
• U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson Wrote That The Individual Mandate “Would Invite Unbridled Exercise Of Federal Police Powers.”  “The individual mandate ‘would invite unbridled exercise of federal police powers,’ wrote Judge Hudson, of the Eastern District of Virginia. ‘At its core, this dispute is not simply about regulating the business of insurance—or crafting a scheme of universal health insurance coverage—it's about an individual's right to choose to participate." (Janet Adamy, “Judge Cans Health Law Unconstitutional,” The Wall Street Journal, 12/13/10)

OBAMACARE DESTROYS JOBS

Pharmaceutical Manufacturer Abbott Laboratories Will Cut Nearly 2,000 Jobs As A Result Of ObamaCare.  “Abbott Laboratories, maker of the rheumatoid arthritis drug Humira, said it will cut about 1,900 jobs as part of a restructuring of its pharmaceutical business. … The job cuts come “in response to changes in the health- care industry, including U.S. health-care reform and the challenging regulatory environment,” Abbott said in the statement.” (Alex Nussbaum, “Abbott Labs Cuts 1,900 Jobs After Health Overhaul Prompts Restructuring,” Bloomberg, 1/26/11)

• Abbott Will Pay An Additional $200 Million In Taxes As A Result Of ObamaCare.  “The health law cost Abbott $200 million last year in increased rebates to Medicaid, the U.S.-backed health plan for the poor, said Adelle Infante, an Abbott spokeswoman, in an e- mail. That will continue in 2011 and the company expects to pay an additional $200 million for the drugmaker-tax and discounts the law requires for patients on Medicare, the government plan for the elderly, Chief Financial Officer Thomas Freyman said during the conference call.”  (Alex Nussbaum, “Abbott Labs Cuts 1,900 Jobs After Health Overhaul Prompts Restructuring,” Bloomberg, 1/26/11)

Restaurant Owner Scott Womack Testified In A Congressional Hearing That ObamaCare's Mandates Will Cost Him "More Than We Make" Halting Expansion Of His Business. "Scott Womack, owner of 12 IHOP restaurants in Indiana and Ohio, told the committee that the law's mandate that he begin purchasing health insurance for his workers in 2014 is simply unsustainable. It will cost him $7,000 per worker to comply, he said, 'more money than we make.' The alternative, to pay a $2,000 penalty per worker, would still eat up 60 percent of his company's earnings, Womack added. As a result, he may be forced to forfeit an agreement to develop additional restaurants, for which he has already invested $360,000." (N.C. Aizenman, "House Republicans Sharpen Attack On Health-Care Reform In Two Hill Hearings," The Washington Post, 1/26/11)

• New Jersey Business Owner Joe Olivo Testified That The Insurance He Currently Provides To His 45 Employees Will Need To Be Changed Because Of ObamaCare's Mandates. " "Olivo, who currently offers health insurance to his 45 employees, also testified that - in contravention of the president's promise that people who liked their health plans would be able to keep them - his insurer has informed him that his plan will be discontinued. The reason, said Olivo, is that the plan does not offer the level of preventative care coverage required by the new law. 'After 20-plus years of voluntarily providing coverage for my employees, much of it at my own cost, I am now finding out this coverage is no longer acceptable according to the government,' he said." (N.C. Aizenman, "House Republicans Sharpen Attack On Health-Care Reform In Two Hill Hearings," The Washington Post, 1/26/11)

Massachusetts Medical Device Companies Said Medical Device Tax "Could Stifle Innovation, Drive Jobs Overseas, And Force Them To Raise Prices." "On the same day, Patrick hosted more than a dozen representatives from the Massachusetts medical device industry at the State House. They told him the tax could stifle innovation, drive jobs overseas, and force them to raise prices. Richard A. Packer, chief executive of defibrillator maker Zoll Medical Corp., based in Chelmsford, has met with Brown and Patrick to discuss the issue. 'I think the medical device bill is ill-conceived, and is not a good part of the legislation,' he said. 'I'm in favor of repealing it in total, or going in and seeing how it can be adjusted.'" (D.C. Denison, "Repeal Of Medical Devices Tax Unlikely," The Boston Globe, 4/3/10)