Obamacare In Emergency: Costs To NM Families

ICYMI: MITT ROMNEY: I WILL REPEAL OBAMACARE

“What the Court did not do on its last day in session I will do on my first day if elected President of the United States. And that is I will act to repeal Obamacare….Obamacare was bad policy yesterday. It’s bad policy today. Obamacare was bad law yesterday. It’s bad law today.” – Mitt Romney

Remarks

Washington, DC

June 28, 2012

Click Here To Watch Mitt Romney Discuss The Supreme Court’s Decision On President Obama’s Healthcare Law

MITT ROMNEY: “What the Court did not do on its last day in session, I will do on my first day if elected President of the United States. And that is I will act to repeal Obamacare.

“Let’s make clear that we understand what the Court did and did not do. What the Court did today was say that Obamacare does not violate the Constitution. What they did not do was say that Obamacare is good law or that it’s good policy.

“Obamacare was bad policy yesterday. It’s bad policy today. Obamacare was bad law yesterday. It’s bad law today. Let me tell you why I say that. Obamacare raises taxes on the American people by approximately $500 billion. Obamacare cuts Medicare, cuts Medicare, by approximately $500 billion. And even with those cuts, and tax increases, Obamacare adds trillions to our deficits and to our national debt and pushes those obligations on to coming generations. Obamacare also means that for up to 20 million Americans, they will lose the insurance they currently have, the insurance that they like and they want to keep. Obamacare is a job killer. Businesses across the country have been asked what the impact is of Obamacare. Three quarters of those surveyed by the Chamber of Commerce said Obamacare makes it less likely for them to hire people. And perhaps most troubling of all, Obamacare puts the federal government between you and your doctor.

“For all those reasons, it’s important for us to repeal and replace Obamacare. What are some of the things that we’ll keep in place, and must be in place, in a reform, a real reform, of our healthcare system? One, we have to make sure that people who want to keep their current insurance will be able to do so. Having 20 million people, up to that number of people, lose the insurance they want, is simply unacceptable. Number two, got to make sure that those people who have pre-existing conditions know that they will be able to be insured and they will not lose their insurance. We also have to assure that we do our very best to help each state in their effort to assure that every American has access to affordable healthcare. And something that Obamacare does not do that must be done in real reform is helping lower the cost of healthcare and health insurance. It’s becoming prohibitively expensive.

“And so this is now a time for the American people to make a choice. You can choose whether you want to have a larger and larger government, more and more intrusive in your life—separating you and your doctor—whether you’re comfortable with more deficits, higher debt that we pass onto the coming generations. Whether you’re willing to have the government put in place a plan that potentially causes you to lose the insurance that you like or whether instead you want to return to a time when the American people will have their own choice in healthcare. Where consumers will be able to make their choices as to what kind of health insurance they want.

“This is the time of choice for the American people. Our mission is clear: If we want to get rid of Obamacare, we’re going to have to replace President Obama. My mission is to make sure we do exactly that. That we return to the American people the privilege they’ve always had to live their lives in the way they feel most appropriate. Where we don’t pass on to coming generations massive deficits and debt, where we don’t have a setting where jobs are lost. If we want good jobs and a bright economic future, for ourselves and for our kids, we must replace Obamacare. That is my mission. That is our work. And I’m asking the people of America to join me. If you don’t want the course that President Obama has put us on, if you want instead a course that the Founders envisioned, then join me in this effort. Help us. Help us defeat Obamacare. Help us defeat the liberal agenda that makes government too big, too intrusive, and is killing jobs across this great country.”

