The healthcare law at year one

 

The new health care law has created uncertainty for our small businesses through burdensome regulations. For example, included in its 2,000-plus pages is a law that will require every business that conducts more than $600 worth of activity with another business to file a 1099 form with the IRS.  Not only would this new tax regulation create mounds of needless paperwork, but it is  nonsensical. Congress is considering legislation to remove this provision, but it is a testament to the major defects included in the new health care law.  

Furthermore, Obamacare has accelerated rising premiums many were already struggling to pay. An analysis by President Obama’s own Administration finds that seniors will pay more because of the health care legislation. In an interview by Medicare actuary Richard Foster, he “concedes that seniors may have to dig deeper into their wallets next year thanks to the health care law.” He also admits that the analysis “finds the health care overhaul will result in increased out-of-pocket costs for seniors on Medicare Advantage plans.”  Many of our seniors are on fixed incomes and cannot afford higher costs, but that’s exactly what is going to happen with the implementation of Obamacare. Ultimately, it will reduce access to care and reduce the quality of care because rationing is inevitable. This is not what I want, nor is it what Tennesseans want – but emerging details indicate that it is what we’re going to get unless we act soon to change it.

Remember President Obama’s promise when talking about health care reform: “If you like the health coverage you have today, you can keep it”? Well, new rules released from the Obama Administration contradict that statement. The health care law allows Americans to keep their health care coverage – so long as their health care plan doesn’t make any significant changes. The reality is, health care plans constantly change out of necessity, and now when they change, Americans will be at risk of losing their existing health care plan – like it or not.  The promise that Americans could keep their existing insurance is temporary.

As we learn more about this legislation, we see bad elements tucked away like theIndependent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) – a board that has a mandate to meet a budget. This will harm patient care because the only way to meet a budget is by delaying access to care or denying care altogether. That is why I introduced legislation to strip the IPAB provision from the health care law. The IPAB will lack full Congressional Oversight, compromising its accountability to the American people. This simply cannot be allowed to happen. We have bipartisan agreement around the idea that unelected bureaucrats shouldn’t be able to make unaccountable decisions.

This anniversary is a reminder that Congress must repeal Obamacare at the request of the American people, and pass meaningful health care legislation that will reform the system by controlling costs and getting rid of waste, without costing jobs and compromising care.