The days of a Democratic White House openly opposing constitutional and economic norms may seem distant.
However, they saw themselves as the think tanks back during the Obama administration. Moreover, Obamacare was meant to be the authorities’ crowning achievement.
As time passed, the law’s shaky foundations became more evident. Most of the leading Democratic presidential candidates in 2020 campaigned on repealing and replacing Obamacare.
Problems include the fact that the bill’s “pay-fors,” or revenue boosts intended to mitigate the law’s impact on the deficit and inflation, never materialized.
Obamacare's "pay-fors" included long-term care insurance, the intrusive 1099 mandate for freelancers, the Medical Device Tax, and nationalizing the student-loan business.
https://t.co/vBqkAk2Kib— Tim Carney (@TPCarney) August 31, 2022
To be more precise, Democrats got rid of them, proving they never meant for the measure to save money on healthcare or reduce spending.
Wrong Estimates
Ted Kennedy proposed the Class Act, which established mandatory nationwide long-term care insurance.
Because consumers would be paying for insurance and benefits wouldn’t end until beyond the 10-year window during which budget evaluations are done, Democrats added it to Obamacare. They termed it a revenue raiser, presumably raising $87 billion over 10 years.
The plan was abandoned, as it was obviously a terrible one. However, Obama and congressional Democrats were able to argue the law was “paid for” in part because of these made-up savings of $87 billion.
Student loan debt is a symptom, not the disease.Obama federalized and Guaranteed student loans so the interest would “pay for” Obamacare. College costs have soared ever since.These lefty students in debt need to know it was the left that has been bilking them for big government
— Dr Titte Twister (@TitteTwister) August 30, 2022
Obamacare’s other discarded revenue raiser was an outrageous and intrusive tax increase.
The so-called “1099 clause” would have mandated that independent contractors submit 1099s for virtually all business-related transactions, including the purchase of supplies and the hiring of service technicians.
Thankfully, Congress got rid of that terrible law. The tax on medical devices imposed by Obamacare was eliminated.
According to a 2013 article about another phony pay-for that Obama delayed, Obamacare was meant to save money by reducing spending on Medicare Advantage. Those savings should have become evident by last fall.
Funding Allocations
Medicare “demonstration initiatives,” on the other hand, were given the green light under the ACA so HHS could conduct experiments to uncover new ways to enhance care while cutting costs.
Obama put off Medicare Advantage cutbacks until after the 2012 election and used most of the money from the so-called “demonstration initiatives.”
Obamacare would bring in an additional $58 billion over a decade by expropriating the student lending industry, which formerly had federal guarantees for private banks.
However, there were those Democrats who made even more ambitious pledges. Senator Tom Carper stated the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010 will reform the student loan sector significantly.
It’s worth noting over a decade, this action will save taxpayers roughly $70 billion, adding another reason to the list of reasons why this rescue for student loans is unjustified.
It’s another case of giving up on the deceptions utilized to market Obamacare. There have been many false assertions that it paid for itself; this is just the latest to collapse.
This article appeared in The Political Globe and has been published here with permission.
