NH INSIDER



"The American people have had enough of Barack Obama and Congress' lies. It's time to scrap this bill once and for all."—ALG President Bill Wilson.

February 26^th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today condemned the Obama Administration for "lying about the increased cost of insurance premiums as reported by the Congressional Budget Office at his fraudulent 'bipartisan' health takeover summit."

"Yesterday, Barack Obama flat out lied to the American people, claiming that his plan would, according to CBO, lower the cost of insurance premiums," Wilson said.

Wilson pointed to the relevant Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report, which stated, "CBO and JCT estimate that the average premium per person covered (including dependents) for new nongroup policies would be about 10 percent to 13 percent higher in 2016 than the average premium for nongroup coverage in that same year under current law… Average premiums per policy in the nongroup market in 2016 would be roughly $5,800 for single policies and $15,200 for family policies under the proposal, compared with roughly $5,500 for single policies and $13,100 for family policies under current law."

The CBO also reported, "About half of those enrollees would receive government subsidies that would reduce their costs well below the premiums that would be charged for such policies under current law," which formed the basis of Obama's claim, responding to Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), stating, "Lamar, when you mentioned earlier that you said premiums go up, that's just not the case, according to the Congressional Budget Office."

Wilson said Obama was "misleading the American people.  This is not a case where Obama and Alexander were 'both right.' Obama was wrong."

Wilson explained, "Subsidizing premiums does not lower the cost of health care, it shifts the burden of the price of health coverage increasingly to taxpayers.  At the same time, ObamaCare increases the minimum requirements for insurance coverage, which forces premiums up, as noted by the CBO."

The CBO report also stated, "the average insurance policy in this market would cover a substantially larger share of enrollees' costs for health care (on average) and a slightly wider range of benefits. Those expansions would reflect both the minimum level of coverage (and related requirements) specified in the proposal and people's decisions to purchase more extensive coverage in response to the structure of subsidies."

"Because of the subsidy, Obama wants to claim that individuals would be paying less for premiums, and that therefore the cost of health coverage is somehow being reduced," Wilson said, adding, "This is like claiming that subsidized housing and mortgage loans are causing the price of housing to go down, or that subsidized student loans are causing the price of education to go down, which of course is absurd."

"In fact, subsidies across the economic spectrum have been directly linked to housing inflation, education inflation, and other asset bubbles, because the subsidies inflate demand artificially, which directly causes prices to increase," Wilson explained.

"These sorts of blatant lies explain exactly why the American people are completely opposed to this bill.  For example, Harry Reid claimed yesterday that 'no one' was considering the use of reconciliation when he himself was speaking of it publicly.  Or, Obama claiming in his address to the joint-session of Congress that his bill would reduce the deficit when the entire entitlement will be operating in the red within less than 20 years, costing over $2.5 trillion from 2014 to 2023," Wilson added.

"It just goes on and on.  The American people have had enough of Barack Obama and Congress' lies.  It's time to scrap this bill once and for all," Wilson concluded.



As Opponents Address President's Plan to Block Excessive Rate Increases by Insurance Companies, Ayotte Refuses to Take a Position

CONCORD - While every single one of her senate opponents took positions on President Obama's plan to block excessive rate increases by insurance companies, GOP senate candidate Kelly Ayotte refused to address the proposal [Union Leader, 2/25/10]. Her silence on the plan to protect New Hampshire consumers comes after refusing to say whether she would support the bipartisan jobs bill which passed the senate earlier this week.

President Obama's proposal would create a Rate Increase Authority which would protect consumers across the country by blocking excessive and arbitrary rate increases by insurance companies. Last week, news broke that major insurance companies were hitting unsuspecting consumers with rate increases of up to 39 percent [LA Times, 2/14/10].

"Once again, Kelly Ayotte is silent on the two biggest issues facing New Hampshire's middle-class families - jobs and healthcare," said Emily Browne, Press Secretary for the New Hampshire Democratic Party. "First she ignores the landmark, bipartisan jobs bill passed earlier this week, and now she won't take a position on a health care provision to keep insurance companies accountable.

"She's running to be New Hampshire's next US Senator but refusing to tell the people of the Granite State how she'd get them back to work or protect them from the profit-hungry insurance companies that continue to slam unsuspecting consumers with massive premium increases." 



Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter voted in favor of legislation that she had cosponsored to repeal the health insurance industry’s exemption from federal antitrust laws. H.R. 4626, the Health Insurance Industry Fair Competition Act, passed the House 406 to 19. 

“The days of the health care industry playing by their own rules are about to end,” said Congresswoman Shea-Porter. “With health care costs continuing to skyrocket, and more Americans losing coverage each day, we must protect consumers from unethical practices like price gouging.  Just last week, it was reported that the insurance companies are planning on raising individual premium rates by double-digit percentages, including here in New Hampshire. By increasing competition, this legislation will help lower costs, improve coverage, and benefit consumers.”

The Health Insurance Industry Fair Competition Act amends the McCarran-Ferguson Act by repealing the antitrust exemption health insurance companies receive.  Under this bill, health insurers will be held accountable for price fixing, dividing up territories among themselves, and sabotaging competitors in order to gain a monopoly – all of which are illegal in other industries. 

Approximately 95 percent of health insurance markets in the U.S. are “highly concentrated,” meaning that consumers have little to no choice in choosing an insurer. In New Hampshire, two health insurance companies control 75 percent of the market. From 2000 to 2007, health insurance premiums for New Hampshire families increased by 79%. This concentration has created monopolies in many states, and has allowed insurers to hike up costs.

The Health Insurance Industry Fair Competition Act has received broad, bipartisan support and was endorsed by leading law enforcement and consumer groups, including the National Association of Attorneys General, Consumers Union, and the Consumer Federation of America. 

Kelly Ayotte Has Consistently Opposed Health Care Reform - Will She Fight President's Proposal to Block Excessive Rate Increases by Insurance Companies?

CONCORD - Yesterday, President Obama revealed his comprehensive health care plan, which includes a proposal to give the federal government the ability to block excessive rate increases by insurance companies [New York Times, 2/21/10]. The president's proposal comes after a major insurance giant on the West Coast announced earlier this month that it would be hiking premiums as much as 39 percent [LA Times, 2/14/10].

Republican Senate candidate Kelly Ayotte has opposed health care reform at every step, pushing a misguided GOP plan that would eliminate essential consumer protections and give insurance companies the power to cherry-pick who they cover. Last month she continued courting the insurance industry and right-wing special interest groups and signed the Repeal It! healthcare pledge, promising to repeal health care reform, if elected [Ayotte Release, 1/15/10]. Given her record of opposing reform, will Ayotte fight the president's proposal to keep insurance companies accountable and protect New Hampshire consumers from arbitrary rate increases?

"While New Hampshire's middle class has fought back-breaking premiums and rising health care costs, big insurance companies have enjoyed record profits," said Emily Browne, Press Secretary for the New Hampshire Democratic Party. "Kelly Ayotte has been their voice in New Hampshire, pushing an agenda that would give them complete control over the health care of our families. Will she once again pick insurance companies over New Hampshire's middle class and fight against the president's proposal to protect Granite State consumers from massive rate increases?"