RNC Research: ObamaCare Pulse Check

Stopping ObamaCare Is Now Up To The American People

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OBAMA PROMISED LOWER HEALTH CARE PREMIUMS BY THE END OF HIS FIRST TERM

As A Candidate, Obama Promised That His Health Care Reform Would Save American Families $2,500 A Year By The End Of His First Term. OBAMA: “If you are ready for change, then we can stop talking about the outrage of 47 million people without health insurance and start doing something about it. I’ve put forward a plan that says everybody will have the same health care if they want it that I have as a member of Congress, that you can’t be excluded for pre-existing conditions, we’ll negotiate with the drug companies for the cheapest available prices. If you’re 25 or younger you can stay on your parents’ health insurance. If you’ve got health insurance, we’re going to work with you to lower your premiums by $2500 per family per year. And we will not wait 20 years from now to do it or 10 years from now to do it. We will do it by the end of my first term as president of the United States of America.” (Senator Barack Obama, Remarks At Campaign Event, Columbus, OH, 2/27/08)

As A Candidate, Obama Promised His Plan Would “Bring Down Premiums By $2,500 For The Typical Family .” ”And if you already have health insurance and you want to keep that health insurance, we will bring down premiums by $2,500 for the typical family. And we will prevent insurance companies from discriminating against those who need care the most.”(Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks At Campaign Event, Raleigh, NC, 6/9/08)

• Obama: “Their efforts will help us take the next and most important step, comprehensive health care reform, so that we can do what I pledged to do as a candidate and save a typical family an average of $2,500 on their health care costs in the coming years.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks On Health Care Reform , Washington, D.C., 5/11/09)
• Obama: “Coupled with comprehensive reform, this could result in our Nation saving over $2 trillion over the next 10 years, and that could save families $2,500 in the coming years, $2,500per family.” (President Barack Obama, Statement By The President After Meeting With House Democratic Leadership , Washington, D.C., 5/13/09)

Obama’s Premium Promise … Broken

FactCheck.org: ObamaCare “Falls Short Of Making Health Care ‘Affordable And Available To Every Single American,’ As Promised.” “Furthermore, the law falls short of making health care ‘affordable and available to every single American,’ as promised. The law provides subsidies to help some Americans buy insurance, expands Medicaid and doesn’t allow insurance companies to exclude persons with preexisting conditions. But still, the director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projected 23 million persons will remain uninsured - some because they can’t afford coverage.” (D’Angelo Gore, “Promises, Promises,” FactCheck.org, 1/4/12)

• FactCheck.org: ObamaCare Is Actually Making Health Care “Less Affordable.”“At the moment, the new law is making health care slightly less affordable. Independent health care experts say the law has caused some insurance premiums to rise. As we wrote in October, the new law has caused about a 1 percent to 3 percent increase in health insurance premiums for employer-sponsored family plans because of requirements for increased benefits. Last year’s premium increases cast even more doubt on another promise the president has made - that the health care law would ‘lower premiums by up to $2,500 for a typical family per year.’” (D’Angelo Gore, “Promises, Promises,” FactCheck.org, 1/4/12)
• The Washington Post ’s The Fact Checker: “Insurance premiums have gone up, in part because of new benefits mandated by the law.” (Glenn Kessler, “The Fine Print In Obama’s ‘Promises Kept’ Ad,” The Washington Post’s ”The Fact Checker,” 1/6/12)

Under Obama, The Average Cost Of Family Health Care Premiums Have Increased From $13,375 To $15,073. (Phil Galewitz And Andrew Villegas, “Workers Face Higher Costs For Employer-Sponsored Insurance,” Kaiser Health News, 9/15/09; Julie Appleby, “Costs Of Employer Insurance Plans Surge In 2011,” Kaiser Health News , 9/27/11)

In 2011, The Increasing Cost Of Health Insurance Climbed, Outpaced “Any Growth In Workers’ Wages.” “The cost of health insurance for many Americans this year climbed more sharply than in previous years, outstripping any growth in workers’ wages and adding more uncertainty about the pace of rising medical costs.” (Reed Abelson, “Health Insurance Costs Rising Sharply This Year, Study Shows,” The New York Times , 9/27/11)

Kaiser Study Found That Family Coverage Premiums “Climbed” 9 Percent In 2011. “A new study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit research group that tracks employer-sponsored health insurance on a yearly basis, shows that the average annual premium for family coverage through an employer reached $15,073 in 2011, an increase of 9 percent over the previous year.” (Reed Abelson, “Health Insurance Costs Rising Sharply This Year, Study Shows,” The New York Times , 9/27/11)

