2011 Was The Year That Obama’s Signature Issue Unraveled

ON CBS’ “60 MINUTES”, OBAMA CALLED HIS HEALTH CARE PACKAGE ONE OF HIS MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS

CBS’ STEVE KROFT: “Why do you think you deserve to be reelected? What have you accomplished?”

PRESIDENT OBAMA: “Not only saving this country from a great depression, not only saving the auto industry, but putting in place a system in which we’re going to start lowering health care costs and you’re never going to go bankrupt because you get sick or somebody in your family gets sick.” (CBS’ “60 Minutes,” 12/11/11)

YET AMERICANS SAW THEIR HEALTH CARE PREMIUMS INCREASE

PROMISE: Obama Promised His Plan “Would Save The Average Family $2,500 On Their Premiums.” (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks Of Senator Barack Obama’s Plan To Fight For Working Families And Take On Special Interests In Washington, Indianapolis, IN, 6/20/08)

FAIL: “The Cost Of Health Insurance Skyrocketed In 2011 After Several Years Of Relatively Small Increases.” (Jane M. Von Bergen, “Health Insurance Costs Skyrocketing,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, 9/27/11)

Workers Paid An Average Of $132 More For Family Coverage This Year. “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)

• Cost Of Single Employee Coverage Grew 8 Percent According To The 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)

MORE PEOPLE LOSING THEIR COVERAGE

PROMISE: President Obama Promised That “If You Like Your Health Care Plan, You Will Be Able To Keep Your Health Care Plan. Period.” OBAMA: “So let me begin by saying this: I know that there are millions of Americans who are content with their health care coverage – they like their plan and they value their relationship with their doctor. And that means that no matter how we reform health care, we will keep this promise: If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor. Period. If you like your health care plan, you will be able to keep your health care plan. Period. No one will take it away. No matter what. My view is that health care reform should be guided by a simple principle: fix what’s broken and build on what works.” (President Barack Obama, Address To The American Medical Association, Chicago, IL, 6/15/09)

FAIL: Survey Found That Only 60 Percent Of Employers Offered Medical Coverage This Year, A 9 Percent Decrease From 2010. “Sixty percent of employers said they offered medical benefits this year, a decrease from 69 percent in 2010.” (Jeffrey Young, “Health-Benefit Costs Rise Most In Six Years,” Bloomberg, 9/27/11)

GALLUP: “The Percentage Of American Adults Who Get Their Health Insurance From An Employer Continues To Decline, Falling To 44.5% In The Third Quarter Of This Year.” (Elizabeth Mendes, “Employer-Based Health Insurance Continues To Trend Down,” Gallup, 11/11/11)

Businesses Will Continue To Scale Back Health Care Benefits For Employees To Handle Increasing Health Care Costs And Mandates From ObamaCare. “Governments and businesses have and will continue to cut back and/or reform their health coverage offerings to handle tough economic circumstances, rising health care costs, and requirements of the Affordable Care Act.” (Elizabeth Mendes, “Employer-Based Health Insurance Continues To Trend Down,” Gallup, 11/11/11)

• The Wall Street Journal: “The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, in a March 2010 report, found that by 2019, about six million to seven million people who otherwise would have had access to coverage through their job won’t have it owing to the new law.” (Janet Adamy, “Study Sees Cuts to Health Plans,” The Wall Street Journal,  6/8/11)

30 Percent Of Employers “Definitely Or Probably” Plan To Drop Coverage According To A McKinsey Study. “While only 7% of employees will be forced to switch to subsidized-exchange programs, at least 30% of companies say they will ‘definitely or probably’ stop offering employer-sponsored coverage, according to the study published in McKinsey Quarterly.” (Russ Britt, “Firms Halting Coverage as Reform Starts: Survey 30% of Companies Say They’ll Stop Offering Health Plans,” Market Watch, 6/6/2011)

