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  • Obamacare

    Obamacare was pushed into law with the hope that the more Americans learned about it, the more they would like it. That has not happened. Americans remain strongly opposed to the health law and its expansion of the role of government in their lives. The more they learn about the law, the less they like it and the more they search for an alternative, like Heritage’s Saving the American Dream proposal, that empowers patients, reduces costs, and ensures access.

    Even CBO Is Skeptical of Obamacare

    Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Director Douglas Elmendorf recently spoke at the University of Southern California about the economic impact of Obamacare. He predicts that Obamacare will further depress the nation’s employment picture. CBO’s analysis of Obamacare predicts that it will reduce the amount of labor being used in the economy … More

    Governor Bredesen Got the Calculations Right

    In yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, Tennessee Governor Philip Bredesen explained how Obamacare has created a situation where the state government and many of its employees will find it mutually advantageous to the get rid of the employer-sponsored insurance program the state currently offers. As we have noted, Bredesen correctly acknowledges … More

    Obamacare Frankenstein Is Scarier Than “Zombie Legislation”

    In a recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine, Henry J. Aaron, senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution, writes that rolling back and defunding Obamacare would create “zombie legislation … [i.e.,] a program that lives on but works badly.” If Aaron is looking for a … More

    Side Effects: Obamacare Strengthens Compliance-Based Medicine

    Obamacare alters the practice medicine by putting a stronger emphasis on adherence to government-determined measures of quality. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) already offers hospitals financial incentives to report on their compliance with certain measures of care. These are posted on Hospital Compare, a site where, according … More

    Settling the Question of a Real Estate Tax in Obamacare

    By now, Americans have become well acquainted with the fact that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) will have a multitude of adverse effects. The new law is certain to add to the federal deficit. It increases taxes on all Americans in a number of different ways, encourages … More

    Defending the Constitution Against Radical Federal Government Power

    “We don’t sue because we don’t like things. That is what elections are for,” Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli told the closing lunch of the Fall 2010 Legal Strategy Forum, “We sue because some things the federal government has done are unconstitutional.” Speaking at The Heritage Foundation Thursday, Cucinelli urged the … More

    Side Effects: Obamacare Hurts Low-Income Workers

    With a struggling economy and stagnant unemployment rate, the last thing the United States needs is any public policy that will hurt job growth. Unfortunately, Obamacare’s new federally mandated, essential benefits package will diminish new job opportunities, especially for low-income workers. This is expected to occur because the new law … More

    HHS Waivers and the Three I’s of Obamacare

    Yuval Levin has made the important point that, when HHS granted waivers exempting some employer health plans from Obamacare’s prohibition on annual benefit limits, it was the “kind of government by whim, and not by law” that is “the essence of the regulatory state.” It is indeed a very troubling … More

    What’s the Worst That Could Happen With The New Health Law?

    The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is one of the largest and most complicated overhauls ever enacted. Policy experts continue to debate the impact it will have. Among the issues that has raised concerns is its cost. Supporters point to an estimate by the Congressional Budget Office that the … More

    The Verdict Is In: Medicare Advantage Will Suffer Under Obamacare

    The outlook for seniors’ Medicare Advantage (MA) plans is grim under the new health care law. Though seniors’ premiums will drop 1 percent in the new year, this will be the exception to the rule over the next decade. Medicare Advantage is a popular alternative to traditional fee-for-service, allowing seniors … More