Research

Obama has consistently argued that the Democrats’ health care legislation would lower premiums for families. These claims have been consistently disproven. In his new reconciliation proposal, Obama is recommending the creation of a new agency to give the federal government sweeping new powers to implement price controls on health insurance:

[I]f a rate increase is unreasonable and unjustified, health insurers must lower premiums, provide rebates, or take other actions to make premiums affordable.  A new Health Insurance Rate Authority will be created to provide needed oversight at the Federal level and help States determine how rate review will be enforced and monitor insurance market behavior.

But if the plans really did what they’re advertised to do, Obama wouldn’t need to create this new agency. Let’s not forget that he also wouldn’t have to create this new agency if he adopted the GOP plan, which was judged by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office to lower premiums. Competition and choice will lower costs, not top-down bureaucracy in Washington.