Economists Agree: Job-Destroying Health Care Law Needs to Be Repealed

Today, 200 economists released a letter calling for the repeal of the job-crushing health care law that was rammed through Congress last year, noting that the law is “a threat to U.S. businesses and will place a crushing debt burden on future generations of Americans.” The letter comes on the heels of a new survey reported in today’s Dayton Daily News which found that “nearly half want Congress to repeal Obama’s federal health care overhaul…which is the goal of the Republicans now in charge of the U.S. House.”

Excerpts from the economists’ letter follows:

“A Barrier to Job Growth: [ObamaCare] contains expensive mandates and penalties that create major barriers to stronger job growth. The mandates will compete for the scarce business resources used for hiring and firm expansion. The law also levies roughly $500 billion in new taxes that will enter the supply chain for medical services, raising the cost of medical services. At the same time that businesses juggle the potential for higher interest rates or higher taxes, these medical costs will translate to higher insurance premiums, further increasing the cost of operating a business in the United States.

“A Massive Spending Increase and a Crushing Debt Burden: [ObamaCare] is fiscally dangerous at a moment when the United States is already facing a sea of red ink. It creates a massive new entitlement at a time when the budget is already buckling under the weight of existing entitlements. At a minimum, it will add $1 trillion to government spending over the next decade. Assertions that these costs are paid for are based on omitted costs, budgetary gimmicks, shifted premiums from other entitlements, and unsustainable spending cuts and revenue increases. A more comprehensive and realistic projection suggests that the Affordable Care Act could potentially raise the federal budget deficit by more than $500 billion during the first ten years and by nearly $1.5 trillion in the following decade.”

As Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) noted in an op-ed in today’s Detroit News, moving to repeal and replace ObamaCare can’t wait, since “more mandates are scheduled to take effect this year that will make it even harder for businesses to afford the coverage that they currently offer. When it’s all said and done, HHS is expected to release more than 30,000 pages of new regulations that will create an impossible compliance task for employers and families alike.” Any wonder the Columbus Dispatch called the job-crushing health care law “massive and half-baked” in an editorial last week.

Today’s Wall Street Journal reported that “on Thursday, a day after the repeal vote, the House will pass a measure directing committees to craft new legislation. House committees will begin ‘the exploration of better policy alternatives designed to lower costs, improve access, protect the doctor-patient relationship and get lawyers out of operating rooms,’ said John Murray, deputy chief of staff for Majority Leader Eric Cantor.”

By working to repeal ObamaCare this week, Republicans are keeping their Pledge to America and moving towards strengthening America’s health care system by empowering individuals and small businesses rather than government bureaucrats.

Read more at John Boehner for Congres