• Workers Paid An Average Of $132 More For Family Coverage In 2011 Than They Did In 2010. “Although premiums rose, employers kept the percentage of the premium workers pay about the same: An average of 18 percent for single coverage and 28 percent for family plans. Still, with rising costs, workers paid more, up an average of $132 a year for family coverage. Since 1999, the dollar amount workers contribute toward premiums nationally has grown 168 percent, while their wages have grown by 50 percent, according to the survey.” (Julie Appleby, “Costs Of Employer Insurance Plans Surge In 2011,” Kaiser Health News , 9/27/11)

The Cost Of Single Employee Coverage Grew 8 Percent According To The Kaiser Survey. “Family plan premiums hit $15,073 on average, while coverage for single employees grew 8 percent to $5,429, according to a survey released Tuesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research & Educational Trust. (KHN is an editorially-independent program of the foundation.)” (Julie Appleby, “Costs Of Employer Insurance Plans Surge In 2011,” Kaiser Health News , 9/27/11)

“The Results Mark A Sharp Departure From 2010, When The Same Survey Found Average Family Premiums Up Only 3 Percent.” (Julie Appleby, “Costs Of Employer Insurance Plans Surge In 2011,” Kaiser Health News , 9/27/11)

OBAMA PROMISED THAT YOU COULD KEEP YOUR HEALTH CARE PLAN

Obama Promised Americans That You Can “Keep Your Plan.” OBAMA: “If you like your doctor, you’re going to be able to keep your doctor. If you like your plan, keep your plan.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks At George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, 3/19/10)

• Keeping Your Plan Was Obama’s “Core Belief” Of Health Care Reform.OBAMA:”The plans you are discussing embody my core belief that Americans should have better choices for health insurance, building on the principle that if they like the coverage they have now, they can keepit, …” (Barack Obama, President,Letter To Senate Democratic Leaders, 6/2/09)
• Obama Said Keeping Your Plan Is “A Priority” To Him. OBAMA: “There’s no doubt that we have to preserve what’s best in the health care system, and that means allowing Americans who like their doctor and like their health care plan to keep their plan. And that’s going to be a priority for us.” (President Barack Obama,Remarks At Northern Virginia Community College, Annandale, VA, 7/1/09)

Obama’s “Keep Your Plan Promise” … Broken

Americans Are Finding Out That Obama’s “Keep Your Plan” Promise Is Just Not True.“President Barack Obama promised over and over during the health care debate that ‘if you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan.’ It turns out that, for a lot of people, that isn’t true.” (David Nather, “4 Inconvenient Truths,” Politico, 3/16/12)

• More Americans Will Lose Their Employer Health Care Coverage Than Before ObamaCare Was Enacted. ”For one thing, CBO says 11 million Americans won’t get employment-based health insurance they would have had before the law - so they will be forced out (technically by their employer, not by the president, but the context will be the changes brought about by the health law). Another 9 million would gain coverage - but everyone who loses it will see their lives disrupted, and it will be used as more evidence of broken Obama promises.” (David Nather, “4 Inconvenient Truths,” Politico, 3/16/12)

The Non-Partisan CBO Found That ObamaCare Could Cause As Many As 20 Million Americans To Lose Their Employer-Provided Health Care Plan. “As many as 20 million Americans could lose their employer-provided healthcare because of President Obama’s healthcare reform law, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said in a new report Thursday.” (Julian Pecquet, “CBO Report Says Health Care Law Could Cause As Many As 20M To Lose Coverage, The Hill’s “ Health Watch ,” 3/15/12)

• Despite A “Tremendous Amount Of Uncertainty” Regarding Employer-Sponsored Health Care, The CBO Still Expects 3 To 5 Million Americans To Lose Their Health Care Coverage Under ObamaCare. “The best estimate, subject to a ‘tremendous amount of uncertainty,’ is that about 3 million to 5 million fewer people will obtain coverage through their employer each year from 2019 through 2022.” (Julian Pecquet, “CBO Report Says Health Care Law Could Cause As Many As 20M To Lose Coverage, The Hill’s “ Health Watch ,” 3/15/12)

