Obamacare: Nancy Pelosi Was the Only Honest Democrat

Growing up , my friends used to tell me that the worlds biggest lie was "the check is in the mail." Since the election of Barack Obama my friends were proven wrong many times over and most of those lies were told in defense of the President's signature program; Obamacare.

In the final days before affront to personal liberty was passed the Congressional Black Caucus tried to gain a political advantage by telling lies about the tea party, but those weren't the worst lies. 

There was one truth--according to then Speaker Nancy Pelosi we wouldn't know what was in the bill until it was passed.  She was right. In the two years since Obamacare was passed we learned exactly what was in the bill, tons of lies.

Below are just some of those lies:

'If You Like Your Plan, You'll Be Able To Keep It:

The Wall Street Journal: "The law could leave more than half of employers without a grandfathered plan in 2013, the draft estimated. Its worst-case assumption is that 80% of small-employers will lose grandfathered rights by 2013. New plans would have to comply with all the bill's requirements; grandfathered plans could avoid elements such as limits on cost sharing." ("Draft Health Rules Set Hurdles," The Wall Street Journal, 6/12/10)

Obama Administration: "Under this assumption, the Departments' mid-range estimate is that 66 percent of small employer plans and 45 percent of large employer plans will relinquish their grandfather status by the end of 2013. The low-end estimates are for 49 percent and 34 percent of small and large employer plans, respectively, to have relinquished grandfather status, and the high-end estimates are 80 percent and 64 percent, respectively." (Federal Register, Vol.75, No.116, P.15-16, 6/17/10)

The Law Will Protect Medicare:

"Ensuring Medicare Sustainability… -156.6 [Billion Dollars]." "TITLE III—Improving The Quality And Efficiency Of Health Care; Subtitle E—Ensuring Medicare Sustainability; 3401 Revision of Certain Market Basket Updates and Incorporation of services Productivity Improvements into Market Basket Updates that do not Already Incorporate Such Improvements (effect of productivity adjustment for home health included in estimate for section 3131)… 2010-2019… -156.6 [Billion Dollars]." (CBO Director Doug Elmendorf, Letter To Rep. Nancy Pelosi, P.14, 3/18/10)

"Medicare Advantage Payments… -131.9 [Billion Dollars]." "TITLE III—Improving The Quality And Efficiency Of Health Care; Subtitle C—Provisions Relating to Part C; Medicare Advantage Payments… 2010-2019… -131.9 [Billion Dollars]." (CBO Director Doug Elmendorf, Letter To Rep. Pelosi, P.13, 3/18/10)

"Medicare Advantage Interactions… -70.4 [Billion Dollars]." "Interactions; Medicare Advantage Interactions… 2010-2019… -70.4 [Billion Dollars]." (CBO Director Doug Elmendorf, Letter To Rep. Pelosi, P.18, 3/18/10)

CBO: Medicare cuts could "reduce access to care or diminish the quality of care." (CBO Director Doug Elmendorf, Letter To Sen. Harry Reid, P. 1, 17, 11/18/09)

Obamacare Will Lower Premiums:

CBO: "Average premiums per policy in the nongroup market in 2016 would be roughly$5,800 for single policies and $15,200 for family policies under the proposal, compared with roughly $5,500 for single policies and $13,100 for family policies under current law. The weighted average of the differences in those amounts equals the change of 10 percent to 13 percent in the average premium per person…" (Emphasis In Original; CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf, Letter To Sen. Bayh, P. 6, 11/30/09)

Wall Street Journal: "The health-insurance premiums paid by employers rose sharply this year, with the average annual cost of family coverage passing the $15,000 mark for the first time, according to a major survey." ("Employer Health Premiums Rise Sharply," The Wall Street Journal, 9/27/11)

"The average annual family premium for 2011 was $15,073, up from $13,770 last year." ("Employer Health Premiums Rise Sharply," The Wall Street Journal, 9/27/11)

"…increase was tied to provisions of the federal health care overhaul…" ("Employer Health Premiums Rise Sharply," The Wall Street Journal, 9/27/11)

Obamacare Will Slow The Growth of Healthcare Costs:

CMS ACTUARY RICHARD FOSTER: "[W]e estimate that overall national health expenditures under the health reform act would increase by a total of $311 billion (0.9 percent) during calendar years 2010-2019..." (CMS Actuary Richard Foster, Memo, P.4, 4/22/10)

