ObamaCare Finally Unveiled

President Obama finally unveiled ObamaCare. It’s being billed as centrist, but it’s really only a compromise between the Senate and House bills. The fact that it includes a provision to crack down on Medicare and Medicaid fraud and abuse is hardly bipartisan. And why do we need a bill to do that, shouldn’t they be doing that anyway?

The headlines at Drudge sum it up pretty well.

PROPOSAL SUMMARY USES WORD 'TAX' 35 TIMES...
'Increase in Fees on Brand Name Pharmaceuticals'...
Broaden 'Tax Base for High-Income Taxpayers'...
Orders 'Comprehensive Database' On Health Claims...
FORCED: 'Raises percent of income assessment that individuals pay if they choose not to become insured'...
BACKDOOR FIX: Healthcare 'Funds will be transferred to the Social Security Trust' if necessary...
White House Endorses Sen. Landrieu's 'Louisiana Purchase'...

John Boehner slammed the bill.

The President has crippled the credibility of this week’s summit by proposing the same massive government takeover of health care based on a partisan bill the American people have already rejected. This new Democrats-only backroom deal doubles down on the same failed approach that will drive up premiums, destroy jobs, raise taxes, and slash Medicare benefits.

“This week’s summit clearly has all the makings of a Democratic infomercial for continuing on a partisan course that relies on more backroom deals and parliamentary tricks to circumvent the will of the American people and jam through a massive government takeover of health care.

“The best way to protect families and small businesses in this time of economic uncertainty is to start over with a step-by-step approach to health care reform focused on lowering costs, and that’s exactly what Republicans are fighting for. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office has confirmed that the Republican bill reduces premiums for families and small businesses by up to 10 percent. The Republican bill reduces premiums by implementing common-sense reforms such as allowing Americans to purchase insurance across state lines. Despite their rhetoric to the contrary, none of the Democrats’ proposals – including the President’s – provides this much-needed reform in a manner that can actually be effective.

“Republicans are also standing with the American people by calling for health care reform to protect human life and not use taxpayer money to fund abortion. The Republican bill would codify the Hyde Amendment and prohibit all authorized and appropriated federal funds from being used to pay for abortion, which the President’s proposal would allow. Pro-life Democrats in the House have already pledged to vote against this provision. Health care reform should be an opportunity to protect human life – not end it – and the American people agree.

The Wall Street Journal points out that the bill will cost almost a trillion dollars and punish employers who don’t provide health insurance. Oh, that’s just what we need in this economy.

More taxes + more union protections + more regulation + more government all equal less freedom for the American people.

This is one more item in the progressive dependency agenda George Will talked about during his CPAC speech. And they’ll stop at nothing to ram this craptastic legislation through.

Update: Dan Riehl points out that the CBO can’t even score this crap sandwich. Maybe it will cost nearly a trillion bucks, or maybe it’ll cost a heck of a lot more.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 22nd, 2010 at 2:58 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.