ALG Blasts Obama for "Lying about the Increased Cost of Premiums" under Plan at Health Summit

"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.



NetRight Daily: The Health Care Summit

We have a round-up posted with all sorts of information on today's Health Care Summit as well as a live feed of what is going on. Be sure to check it out! Here are today's top stories on NetRight Nation and other relevant information:

Senate Judiciary Committee Should Delay DOJ Nominee Shawn Johnsen:  Americans for Limited Government (ALG) President Bill Wilson today in a letter urged members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee to delay the confirmation of a controversial nomination to the Justice Department by Barack Obama until it can be confirmed whether the nominee violated the law.

Republican's Divided:  At a time when the political winds should be at their back the Republican Party may be ill-poised to make the electoral gains conventional wisdom and history dictate they should at this fall's midterm elections.

The GOP: A Time For Truth:  In his latest generic ballot question, Rasmussen Reports show Republicans holding a substantial 44 to 35 percent lead over Democrats for the 2010 Congressional elections. In fact, the poll shows that Republicans have led consistently since June 28th, 2009, just two days after the House passed its onerous legislation capping carbon emissions and taxing energy consumption.

Evan Bayh Described As Centrists Despite Health Care Stance:  When Evan Bayh announced that he would not seek another term as U.S. Senator from Indiana, The New York Times was quick to fix the centrist label on him. Although his state leans Republican, Bayh was a consistent winner, popular among constituents, well-liked across party lines and frequently eyed as a candidate for national office.

The Constitution, The Declaration, And Me:  Last Wednesday, I flew out to Washington DC to attend the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). But this trip was rendered eminently worthwhile for me well before the speeches and panel sessions began the next day.

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Heritage Health Care Summit Tool-Kit

Washington, DC is buzzing about the President’s so-called “Health Care Summit” today. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle will attend the event which will certainly lead the evening news tonight.

From our recent research entitled, The Health Care Summit: A Chance to Start Over and Get It Right, The Heritage Foundation’s position on the summit can be summed up this way:

 America's health care system is in need of change, but not change that consists of overhauling one-sixth of America's economy by centralizing health care decisions in Washington. The cornerstone provisions of the House and Senate proposals, along with the President's recent recommendations, would put more power in the hands of bureaucrats and politicians. The legislative process thus far has been characterized by little transparency or bipartisanship. To be successful, the health care summit must begin by setting aside the highly unpopular House and Senate bills. Simply adjusting the magnitude of these proposals or adding new "conservative" provisions does not change their fundamental direction. Congress and the Administration should instead pursue bipartisan reform that gives Americans greater personal control of health care decisions.

Heritage continues to provide up-to-the-minute analysis and commentary on the ongoing health care negotiations, and I wanted you to make sure these resources are just one click away as you discuss the issue with your family, friends, neighbors and co-workers OR if you are blogging, tweeting and commenting on local news stories online. I have included links to videos as well as information on the details of the President’s “new” health care proposal. And, there is information on the Democrats’ proposal to pass the bill in the Senate outside of the regular rules by using what is known as “reconciliation” or the so-called “nuclear option.”

VIDEO: Want Health Care Summit Success? Start Over. 

VIDEO: Obamacare Doesn’t Help Young Adults

The President’s Health Summit Proposal: Rhetoric vs Reality

The President's Health Proposal: Taxing Investments Undermines Economic Recovery

The Health Care Summit: Getting Reform Done Right

The President's Health Reform Proposal: More Like $2.5 Trillion

"Bending the Curve": What Really Drives Health Care Spending

The President’s Health Proposal: Further Jacking Up the Cost of Care

Obama’s Health Plan – Taxes, Taxes Everywhere

Can They Make Obamacare Worse? Yes They Can!

A First Look at the President’s Health Summit Proposal: Liberal Proposal Number Three

New But Unimproved: Abortion Funding in the White House Health Plan

The White House Learned Nothing from Massachusetts

Obamacare Bends the Cost Curve Up: Here Is How to Bend It Down

New County Health Study Reinforces Need for Federalism in Health Reform

Cash-Only Docs: A Promising Advancement in Consumer-Driven Health Care

Obamacare and Health Care Nuclear Option Violate First Principles

VIDEO: The Left Blasts Nuclear Option As Anti-Democratic

Health Care Nuclear Option – Liberals Ready to Launch

Rep. McCotter's ShamWow Summit Synopsis

Washington, D.C. -  In response to today’s White House summit, United States Representative Thaddeus G. McCotter has released the following statement:

“History will record that, in a time of war and recession, this was how the duly elected leaders of the greatest nation on earth spent their day.”

To see Rep. McCotter’s RedState.com blog, where he originally likened today’s summit to a ShamWow infomercial, please click here. 

U.S. Rep. Thaddeus G. McCotter (MI-11) is Chair of the Republican House Policy Committee, for which he recently authored “We the People: Wide Awake for Our Newest Birth of Freedom.” For more information, please visit www.policy.house.gov.