By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
President Barack H. Obama was elected in 2008 promising to increase American’s access to healthcare. He promised that Americans would not be forced to purchase health insurance if they did not want it. He promised that if you like your current plan you would get to keep it. And he promised that his plan would not increase the deficit. All of those early promises were ultimately broken by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act which was signed into law in March 2010. Obamacare has raised health insurance premiums for millions of Americans, Americans who do not want to participate will be fined hundreds of dollars by the IRS, and Obamacare appears likely to add hundreds of billions of $$s to the national debt. Understandably the controversial legislation has only grown less popular with Americans over time.
Speaker of the House Mike Hubbard (R) from Auburn said on Facebook, “The latest polling shows that only 37% of Americans support President Obama’s signature legislation: ObamaCare. From the beginning, I’ve stated that this is one of the most offensive and overreaching pieces of legislation passed by Congress in our nation’s history. In Alabama, we will continue to throw roadblocks in the way of its implementation whenever and wherever possible.”
U.S. Representative Martha Roby (R) from Montgomery said on Facebook, “Today the ObamaCare law turns three years old. To celebrate, let’s take a trip through the maze of bureaucracy and regulation drawn up by the National Insurance Commissioners Association as a way to help citizens navigate how ObamaCare applies to them. And to think this was the simplest chart they could come up with! As I travel from Greenville to Montgomery or Enterprise to Dothan, the message I hear is clear: this law strangles job growth and has actually increased the cost of healthcare. We will continue working in the House to dismantle ObamaCare piece by piece. This is one law that doesn’t need to see anymore birthdays.”
Speaker of the U.S. House John Boehner (R) from Ohio said, “When Democrats rammed ObamaCare through Congress three years ago, they did so with a host of promises that are proving more empty by the day. Instead of keeping the coverage they have, an estimated seven million Americans are at risk of losing their health insurance, including millions of low-income and minority seniors enrolled in Medicare Advantage. Far from ‘bending the cost curve,’ ObamaCare’s projected price tag has nearly doubled. Health insurance premiums have spiked, and are expected to climb even further when the law takes full effect next year. The millions of jobs Democrats promised are nowhere to be found, and businesses large and small are already pointing to the impact of ObamaCare as the reason for ‘planned layoffs and a reluctance to hire more staff.’ The law imposes a trillion dollars worth of tax hikes, including a medical device tax that will ship thousands of jobs overseas. The longer this law stays in place, the more costly it becomes for American families and small businesses who cannot afford another year of broken promises.”
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce released a statement on Facebook to mark the anniversary, “Today marks the third anniversary of the Affordable Care Act. Unfortunately, we don’t see much to celebrate about a law full of broken promises. Instead, we’re re-affirming our oath to never stop fighting for health care reforms that America deserves.”
