23 Oct 2009 No Free Lunch: The True Cost of ObamaCare Report Released

Washington, DC – Far from providing “affordable” care for everyone, ObamaCare would result in higher insurance premiums, more and higher taxes, fewer jobs, lower wages, a reduced standard of living and an erosion of privacy and individual liberty.

This is the conclusion of a new report, “No Free Lunch: The True Cost of ObamaCare,” by policy analyst Matt Patterson, just released by the National Center for Public Policy Research.

“Instead of providing “affordable” health care for everybody, ObamaCare will in fact lead to dramatically higher health insurance premiums, as well as higher taxes, reduced Medicare benefits, lower wages, and fewer jobs for low and middle-income Americans,” said Patterson.

Specifically, the paper says, adoption of one of the several “ObamaCare” health care proposals percolating in Congress would lead to:

Higher Premiums – Billions in new taxes and fees would be imposed on medical companies and health insurers to pay for ObamaCare – costs which would be passed on to the consumer as higher insurance premiums.

Higher Taxes – ObamaCare would be paid for with massive tax increases, amounting to an estimated increased tax burden of $2.3 trillion in the coming decades.

Lower Wages/Fewer Jobs – New taxes and fees imposed on businesses by ObamaCare would result in fewer jobs and lower wages for low- and middle-income workers.

Standard of Living – The massive government spending required to finance national health care would explode the federal deficit with ruinous consequences for every American’s standard of living.

Medicare Benefits – ObamaCare aims to pay for itself, in part, with hundreds of billions of dollars in devastating cuts to Medicare and Medicare Advantage.

Privacy – ObamaCare regulations would result in a larger, more powerful IRS and ensure that more personal information is shared with more people.

Your Freedom – ObamaCare would require, under threat of penalty, every American to have insurance whether they want or need it.

“ObamaCare won’t save money, nationally or individually,” says Patterson.  “Instead, it will increase insurance premiums, raise taxes, depress wages, siphon jobs, explode the deficit, reduce living standards, rob privacy and erode personal liberty.”

“No Free Lunch: The True Cost of ObamaCare” is available online athttps://nationalcenter.org/NPA590.html.