10 Million To Lose Employer Health Care Under Senate Plan

President Obama's mantra about the public option has never changed:

“Under the reform we’re proposing, if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan.”

The unspoken part of the president's pledge is "unless of course, if your the plan forces your employer to drop coverage.

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) took a look at that issue and reported today that 10 million people will lose employer health coverage under the present Senate plan

"Firms that would choose not to offer coverage as a result of the proposal would tend to be smaller employers and employers that predominantly employ lower-wage workers‚"people who would be eligible for subsidies through the exchange," The CBO reports, "although some workers who would not have employment-based coverage because of the proposal would not be eligible for such subsidies."

...But the estimate assumes many employers, particularly small businesses with low-wage workers, would opt to pay the fine and drop their insurance plans. The CBO estimated this would affect between 9 million and 10 million workers.

The estimate was provided after Republicans pressed the CBO for details on employer coverage, and it added fuel to the GOP argument that President Obama's claim that nobody will be forced to give up their private coverage is bunk. It comes in the middle of a heated debate in the Senate over whether and how the government should enter the market with its own insurance plan.

"Unemployment is already at 10 percent, and millions of Americans have already lost their employer-provided health insurance,‚ Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., said. "We can't afford to let the Reid bill make matters worse."

Though some of those who lose their coverage would be eligible for government subsidies to buy insurance, some would not, according to the CBO.

For instance, a family of four making more than $88,000 would not qualify for subsidies and could face even higher premiums in the private market.

President Obama and the Democratic Party leadership are not being honest with the American People.  This plan is a horror, and our leadership continue to use double talk as their best weapon for selling this to the Public. Shame!