Seniors Lose Under ObamaCare; Trial Lawyers Win

Any time Democrats write a 2,300-page bill behind closed doors, some Americans are bound to benefit at the expense of others. In the case of ObamaCare, trial lawyers got a big win. Seniors weren't as lucky.

Democrats dramatically slashed Medicare funding to fund a chunk of ObamaCare, raiding "a program for the elderly" so they could provide taxpayer-funded benefits to younger Americans. Or as National Review put it, the purpose of these Medicare cuts was "not to improve Medicare's financial outlook or to reduce the budget deficit, but to pay for an expensive new entitlement for others." The result?

>> SENIORS WHO LIKE THEIR PLANS CAN'T KEEP THEM: "Seniors with Medicare Advantage and workers with health savings accounts are the most likely to be forced out of their current plans."  (Early Returns on ObamaCare Are Disappointing, Richmond Times-Dispatch, 7/25/10)

>> LOWER INCOME SENIORS HURT MOST: "Obamacare's [Medicare Advantage] cuts will also hit low-income seniors disproportionately. ... The new law also cuts payments to hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, and hospice facilities." (Obamacare's Political Future, National Review, 7/27/10)

Remember when the president promised that under ObamaCare, "If you like your plan, keep your plan?" Chalk it up as another broken promise.

Reps. Phil Gingrey (R-GA) and John Fleming (R-LA) wrote in Roll Call today that Democrats purposely excluded "meaningful medical liability reform" from ObamaCare because, as former DNC Chairman Howard Dean "said at a town hall meeting last year … 'the people who wrote it did not want to take on the trial lawyers.'" The result?

>> PATIENTS FACE LONGER WAITS, RATIONED CARE: "In over 2000 pages of legislation, Obamacare avoided tort reform, despite its proven record of improving access to medical care. ... When medical malpractice lawsuits and high insurance premiums prevent 497 emergency medicine physicians from practicing in a given area (bear in mind that the figure will have increased since 2007), expect there to be long ER waits in hospitals and pressure to ration scarce labor resources, meaning some people get care and others don't." (Why the Democratic alliance with trial lawyers will result in health care rationing, Washington Examiner, 7/27/10)

Reining in junk lawsuits would lower costs, "reduce legal abuse and increase the likelihood that justice will truly be served." But trial lawyers didn't want it so Democrats didn't really touch it.

That's not leadership. That's why we need to repeal ObamaCare and start over with reforms that will lower costs without kicking people out of plans they like or rationing care. If you haven't already, sign our petition on ScraptheBill.org, join the 60,000 of us on Facebook who want ObamaCare repealed, or make a generous contribution to help The Freedom Project keep up the fight!

READ MORE:
Tax or No, the ObamaCare Mandate is Unconstitutional (7/23/10)
Coming Soon to Pennsylvania: Taxpayer-Subsidized Abortions, Courtesy ObamaCare (7/13/10)
"Rationer-in-Chief": A Quick Guide to Obama's Reckless Recess Appointment (7/7/10)
Virginia v. ObamaCare: VA Takes Jobs-Killing Health Care Takeover to Court (7/6/10)
Experts Warn ObamaCare Will Mean "Longer ER Waits, Crowding" (7/2/10)