Bay Area Citizen

Posted: Monday, March 19, 2012 11:31 am

By Rep. Pete Olson

The more we learn about President Obama’s healthcare overhaul, commonly known as Obamacare, the bigger our concerns. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) just reported that Obamacare is now projected to cost taxpayers $1.76 trillion over 10 years instead of the $940 billion that the White House originally forecast. That number adds an additional $820 billion on the backs of hard-working American families across our nation. In addition to almost doubling the taxpayer tab, access to the employee-based healthcare that Americans currently enjoy is in jeopardy.

CBO's new analysis predicts that as many as 20 million Americans could lose their employer-based health insurance as a result of the law. Last year, CBO's best estimate was that only one million people would lose employer-sponsored coverage. This troubling news comes just after CBO released analysis that shows the gross cost of the law has increased to $1.8 trillion and job creators and individuals will also be paying an additional $99 billion in penalties and fees. It's hard to believe, but the more we find out about this law, the worse it gets.

President Obama repeatedly promised during the healthcare debate, “If you like your current plan, you will be able to keep it.” Sadly, it wasn’t true then and still isn’t true now. A massive, government-run program is not an effective solution to our nation's healthcare problems. We must improve access to quality care for all Americans by repealing Obamacare and replacing it with a plan that ensures that individuals with pre-existing conditions receive access to affordable care; allows people to shop across state lines for more competitive insurance rates; and allows small businesses to join together so they can provide more affordable, quality coverage for their employees the same way that large corporations and unions can.

Republicans have offered alternatives every step of the way to increase the number of Americans with access to healthcare, while allowing those who are satisfied with their coverage to keep it. Reforming healthcare is an issue that affects every single American and their well being is something that should be done in a bipartisan, transparent and cooperative manner.