By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
Congresswoman Martha Roby (R) from Montgomery said recently that there is a lot of bad news coming out of Obamacare lately.
Representative Roby said on Facebook, “Obamacare has been in the news a lot lately, but for all the wrong reasons. The more we learn about this law, the worse it gets – premiums are rising, people are losing their healthcare plans, and the Administration continues to leave us in the dark.”
Rep. Roby announced, “The Obama Administration is delaying implementation of the ObamaCare business mandate until 2015. You read that right. ObamaCare, the hallmark of President Obama’s presidency, is so unworkable that it must be delayed yet again.”
Most political pundits believe that President Obama’s political advisers were worried that the impact of the Obamacare penalties on employers could lead to a backlash against Democrats in the 2014 congressional races, where the President hopes to regain control of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Rep. Roby said, “The Affordable Care Act is designed to place health care within reach of all Americans, but the law may end up making insurance more costly for healthy people.” Roby referred to a Wall Street Journal report that reviewed proposed health care plans across eight states which shows that premiums for those in good health are likely to double or even triple under Obamacare. The report does show that costs for people with chronic conditions will likely decrease under Obamacare.
But, many more affordable catastrophic coverage plans will be discontinued under Obamacare meaning that many people who have insurance now will be unable to afford the new Obamacare compliant healthcare plans. This will likely lead to more people lacking health insurance rather than fewer. Millions of people will fall into Medicaid which is expanding in most states, although the President has no plan (outside of deficit spending or more future tax increases) to pay for an expansion of Medicaid. To this point Alabama has refused to join the rush to expand the controversial medical insurance program for the poor and underprivileged.
Congressman Jo Bonner (R) from Mobile recently wrote, “On May 16, I joined the House in voting to repeal Obamacare, and I believe the best medicine for America is to scrap the president’s unpopular and unworkable health care law and pass market-based health care reforms. It’s time to exempt all of America from Obamacare.”
While businesses are exempted from feeling the full force of Obamacare for another year, many provisions affecting both individuals and the healthcare industry are still on course to go into effect in 2014.
Congresswoman Martha Roby represents Alabama’s Second Congressional District. Rep. Roby is now serving in her second term in the U.S. Congress.