• Companies That Plan To Drop Health Care Coverage Of Retirees Is More Than 25 Percent. “More than one-quarter of companies plan to discontinue retiree medical sponsorship in 2012 for at least one segment of current and/or future retirees.” (“16^th Annual Towers Watson/National Business Group on Health Employer Survey on Purchasing Value in Health Care,” Towers Watson, March 2011)

SPENDING THAT CONTINUES TO GO THROUGH THE ROOF

PROMISE: Obama: “This Legislation Will Also Lower Costs For Families And For Businesses And For The Federal Government, Reducing Our Deficit By Over $1 Trillion In The Next Two Decades. It Is Paid For, It Is Fiscally Responsible, And It Will Help Lift A Decades-Long Drag On Our Economy.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks On Signing The Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act, Washington, D.C., 3/23/10)

FAIL: Health Care Spending To Hit $4.6 Trillion In 2020.  “The nation’s health care tab is on track to hit $4.6 trillion in 2020, accounting for about $1 of every $5 in the economy, government number crunchers estimate in a report on Thursday …  Including government and private money, health care spending in 2020 will average $13,710 for every man, woman and child, says Medicare’s Office of the Actuary.” (Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, “Health Tab To Hit $4.6 Trillion In 2020,” The Associated Press, 7/28/11)

• ObamaCare To Increase Costs More Than Had It Never Been Enacted.  “Despite President Obama’s promises to rein in health care costs as part of his reform bill, health spending nationwide is expected to rise more than if the sweeping legislation had never become law.  Total spending is projected to grow annually by 5.8 percent under Mr. Obama’s Affordable Care Act, according to a 10-year forecast by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released Thursday.  Without the ACA, spending would grow at a slightly slower rate of 5.7 percent annually.” (Paige Winfield Cunningham, “Health Care Law Won’t Rein In Costs, Study Says,” The Washington Times, 7/28/11)

Health Care Spending “Doesn’t Seem To Be Slowing Down.”  “The report from Medicare economists and statisticians is an annual barometer of a trend that many experts say is unsustainable but doesn’t seem to be slowing down.” (Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, “Health Tab To Hit $4.6 Trillion In 2020,” The Associated Press, 7/28/11)

• CMS Chief Actuary Rick Foster: “If implemented as written, the health care law will ‘create a whole new world of health care spending,’” (Brett Norman, “CMS: Health Law Will Lead To Rise In Spending,” Politico, 7/28/11)

Health Care Spending Will Continue “Gobble Up” U.S. Resources. “The United States will find little relief from its bleak long-term fiscal outlook so long as growing federal health care and retirement programs gobble up more and more of the country’s resources, said a new economic report issued on Wednesday.” (Donna Smith & Richard Cowan, “CBO Sees Government Benefits Swamping Economy,” Reuters, 6/22/11)

MAJOR PORTIONS OF OBAMACARE ALREADY FAILING

Obama Abandoned ObamaCare’s CLASS “Gimmick”

The Obama Administration Pulled The Plug On The Community Living Assistance Services And Supports (CLASS) Program.  “The Obama administration says it is unable to go forward with a major program in the president’s signature health care overhaul law — a new long-term care insurance plan. Officials said Friday the long-term care program has critical design flaws that can’t be fixed to make it financially self-sustaining.” (Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, “Obama Pulls Plug On Part Of Health Overhaul Law,” The Associated Press, 10/14/11)

CLASS Was To Account For 40 Percent Of The Savings In ObamaCare. “By scrapping the CLASS Act, HHS is losing about 40 percent of the savings healthcare reform was supposed to generate. The Congressional Budget Office’s most recent estimates projected $210 billion in total deficit reduction from the healthcare law, $86 billion of which would have come from CLASS.” (Sam Baker, “Obama’s HHS Ends Controversial Program In Health Reform Law,” The Hill’s “Health Watch,” 10/14/11)

