Last week, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a report that has added to the debate surrounding Obamacare’s impact on the economy.
In the report, the CBO claims that Obamacare will incentivize individuals to work less in order to maintain higher subsidy levels. As people earn more, their subsidy levels decrease. In fact, in some cases the extra earnings will be even less than the loss of subsidies, encouraging people not to work. Thus, the CBO estimates that Obamacare will directly lead to a decrease of 2.3 million full-time-equivalent jobs.
Is anyone really surprised that the Obama administration passed a law that encourages people to work less? I am not. This report, though, is just the latest in a long list of problems or issues that Obamacare has or will create.
As has been shown incessantly over the past few months, Obamacare is leading to cancellations of policies across America, despite Obama claiming that “if you like your health care plan, you can keep it,” a statement that earned the notorious title of PolitiFact’s “Lie of the Year.”
Along with the cancellations, many are seeing their insurance costs increase. In fact, according to a report by the Manhattan Institute, insurance premiums will rise an average of 41 percent, with Mississippi seeing a 63 percent increase on average. Only eight states will see an average decrease, while five will see the averages more than double.
Of course, these numbers go against claims made by Obama, such as his promise to “cut the cost of a typical family’s premium by up to $2,500 a year.” To Obama, the typical family must only reside in those eight states. The rest are obviously atypical.
This is all after the launch of the government-run health care site that was not quite functional. Estimates range from $300 to $500 million for the costs pertaining to the site, which was riddled with issues, including a number of security problems. To put that number in perspective, Facebook operated for six years before it hit $500 million in expenditures. The health care site racked up most of its costs before it was ever launched, and it was launched with more problems than solutions.
These are only a few of the issues that have been created by Obamacare, and it is not even fully implemented. If you are listening to the administration, then you will hear that everything is fine and you only have to trust Obama. But if you are one of the millions with canceled insurance or increased premiums, you know the reality of the situation.
Trenton Winford is a senior public policy leadership major from Madison.