Any Loss Of Health Care Coverage Is “Disruptive” To Americans, Especially Those Who Lose Their Employer-Sponsored Health Care. “But any loss of employer-sponsored coverage could be disruptive to the people who lose their insurance, even if they’re able to replace it through another source, like the health insurance exchanges that will be created under the law.” (J. Lester Feder, “CBO: Health Reform Could Cause People To Lose Workplace Coverage,” Politico, 3/15/12)

“A Report By McKinsey & Co. Has Found That 30% Of Employers Are Likely To Stop Offering Workers Health Insurance After The Bulk Of The Obama Administration’s Health Overhaul Takes Effect In 2014.” (Janet Adamy, “Study Sees Cuts to Health Plans,”The Wall Street Journal, 6/8/11)

• “The Findings Come As A Growing Number Of Employers Are Seeking Waivers From An Early Provision In The Overhaul That Requires Them To Enrich Their Benefits This Year.” (Janet Adamy, “Study Sees Cuts to Health Plans,” The Wall Street Journal, 6/8/11)

OBAMA PROMISED NO TAXES ON THE MIDDLE CLASS

Obama Promised That He Wouldn’t Raise Taxes On The Middle Class. OBAMA: “I can make a firm pledge. Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase, not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes.” (Senator Barack Obama, Remarks, Dover, NH, 9/12/08)

Obama’s Middle Class Tax Promise … Broken

The Joint Committee On Taxation Report Found That ObamaCare Raises Taxes On Middle-Class Americans. “There are a number of tax provisions in the health care bill that may directly increase taxes on some individuals and families earning less than $200,000 and $250,000 per year. Furthermore, other tax provisions in the bill that directly affect businesses may ultimately affect individuals and families earning less than $200,000 and $250,000, respectively, to the extent that increased taxes results in higher prices for the products of the affected businesses.” (Joint Committee On Taxation, Letter To Senator Tom Coburn, 3/20/12)

PolitiFact Gives Obama A “False” On His Claim That He “Didn’t Raise Taxes Once.”OBAMA: “I didn’t raise taxes once.” (“President Barack Obama Says He Didn’t Raise Taxes Once,”PolitiFact, 2/7/11)

• Obama Did Raise Taxes On Americans Through ObamaCare. “The new health care law also includes a tax on people who decide not to have health insurance, as an incentive for them to get coverage. … More significantly, the health care law includes new taxes on the wealthy, starting in 2013. Individuals who make more than $200,000 and couples that make more than $250,000 will see additional Medicare taxes of 0.9 percent. They will also, for the first time have to pay Medicare taxes on their investment income at a 3.8 percent tax rate.” (“President Barack Obama Says He Didn’t Raise Taxes Once,” PolitiFact, 2/7/11)
• PolitiFact: ObamaCare Raised Taxes On The Middle Class. “The health care law that Obama signed on March 23, 2010, raises taxes on some things regardless of income. Two taxes in particular stand out. A tax on indoor tanning services begins this year. And in 2014, people will have to pay a fine, levied through their income taxes, if they don’t have health insurance.” (Angie Drobnic Holan, “Smokers, Tanning Aficionados, The Happily Uninsured: More Taxes Coming At Ya!” PolitiFact, 4/8/10)

OBAMA PROMISED THAT OBAMACARE WOULD COST LESS THAN $1 TRILLION

Obama Promised That ObamaCare Would “Cost Roughly $900 Billion.” OBAMA: “Now, what I’ve proposed is going to cost roughly $900 billion, 800 to 900. That’s a lot of money. Keep in mind it’s over 10 years. So when you hear some of these figures thrown out there, this is not per year; this is over 10 years. So let’s assume it’s about $80 billion a year. It turns out that about two-thirds of that could be paid for by eliminating waste in the existing system.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks At A Town Hall Meeting, Grand Junction, CO, 8/15/09)