Despite Knowledge That CLASS Was “Designed To Fail,” Democrats “Went Ahead Anyway.” “The emails, obtained by a joint Republican panel led by Sen. John Thune and House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton, reveal that the administration knew the program was designed to fail and went ahead anyway.” (Joseph Rago, “GOP Vets an ObamaCare Program,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/19/11)

Medicare Scorekeeper Rick Foster Predicted The “Program Would Collapse In Short Order And Require Significant Federal Subsidies To Continue.” “‘Thirty-six years of actuarial experience,’ Mr. Foster wrote to the Medicare legislative affairs office, ‘lead me to believe that this program would collapse in short order and require significant federal subsidies to continue.’ He later wrote that ‘I assume you’ve conveyed these concerns to the staff but, if not, let me know and we can express these concerns in a memo.’” (Joseph Rago, “GOP Vets an ObamaCare Program,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/19/11)

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius: “I Do Not See A Viable Path Forward For CLASS Implementation At This Time.” (Alex Wayne & Drew Armstrong, “Obama Ends Kennedy-Backed Long-Term Care Program As Too Costly To Sustain,” Bloomberg, 10/15/11)

CLASS “Was Amongst The Worst Accounting Gimmicks Used To Make It Seem As If National Health Care Would Reduce The Deficit.” “Known by the acronym CLASS, the government-backstopped insurance for nursing homes, home health aides and the like was among the worst accounting gimmicks used to make it seem as if national health care would reduce the deficit.” (Joseph Rago, “GOP Vets an ObamaCare Program,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/19/2011)

And ObamaCare’s High-Risk Pools Failed To “Meet Expectations”

ObamaCare’s High-Risk Pools Are “Failing To Meet Expectations.”  “Democrats’ healthcare reform law set aside $5 billion to help people with pre-existing conditions obtain affordable coverage before insurance exchanges go online in 2014. The program has come under criticism for failing to meet expectations, with fewer than 22,000 people enrolled as of April 30, far short of the 200,000 to 350,000 that had been predicted.” (Julian Pecquet, “Report:  States Better Than Feds In Getting Sick People Enrolled In High-Risk Pools,” The Hill’s “Health Watch,” 8/26/11)

The PCIP Plan Was Estimated To Insure 375,000 But Only 30,395 People Have Signed Up. “Since its creation in July 2010, the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan has insured 30,395 people, according to the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the program. Officials initially estimated the initiative could reach as many as 375,000 by the end of 2010. There are up to 25 million uninsured Americans who have pre-existing conditions like heart disease or diabetes.” (Arthur Delaney, “PCIP Enrollment Far, Far Below Expectations In First Year,” The Huffington Post, 10/5/11)

The Program Has Proven Much Costlier Than Originally Estimated. “A temporary program created by the 2010 health care reform law has provided health insurance to fewer people than expected. Yet at the same time, in one big state, the program has turned out to be much costlier than expected.” (Arthur Delaney, “Health Care Reform Program Much Costlier Than Expected In California,” Huffington Post, 11/29/11)

• For California, The Program Has Cost “Three Times As Much Per Enrollee Than Previously Estimated.” “But California’s PCIP has turned out to cost three times as much per enrollee than previously estimated. The state’s Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board, which administers the plan, initially figured it would have to pay $1,000 a month in claims per enrollee. New data show claims cost $3,100 per member each month, meaning that the government will have to cap California’s enrollment at 6,800 unless more funds are made available. As of October, 5,290 people are signed up in the state.” (Arthur Delaney, “Health Care Reform Program Much Costlier Than Expected In California,” Huffington Post, 11/29/11)

AND HEALTH CARE BEING TURNED OVER TO UNELECTED BUREAUCRATS

ObamaCare Created The Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) “To Come Up With Ways To Cut Medicare Spending If It Grows Too Fast.” “That’s the job description for the 15 members of the Independent Payment Advisory Board — the new panel created by President Barack Obama’s health care law to come up with ways to cut Medicare spending if it grows too fast.” (David Nather, “Medicare Cost-Cutting Job Could Be Worst in D.C.,” Politico, 5/14/11)