FOSTER: "The NHE share of GDP is projected to be 21.0 percent in 2019, compared to 20.8 percent under prior law." (CMS Actuary Richard Foster, Memo, P.16, 4/22/10)

CBO: "The legislation will increase the federal budgetary commitment to health care(the sum of net federal outlays for health programs and tax preferences for health care) by $390 billion over the next 10 years." ("The Effects Of Health Reform On The Federal Budget," CBO, 4/12/10)

Obamacare Will Not Change Federal Conscience Laws:

Archbishop Dolan: "…on January 20, the Department of Health and Human Services announced a decision to issue final regulations that would force practically all employers, including many religious institutions, to pay for abortion inducing drugs, sterilizations, and contraception. The regulations would provide no protections for our great institutions—such as Catholic charities, hospitals, and universities—or for the individual faithful in the marketplace. The regulations struck at the heart of our fundamental right to religious liberty, which affects our ability to serve those outside our faith community." (Archbishop Dolan, Letter To U.S. Bishops, 2/23/12)

There Will Be No Tax Increases Because of Obamacare:

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA): "Yes, we've had to raise some taxes and fees to pay for this bill." (CSPAN's Washington Journal, 12/22/09)

$50 Billion In Taxes On Employers "Penalty Payments By Employers… 2010-2019… -52 [Billion Dollars]." (CBO Director Doug Elmendorf, Letter To Rep. Nancy Pelosi, P.8, 3/18/10)

$30 Billion In Taxes On Private Health Insurance Plans Tax On Private Health Insurance Plans: "32.0 [Billion Dollars]." JCT: "I. Revenue Provisions 1. 40% excise tax on health coverage in excess of $10,200/$27,500 (subject to adjustment for unexpected increase in medical costs prior to effective date) and increased thresholds of $1,650/$3,450 for over age 55 retirees or certain high-risk professions, both indexed for inflation by CPI-U plus 1%; adjustment based on age and gender profile of employees; vision and dental excluded from excise tax; levied at insurer level; employer aggregates and issues information return for insurers indicating amount subject to the excise tax; nondeductible… 2010-2019… 32.0 [Billion Dollars]."("Estimated Revenue Effects Of The Amendment In The Nature Of A Substitute To H.R. 4872, The "Reconciliation Act Of 2010," In Combination With The Revenue Effects Of H.R. 3590, The "Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act ('PPACA')," As Passed By The Senate," Joint Committee On Taxation, P.1, 3/18/10)

"The fee on health insurance providers… Taxes may be borne by: consumers in the form of higher prices; owners of firms in the form of lower profits; employees of firms in the form of lower wages; or other suppliers to firms in the form of lower payments. … we estimate that eliminating this fee could decrease the average family premium in 2016 by $350 to $400." (Thomas Barthold, Chief Of Staff Joint Committee On Taxation, Letter To Sen. Kyl, P.2, 5, 6/3/11)

$20 Billion In Taxes On Medical Device Manufacturers
"Excise Tax On Manufacturers And Importers Of Certain Medical Devices… 20.0 [Billion Dollars]." JCT: "Impose 2.9% excise tax on manufacturers and importers of certain medical devices… 2010-2019… 20.0 [Billion Dollars]." ("Estimated Revenue Effects Of The Amendment In The Nature Of A Substitute To H.R. 4872, The "Reconciliation Act Of 2010," In Combination With The Revenue Effects Of H.R. 3590, The "Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act ('PPACA')," As Passed By The Senate," Joint Committee On Taxation, P.2, 3/18/10)

Obamacare Will Not Add One Dime to the Deficit:
David Broder, The Washington Post: "Every expert I have talked to says that the public has it right. These bills, as they stand, are budget-busters." (David Broder, Op-Ed, "A Budget-Buster In The Making," The Washington Post, 11/22/09)

Doug Holtz-Eakin & Michael Ramlet: "A more comprehensive and realistic projection suggests that the new reform law will raise the deficit by more than $500 billion during the first ten years and by nearly $1.5 trillion in the following decade."("Health Care Reform Is Likely To Widen Federal Budget Deficits, Not Reduce Them," Health Affairs, 6/10)

Nancy Pelosi was telling the truth, two years after Obamacare was passed we know much more about it…and the more we know the more we hate it.  A recent AP poll found 35 percent of Americans support Obamacare while 47 percent oppose it.  American’s are learning the truth and the truth hurts.