The continued failure of Obamacare

By Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler

Missouri 4th Congressional District

It has been more than three and a half years since Obamacare was jammed through Congress, and Americans are painfully learning more about the hostile takeover of the best health care system in the world.

October 1 marks the launch of the next phase of the health care law, with new health insurance exchanges for individuals scheduled to open. Although multiple reports of computer glitches and pricing uncertainties with the exchanges have surfaced, the administration has decided to march forward anyway. While the administration buckled under loud cries from major companies and gave a one-year delay for the employer mandate, Obama officials have refused to grant any relief for average Americans who are now forced to comply with a law that even bureaucrats are uncertain will work.

Over the past three years, Missourians have learned that Obamacare will mean employers will drop coverage, companies will remove health benefits for spouses, and individuals won't necessarily be able to keep the coverage they have. We've learned what's in the bill after its passage, and the only thing we know with confidence is that Obamacare is unworkable.

The implementation delay for employers -- but not individuals -- is only the latest frustration for the citizens I represent in Missouri's Fourth Congressional District. Missourians have been loud and clear in their opposition to this ill-conceived law -- they want it repealed. They do not appreciate the unprecedented powers given to unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats to make decisions that should only be made by a patient after consulting with his or her doctor.

They do not appreciate being forced to pay for health care services that they find morally objectionable and that violate their religious beliefs. And they do not appreciate the harm that this law is causing to our already fragile employment situation through mandates that job creators cannot afford.

Obamacare is an obstacle to the growth of small businesses as employers are keeping payrolls under 50 employees to avoid expensive compliance requirements that are triggered when 50 or more workers are employed. The unintended consequence is that businesses considering expanding have put those plans on hold. Additionally, employers are cutting hours to avoid Obamacare's 30-hour full-time trigger that forces employers to provide government approved health insurance or face heavy fines. This is an unacceptable recipe for economic turmoil.

Prior to Obamacare's adoption, President Obama told American families that if they liked their existing health plans they could keep them. That has turned out to be a false promise as added mandates and higher costs have forced many employers to cut back on the health care packages they had been offering to their employees.

In short, the president's law is not solving our health care problems, it is only making things worse.

It's bad enough that this law is not ready for prime time; if left intact, over the next decade, ObamaCare will impose at least $500 billion in new taxes on the American people. Clearly, the Affordable Care Act is neither affordable nor caring. The constant delays and continued failures of this law explain why Democratic Senator Max Baucus has appropriately called Obamacare a "train wreck." The people of Missouri's 4th District deserve better.