With IPAB, Obama Is Not Reducing Costs But “Limiting Or Denying Care.” “His plan: Use the Independent Payment Advisory Board to limit care and squeeze doctors and hospitals. In other words, he’s not reducing costs; he is limiting or denying care.” (Jennifer Rubin, “Obama’s Reverse Course On The Debt,” The Washington Post’s “Right Turn Blog,” 9/19/11)

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius Admits That IPAB Threatens Seniors’ Access To Certain Procedures. “‘If Congress accepted the recommendations and made the decision that cuts in dialysis were appropriate,’ Sebelius replied, ‘I assume there could be some providers who would decide that would not be a service they would any longer deliver…’” (Kathleen Sebelius, House Energy And Commerce Committee’s Health Subcommittee, Testimony, 7/13/11, 0:57:23/4:54:54)

EVEN DEMOCRATS ARE CALLING FOR REPEAL OF IPAB

Twelve Democrats Have Signed On To Repeal IPAB. (H.R. 452, Introduced 1/26/11)

The Tampa Tribune: “Bipartisan Consensus … That IPAB Is A Mistake.” “There is bipartisan consensus on Capitol Hill that IPAB is a mistake. Physicians groups don’t like it, hospital lobbies don’t like it, and even the American Medical Association, whose support helped pass ObamaCare into law, has called for its repeal. Some Democrats, including U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor of Tampa, have signed on to Tennessee Republican U.S. Rep. Phil Roe’s repeal bill.” (Editorial, “Return Control To The Patient,” The Tampa  Tribune, 10/15/11)

SO IT’S NO SURPRISE THAT AMERICANS DON’T WANT OBAMACARE

Polls Show That Voters Don’t Support ObamaCare, One Of Obama’s “Signature Accomplishments.” “Heading into his re-election campaign, the president faces a conflicted public that does not support his steering of the economy, the most dominant issue for Americans, or his reforms to health care, one of his signature accomplishments.” (Ken Thomas and Jennifer Agiesta, “AP-GfK Poll: More Than Half Say Obama Should Lose,” The Associated Press, 12/16/11)

Half Of Americans Oppose ObamaCare While Only 29 Percent Support It. “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.” (Ken Thomas and Jennifer Agiesta, “AP-GfK Poll: More Than Half Say Obama Should Lose,” The Associated Press, 12/16/11)

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 About A Quarter Of Independents Back The Law.” (Ken Thomas and Jennifer Agiesta, “AP-Gfk Poll: More Than Half Say Obama Should Lose,” The Associated Press, 12/16/11)

Even Among Democrats, The Health Care Law Has “Tepid Support” With Just 50 Percent Expressing Support. “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.” (Ken Thomas and Jennifer Agiesta, “AP-Gfk Poll: More Than Half Say Obama Should Lose,” The Associated Press, 12/16/11)

And Doctors  Are Calling Obamacare A “Step In The Wrong Direction”

Deloitte Poll Finds That Doctors Are Mixed On Their Views Of ObamaCare With 44% Surveyed Agreed That ObamaCare Is “A Step In The Wrong Direction.” “Doctors’ feelings about the health-care overhaul law passed last year are about as mixed as their patients’, research released today shows. Some 44% of doctors said the law was ‘a good start,’ according to a survey carried out by the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions consulting group. Another 44% agreed that the law was ‘a step in the wrong direction.’” (Louise Radnofsky, “Survey: Doctors Have Mixed Feelings About Health Law,” The Wall Street Journal’s “Health Blog,” 12/13/11)

• Even Surgical Specialists, Along With Other Doctors Strongly Oppose ObamaCare. “Surgical specialists were angriest about the law — 60% of those participating in the survey said they opposed it, compared with 39% of primary-care providers and 36% of other specialists.” (Louise Radnofsky, “Survey: Doctors Have Mixed Feelings About Health Law,” The Wall Street Journal’s “Health Blog,” 12/13/11)