• Obama Said His Health Care Package Would Cost “$900 Billion Over 10 Years.” OBAMA:”Now, add it all up, and the plan I’m proposing will cost around $900 billion over 10 years, less than we have spent on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and less than the tax cuts for the wealthiest few Americans that Congress passed at the beginning of the previous administration.” (President Barack Obama,Address Before A Joint Session Of Congress , Washington, D.C., 9/9/09)

ObamaCare’s Cost Promise … Broken

“According To An Analysis By House Budget Committee Republicans, The Health Care Law Will Cost The Nation $2.6 Trillion When Fully Implemented, And Add $701 Billion To The Deficit In Its First Ten Years.” (“ObamaCare: A Budget-Busting, Job-Killing Health Care Law,” Office Of The Speaker Of The U.S. House Of Representatives, Report, 1/6/11)

Congressional Budget Office: ObamaCare To Cost $1.76 Trillion By 2022. “The ACA’s provisions related to insurance coverage are now projected to have a net cost of $1,252 billion over the 2012-2022 period (see Table 2, following the text); that amount represents a gross cost to the federal government of $1,762 billion, offset in part by $510 billion in receipts and other budgetary effects (primarily revenues from penalties and other sources).” (“Updated Estimates For The Insurance Coverage Provisions Of The Affordable Care Act,”Congressional Budget Office, 3/13/12)

• ObamaCare Projected To Cost $822 Billion More Than Previously Forecasted.“President Obama’s national health care law will cost $1.76 trillion over a decade, according to a new projection released today by the Congressional Budget Office, rather than the $940 billion forecast when it was signed into law.” (Philip Klein, “CBO: Obamacare To Cost $1.76 Trillion Over 10 Years,”Washington Examiner , 3/13/12)

Richmond Times-Dispatch : ObamaCare Costs Are Double Obama’s Estimates. ”You might have missed the news - it’s not the sort a lot of national outlets care to dwell on, for obvious reasons - but the Congressional Budget Office’s latest cost estimates for Obamacare are roughly double the estimates of previous years. The original forecast came in at $940 million. The new estimate puts the cost at $1.76 trillion. Shouldn’t people have seen this coming?” (Editorial, “Health Care: Up, Up & Away,” Richmond Times-Dispatch, 3/19/12)

OBAMA PROMISED TO GET HEALTH CARE SPENDING IN CHECK

Obama Promised That ObamaCare Would Lower Health Care Costs. OBAMA: “Finally,my proposal would bring down the cost of health carefor millions — families, businesses, and the federal government.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks By The President On Health Care Reform, Washington, D.C., 3/3/10)

Obama’s Spending Promise … Broken

When ObamaCare Is “Fully Implemented,” ObamaCare Will Increase Health Care Spending 7.4 Percent. “Spending would jump 7.4% in 2014 when the federal health law is scheduled to be fully implemented, the analysts predicted, as millions of Americans gain medical coverage either through subsidized plans purchased through government-run exchanges or through Medicaid, the federal-state insurance program for low-income people.” (Louise Radnofsky, “Steep Rise In Health Costs Projected,” The Wall Street Journal , 6/12/12)

ObamaCare Will Increase Federal Health Care Spending $478 Billion From 2011-2012.“President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul will add $478 billion in spending from 2011-2021, the period covered by the projections. Some 30 million uninsured people will get coverage.” (“With Or Without Obama’s Law, U.S. Health Care Costs Will Keep Outpacing Economy,” The Associated Press , 6/12/12)

Health Care Spending Will Increase More Than If ObamaCare Had Not Been Enacted.”“Spending will jump 7.4 percent to $3.13 trillion in 2014 when the law will begin to extend subsidized coverage through private health insurance and the Medicaid program. This compares with a 5.3 percent hike if health care reform had not been enacted. In later years, rates of growth will return to levels consistent with recent history, the data show.” (Jeffrey Young, “Health Care Reform Boosts Spending A Tiny Fraction While Covering Millions,” The Huffington Post, 6/12/12)

