Wednesday, October 31, 2012

The REAL Fright Night: Obamacare’s Scary Impact on Americans

In an interview with the Des Moines Register last week, the President claimed that “Obamacare turns out not to be the scary monster that the other side has painted.”  Many may disagree, because on this Halloween day, it’s clear that the legislation includes several “monstrous” provisions likely to wreak havoc on the American people, their jobs, and their health care:

“Count Tax-YOU-lots:”  This creature will suck the life out of the American economy, by imposing $1 trillion in job-killing tax increases on all Americans—taxing people who can’t afford to purchase government-forced insurance, taxing businesses who want to hire new workers, taxing small businesses, even taxing health benefits.

Weird Scientists:  Bureaucrats working for a new comparative effectiveness institute, funded by a tax on health benefits, could publish the protocols needed to deny patients access to life-saving treatments on cost grounds.  In addition, the law’s Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) will make binding rulings on how to reduce Medicare spending below an arbitrary cap.

Frankenstein:  Refers to the dozens of bureaucracies created by the legislation—to say nothing of the difficulties for patients to receive actual treatment—all in the name of health care “reform.”

A Ghoulish Czar:  By one count, Obamacare includes nearly 2,000 commands using the words “The Secretary shall”—allowing the federal government, in the form of the HHS Secretary, to intervene in all manner of personal health care choices taken by millions of Americans.

However, while creating new and frightful government bureaucracies for the American people, Democrats have managed to include sweet treats for themselves and their liberal allies:

  • Senate Democrats received goodies for parochial interests, including a mine in Libby, Montana;
  • ACORN and Planned Parenthood could be eligible for enrollment and outreach grants as “navigators;” and
  • AARP’s popular Medigap policies are not subject to the same pre-existing condition restrictions or price controls placed on all other private insurance plans—thus allowing the organization to continue to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in “kickbacks” by overcharging seniors for coverage.

While Halloween may come and go, many may be concerned that the monsters created in Obamacare will stay—causing permanent fright for all Americans forced to live under Democrats’ government takeover of health care.