Morning Bell: President Says Obamacare Is Going Great

Heritage Foundation
Morning Bell: President Says Obamacare Is Going Great
By Amy Payne
May 1, 2013

Obamacare is “working fine,” President Obama said yesterday in his press conference. It’s made health insurance “stronger, better, more secure than it was before.”

There are just a few slight details left to be implemented, but we shouldn’t worry about those, according to the President.

Right. There’s nothing to worry about, which is why Members of Congress are trying to exempt themselves and their staffs from Obamacare.

In reality, health insurance premiums are rising, and states—meaning taxpayers—are staring down some astronomical expenses. A new study from the Government Accountability Office cites Obamacare and Medicaid costs as budget busters for states that are just starting to get their budgets in order.

One of the biggest ways Obamacare planned to cover the uninsured was expanding Medicaid, the government health care program for low-income children, disabled Americans, pregnant women, and seniors. But this program isn’t quality care, and it needs major reforms. Heritage’s Nina Owcharenko, the Preston A. Wells, Jr. Fellow, has explained that expanding Medicaid is bad for patients and taxpayers alike. “Greater dependence on federal dollars tangles the states in bad fiscal policy and bad health care policy,” Owcharenko says.

Yesterday, President Obama dismissed Obamacare opposition from the states as political. But it’s a very real bottom-line issue. Heritage research shows that 40 of 50 states would see increases in costs due the Obamacare Medicaid expansion. In just three years, costs would exceed any potential savings that have been suggested…