Health Care Spending Will Outpace Growth Of The Economy. “By 2021, health care spending will be growing roughly 2 percentage points faster than the overall economy, about the same rate as the last 30 years. And that means hard choices ahead for government programs and private insurance.” (“With Or Without Obama’s Law, U.S. Health Care Costs Will Keep Outpacing Economy,” The Associated Press , 6/12/12)

• Health Care Spending Will Grow An Annual Rate Of 5.7 Percent For 2011 Through 2021, “0.9 Percentage Point Faster Than The Expected Growth In The Gross Domestic Product.” “New estimates released today from the Office of the Actuary at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) project that aggregate health care spending in the United States will grow at an average annual rate of 5.7 percent for 2011 through 2021, or 0.9 percentage point faster than the expected growth in the gross domestic product (GDP).” (Chris Fleming, “Health Spending Growth Projected To Average 5.7 Percent Annually Through 2021,”Health Affairs, 6/12/12)

OBAMA PROMISED THAT OBAMACARE WOULDN’T ADD TO THE DEFICIT

Obama Said “Health Care Reform Must Not Add To Our Deficits.” “Health care reform must not add to our deficits over the next 10 years—it must be at least deficitneutral and put America on a path to reducing its deficitover time.” (Barack Obama, President, Letter To Senate Democratic Leaders On Health Care, 6/2/09)

Obama’s Deficit Promise … Broken

A Report Released By Obama Appointee Charles Blahous Found That ObamaCare Will “Add More Than $340 Billion” To The Federal Deficit. “President Obama’s landmark health-care initiative, long touted as a means to control costs, will actually add more than $340 billion to the nation’s budget woes over the next decade, according to a new study by a Republican member of the board that oversees Medicare financing.” (Lori Montgomery, “Health Care Law Will Add $340 Billion To Deficit, New Study Finds,” The Washington Post , 4/9/12)

• The Medicare And Social Security Trustee’s Analysis Debunks “Conventional Wisdom” That ObamaCare Would Reduce The Deficit. “The study is set to be released Tuesday by Charles Blahous, a conservative policy analyst whom Obama approved in 2010 as the GOP trustee for Medicare and Social Security. His analysis challenges the conventional wisdom that the health-care law, which calls for an expensive expansion of coverage for the uninsured beginning in 2014, will nonetheless reduce deficits by raising taxes and cutting payments to Medicare providers.” (Lori Montgomery, “Health Care Law Will Add $340 Billion To Deficit, New Study Finds,” The Washington Post , 4/9/12)

The Medicare And Social Security Trustee Charles Blahous Found “That Federal Accounting Practices Have Obscured The True Impact” Of ObamaCare. “Reigniting a debate about the bottom line for President Barack Obama’s health care law, a leading conservative economist estimates in a study to be released Tuesday that the overhaul will add at least $340 billion to the deficit, not reduce it. Charles Blahous, who serves as public trustee overseeing Medicare and Social Security finances, also suggested that federal accounting practices have obscured the true fiscal impact of the legislation, the fate of which is now in the hands of the Supreme Court.” (Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, “Study: Obama’s Health Care Law Would Raise Deficit,” The Associated Press , 4/9/12)

• Blahous Said ObamaCare Will Cost More And Add More To The Deficit Than Had It Never Been Enacted. “‘The (law) both increases a federal commitment to health care spending that was already unsustainable under prior law and would exacerbate projected federal deficits relative to prior law,’ Blahous said.” (Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, “Study: Obama’s Health Care Law Would Raise Deficit,” The Associated Press , 4/9/12)

RPNM Statement On ObamaCare Supreme Court Ruling

MEMO from RNC Political Director: The Politics of ObamaCare

POLITICAL MEMO

From: Rick Wiley, RNC Political Director

To: Interested Parties

Re: The Politics of ObamaCare


The Supreme Court’s decision does not change the facts about ObamaCare: it’s a bad law that America neither wants nor can afford. And now the only way for voters to end it and pursue true reform is to vote Republican in November. This hurts President Obama’s reelection prospects, making his path to 270 electoral votes increasingly difficult.

