Research Briefing

Obama Choosing To Ignore ObamaCare Won’t Make It Disappear

OBAMA BARELY MENTIONED HIS SIGNATURE ACHIEVEMENT DURING HIS STATE OF THE UNION SPEECH

“President Obama Made Only Glancing References To Health Care Reform During His State Of The Union Address Tuesday Night.” (Sam Baker, “Obama Largely Avoids Healthcare In State Of The Union,” The Hill’s “Healthwatch,” 1/24/12)

Politico’s Jennifer Haberkorn: “The Health Care Reform Law … Obama's Most Significant Domestic Policy Accomplishment … Only Got A Fleeting Mention Tuesday In His Third State Of The Union Speech.” “President Barack Obama used his State of the Union speech to remind voters that his administration killed Osama bin Laden and rescued General Motors. But that big health care law he spent a year pushing through Congress didn't get much play. The health care reform law, which has gotten support from about 42 percent of Americans in recent polls, is Obama's most significant domestic policy accomplishment. But it only got a fleeting mention Tuesday in his third State of the Union speech.” (Jennifer Haberkorn, “State Of The Union Address Barely Mentions Health Care Reform Law,” Politico, 1/24/12)

• Only 0.63 Percent Of Obama’s State Of The Union Addressed Health Care. (President Barack Obama, State Of The Union Address, 1/24/12)
• Dan Diamond Of The Advisory Board: “Obama only dedicated 44 words to health reform in his 2012 SOTU speech.” (Dan Diamond, Twitter Feed, 1/24/12)

And Obama’s HHS Secretary Is Left Scrambling For Words To Defend Obama’s Omission Of ObamaCare In His State Of The Union Speech.  ANCHOR: “Last night the President gave his State of the Union speech. We all watched it hear in Maine, very anxious to hear what he had to say. It was about 70 minutes, but a lot of people surprised  this morning surprised that we didn't hear much about health care reform. During the speech, the President really only mentioned health care or health care insurance three times. So Secretary, my question for you is do you and the President still believe in this ‘Affordable Care Act’ and why was it such a small part of the speech?” SECRETARY SEBELIUS: “Well I think, John that what the president did is focus on the urgent need to make sure that this opportunity for a make or break time for the American middle class is taken advantage of in this year by Congress.” (WPFO, 1/25/12)

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Silence About ObamaCare Is Obama’s Admission That Americans Disapprove Of The Law

CBS’s Bob Schieffer Noted The Small Time Spent On ObamaCare, Saying “There May Be A Reason For That, It's Not Very Popular.”  SCOTT PELLEY: “The President didn't say very much about criticism of health care reform. he saved it for the middle of the speech, he didn't dwell there. He said that he would not be reversed on health care but it wasn't something that he spent very much time on.” BOB SCHIEFFER: “No, he didn't. There may be a reason for that, it's not very popular.” (CBS, 1/24/12)

Columbus Dispatch Editorial: Obama’s Omission Of His “Massive Federal Intrusion Into Health Care” During The His SOTU Speech, Shows “Obama And His Advisers Can Read Polls…” “Finally, the president noticeably failed to boast about his biggest policy achievement, the enactment of a massive federal intrusion into health care. One might think that a president seeking re-election would trumpet such a triumph. But Obama and his advisers can read polls and know that in the nearly two years since it was passed, the vast majority of surveys consistently have shown that far more Americans oppose the law than support it.” (Editorial, “Unstated,” Columbus Dispatch, 1/26/12) 

ObamaCare Continues To Be Unpopular With America

ObamaCare Continues To Remain Unpopular With Nearly Half Of Those Surveyed Opposed To The Law With Support Dropping From 36% To 29%. “The poll found unpopularity for last year’s health care reform bill, one of Obama’s major accomplishments. About half of the respondents oppose the health care law and support for it dipped to 29 percent from 36 percent in June. Just 15 percent said the federal government should have the power to require all Americans to buy health insurance.” (Jennifer Agiesta & Ken Thomas, “AP-GfK Poll: Majority Says Obama Deserves To Be Voted Out Of Office,” The Associated Press, 12/16/11)

• Even Democrats Support Of ObamaCare Dropped By 9 Points Since An Earlier Poll Conducted Last June. “Even among Democrats, the health care law has tepid support. Fifty percent of Democrats supported the health care law, compared with 59 percent of Democrats last June. Only about a quarter of independents back the law.” (Jennifer Agiesta & Ken Thomas, “AP-GfK Poll: Majority Says Obama Deserves To Be Voted Out Of Office,” The Associated Press, 12/16/11)

49.7 Percent Of Americans Oppose ObamaCare While Only 37 Percent Favor The Law. (“Health Care Plan: Favor / Oppose,” Pollster.com, Accessed 1/26/12)

13 Percent Of Those Polled Answered That The Obama Administration’s Biggest Failure Was The Passage Of ObamaCare. (NBC News / Wall Street Journal, 1000 A, MoE 3.1%, 12/7-11/11)

36 Percent Of The People Surveyed “Strongly Favor Eliminating” ObamaCare. (NBC News / Wall Street Journal, 1000 A, MoE 3.1%, 12/7-11/11)

Only 11 Percent Find That ObamaCare Was Obama’s “Most Positive Achievement.” In a survey conducted by NBC News and the Wall Street Journal, only 11 percent of those polled answered that the passage of ObamaCare was the Obama’s “most positive accomplishment.” (NBC News / Wall Street Journal, 1000 A, MoE 3.1%, 12/7-11/11)

BUT AMERICANS DON’T NEED A LOW GRADE SPEECH WHEN THE WRITING IS ON THE WALL

Obama’s SOTU Speech “Rated An 8^th Grade Comprehension Level … The Third Lowest Score Of Any State Of The Union Address Since 1934.” “President Obama's 2012 State of the Union address again rated at an 8th grade comprehension level, on the Flesch-Kincaid readability test — the third lowest score of any State of the Union address since 1934.” (Byron Tau, “State Of The Union Registers At 8^th Grade Reading Level,” Politico, 1/25/12)

• “Lowest Grade Average Of Any Modern President.” “The University of Minnesota's Smart Politics conducted an analysis on the last 70 State of the Union addresses and found that President Obama's three addresses have the lowest grade average of any modern president. ‘Obama's average grade-level score of 8.4 is more than two grades lower than the 10.7 grade average for the other 67 addresses written by his 12 predecessors,’ they conclude.” (Byron Tau, “State Of The Union Registers At 8^th Grade Reading Level,” Politico, 1/25/12)

Obama Promised His Plan Would “Bring Down Premiums By $2,500 For The Typical Family.” (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks Of Senator Barack Obama At Campaign Event, Raleigh, NC, 6/9/08)

Factcheck.org: ObamaCare “Falls Short Of Making Health Care ‘Affordable And Available To Every Single American,’ As Promised.” “Furthermore, the law falls short of making health care ‘affordable and available to every single American,’ as promised. The law provides subsidies to help some Americans buy insurance, expands Medicaid and doesn’t allow insurance companies to exclude persons with preexisting conditions. But still, the director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projected 23 million persons will remain uninsured — some because they can’t afford coverage.” (D’Angelo Gore, “Promises, Promises,” Factcheck.org, 1/4/12)

• Factcheck.org: ObamaCare Is Actually Making Health Care “Less Affordable.” “At the moment, the new law is making health care slightly less affordable. Independent health care experts say the law has caused some insurance premiums to rise. As we wrote in October, the new law has caused about a 1 percent to 3 percent increase in health insurance premiums for employer-sponsored family plans because of requirements for increased benefits. Last year’s premium increases cast even more doubt on another promise the president has made — that the health care law would ‘lower premiums by up to $2,500 for a typical family per year.’” (D’Angelo Gore, “Promises, Promises,” Factcheck.org, 1/4/12)
  
• The Washington Post’s The Fact Checker: “Moreover, at this point it is debatable whether the law has made health care more affordable. Insurance premiums have gone up, in part because of new benefits mandated by the law.” (Glenn Kessler, “The Fine Print In Obama’s ‘Promises Kept’ Ad,” The Washington Post’s “The Fact Checker,” 1/6/12)

Kaiser Study Found That Costs Of Family Coverage “Climbed” 9 Percent In 2011. “The average cost of a family policy climbed 9 percent in 2011 to $15,073, according to a poll of 2,088 private companies and state and local government agencies by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation in Menlo Park, California, and the Chicago- based American Hospital Association’s Health Research and Educational Trust.” (Jeffrey Young, “Health-Benefit Costs Rise Most In Six Years,” Bloomberg, 9/27/11)

• Workers Paid An Average Of $132 More For Family Coverage In 2011 Than They Did In 2010. “Although premiums rose, employers kept the percentage of the premium workers pay about the same: An average of 18 percent for single coverage and 28 percent for family plans. Still, with rising costs, workers paid more, up an average of $132 a year for family coverage. Since 1999, the dollar amount workers contribute toward premiums nationally has grown 168 percent, while their wages have grown by 50 percent, according to the survey.” (Julie Appleby, “Cost Of Employer Insurance Plans Surge In 2011,” Kaiser Health News, 9/27/11)
• The Cost Of Single Employee Coverage Grew 8 Percent According To The Kaiser Survey. “Family plan premiums hit $15,073 on average, while coverage for single employees grew 8 percent to $5,429, according to a survey released Tuesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research & Educational Trust. (KHN is an editorially-independent program of the foundation.)” (Julie Appleby, “Cost Of Employer Insurance Plans Surge In 2011,” Kaiser Health News, 9/27/11)