Alexander: O-Care adds $131 billion to deficit

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said President Obama’s healthcare law would increase the federal debt by $131 billion.

“Instead of insulting the intelligence of Tennesseans by saying this law is working, this administration should admit ObamaCare is a failure and start working with Republicans to repair the damage it has done — putting in place policies that move us step by step toward more freedom, more choices, and lower costs,” Alexander said Tuesday.

{mosads}Alexander cited a new report from Senate Budget Committee ranking member Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) that stated the Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare, would increase the federal deficit by approximately $131 billion by 2024.

“Democrats in Congress and President Obama have made a lot of promises about what ObamaCare would do to lower patients’ costs and to lower the cost of health care to taxpayers, but the reality is nothing like Tennesseans were promised,” Alexander said. “Today’s Budget committee report says that ObamaCare is driving up the debt our children and grandchildren will owe by $131 billion.”

His comments came as the Treasury Department announced the federal deficit, which stands around $17 trillion, actually fell $483 billion this year, and the Department of Health and Human Services spent $16.5 billion less than expected. 

Alexander has been an ardent critic of the healthcare law, which Democrats argue has helped insure people under age 26, those with pre-existing conditions and women seeking preventive care.