ObamaCare: Built On Deception, Spin & Fantasy

If the new Democrat Representative from New York’s 23 district is honest, and keeps his campaign pledges, he will vote NO on ObamaCare

Nancy Pelosi brought incredulous laughter upon herself yesterday by boasting that Tuesday’s elections were a victory for the Democrats.  She based her claim on the outcome of the special election in the rural 23d Congressional District of New York where, as Ms. Pelosi blustered, a Democrat won for the first time since the Civil War.

ObamaCare

As we reported Tuesday, the circumstances of this election were most unusual and problematic for Republicans for several reasons completely unrelated to the relative popularity of Republicans and Democrats.  New York 23 was a unique, one-off event that will not happen again, not a model Democrats can follow to win elections anywhere else in the future.

Ms. Pelosi also claimed that Democrat Owens won the election by campaigning in favor of the Democrats’ version of health care – a massive restructuring forced by government, that will create 111 new federal bureaucracies and change the way every American accesses medical services.

But in truth, Mr. Owens did not campaign in favor of ObamaCare as currently written in the 1,500 page House bill or the 2,000 page Senate Bill. 

Here, directly from Mr. Owens’ campaign website are his health care bullet points:

“Supports: controlling hreath care costs for the middle class.”

Without any specifics, these are just meaningless, feel-good words.  Who doesn’t support controlling costs for the middle class?  In reality both the House and Senate versions of ObamaCare would increase insurance premiums for the younger half of the middle class.

“Supports: providing access to affordable health insurance for every American.”

More meaningless boilerplate. Who doesn’t?

“Supports: Preventing insurance companies from denying coverage to anybody based on previous existing conditions and bans caps on lifetime coverage.”

This is called guaranteed issue and almost every politician in both parties agrees. A 1996 federal law, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), already requires guaranteed issue for employee groups, and prohibits charging extra premiums for employees who have pre-existing conditions.  Several states also require insurance companies to comply with guaranteed issue for individual policies.

Guaranteed issue is one of the principle causes of the rapid rise in the cost of health insurance in the past ten years.

“Supports: Giving small business and individuals access to the lowest rates available to federal employees and large corporations.”

Insurance companies offer lower rates to government and large corporations because they have enormous employee groups.  The only way insurance companies can lower rates for small employee groups is by increasing the rates for large groups.  In reality the House and Senate health care bills are likely to increase premiums for everyone because they will mandate lower co-pays and new coverages not included in existing health plans.  Will Representative Owens vote against ObamaCare, or violate his campaign pledge?

“Supports: Allowing anybody to keep their existing coverage.”

Democrats’ legislation does not allow anyone to keep their coverage.  Everyone is gradually forced into different coverage plans sanctioned by government.  See the details here and here.  Will Representative Owens vote against ObamaCare, or violate his campaign pledge?

“Supports: Using profits from repayment of TARP funds, allowing the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy to expire, increased efficiency in our health care system (like putting all health care records on-line and requiring insurance companies to accept payment on-line), and cutting special interest tax loopholes (like tax benefits for companies that offshore jobs) to help pay for health care reform.”

This is all fantasy:

• There will be no “profit” from TARP, especially after paying the interest costs on the money government borrowed to bail out insolvent banks and companies.
• The Obama budget’s future deficit projections already assume the Bush tax rates will expire after next year, and that tax revenue from the rich will increase, lowering future deficits.
• Putting all health care records on line is much more problematic than Democrats admit.  The cost will be staggering.
• If there were any genuine “loopholes” the Democrats would have included them in the House and Senate bills.  But there aren’t.

None of these sources of funds are included in either the House or Senate versions of ObamaCare.  Will Representative Owens vote against ObamaCare, or violate his campaign pledge?

“Opposes: Medicare benefit cuts.”

But both versions of ObamaCare pending in Congress include cuts to Medicare.  Will Representative Owens vote against ObamaCare, or violate his campaign pledge?

“Opposes: Taxing health care benefits.”

But the versions of ObamaCare now pending in Congress DO tax at least some health care benefits.  Will Representative Owens vote against ObamaCare, or violate his campaign pledge?

“Opposes: Increasing taxes on the middle class in any way.”

But both pending versions of ObamaCare do include new taxes that would hit the middle class.  Will Representative Owens vote against ObamaCare, or violate his campaign pledge?

The voters of New York 23 did not elect a Representative who campaigned in favor of ObamaCare as now written in the bills pending in Congress.  The candidate’s pledges cannot be kept.

If Mr. Owens is honest, he will vote no on ObamaCare because it violates the principles he advocated in his campaign.

It seems there is just no limit to the deceptions the Democrats are willing to spin out, in their desperate attempt to pass ObamaCare.

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