Republicans are in agreement with the American people on this issue. Especially in battleground states, voters are more likely to oppose ObamaCare than to support it.

The outlook nationally is bad for Democrats:

 *   More than half (52 percent) of Americans in the June 20-24 ABC News/Washington Post poll have an “unfavorable impression” of ObamaCare.
 *   Just 22 percent in the June 20-24 NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll said they would be “disappointed” if ObamaCare were ruled unconstitutional.
 *   Only one third of Americans support the law, according to a mid-June Associated Press/GfK poll.
 *   Independent voters in a June 19-23 Reuters/Ipsos poll opposed ObamaCare by 73 percent to 27 percent.
 *   Only 24 percent of Americans wanted the Supreme Court to uphold the entire law, according to a May 31-June 3 CBS/New York Times poll.
 *   A June Fox News poll found 52 percent believe the Obama administration has “mostly failed” at “improving healthcare.”
 *   Only 23 percent of Americans expect their families to be better off under ObamaCare, according to a poll last month from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
 *   A mid-May NBC News/Wall St. Journal poll found 64 percent of Americans say President Obama has either made things “worse” or “not made much difference” with regard to healthcare.


ObamaCare is the president’s signature legislative “achievement.” But you don’t hear him talking about it on the stump. The Obama campaign knows it’s a losing issue, and the polls show it.

And according to the polls, the news is worse for President Obama in the swing states:

 *   Wisconsin: Only 33 percent of voters wanted ObamaCare fully upheld by the Supreme Court. (Marquette University, 6/13-6/16/12)
 *   New Hampshire: 46 percent disapprove of ObamaCare, while 36 percent approve. Only 26 percent of Independents approve. (WMUR Granite State Poll, 4/9-4/20/12)
 *   Pennsylvania: 46 percent think Congress should repeal ObamaCare; only 42 want it to stand. (Quinnipiac University, 4/25-5/1/12)
 *   North Carolina, where Democrats will hold their convention: Only 36 percent thought the Supreme Court should rule ObamaCare constitutional. (Public Policy Polling, 4/4-4/7/12)
 *   Florida: 53 percent think Congress should repeal ObamaCare. (Quinnipiac University, 4/25-5/1/12)
 *   Iowa: 58 percent disapprove of President Obama’s handling of healthcare. Only 36 percent approve. (Des Moines Register: Iowa Poll, 2/12-2/15/12)
 *   Nevada: Only 34 percent thought the Supreme Court should rule ObamaCare constitutional. (Public Policy Polling, 6/7-6/10/12)
 *   Ohio: 52 percent of voters think Congress should repeal ObamaCare. (Quinnipiac University, 4/25-5/1/12)


Notably, Ohio, a must-win state for Obama, rejected ObamaCare at the polls last November when voters approved an anti-ObamaCare amendment to the state constitution. Not only did it win, it won in all 88 counties.

ObamaCare represents a toxic political asset for Obama: It is a two-fold broken promise. First, he failed to keep his promise to reduce healthcare costs. (Health insurance premiums continue to increase.) Second, with his pursuit of ObamaCare, he failed to keep his promise to focus completely on the economy and create jobs.

Few things are worse for a sitting president than blatant broken promises.

In the first year of his presidency, when President Obama should have focused on economic growth and policies to create jobs, he instead chose to pursue a government takeover of healthcare that only made our problems worse. He wasted valuable time, and now Americans are paying for it. The more we make that case, the more unpopular we expect ObamaCare to become.

ObamaCare was bad policy for America from the very beginning. This November, it will be bad politics for Democrats. Voters want real reform, and only Republicans are prepared to pursue it.

WS: Obama: ‘I Absolutely Reject [the] Notion’ That It’s a Tax

“The Supreme Court has ruled that Obamacare’s individual mandate exceeds Congress’s power under the commerce clause, but (in a 5-4 vote) it has upheld the individual mandate as a tax.”

The President said in 2009 that this is not a tax…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tQMkOScXctY

More here: http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/obama-i-absolutely-reject-notion-it-s-tax_647927.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter