Scribd
Upload
90 views2 pages

Keep Your Doctor Change Your Senator

The Obama Administration recently took a much-publicized victory lap for its unverified claim that 7.1 million Americans have “enrolled” in Obamacare. But let’s review the facts.

Uploaded by

OrtmanForSenate
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
90 views2 pages

Keep Your Doctor Change Your Senator

The Obama Administration recently took a much-publicized victory lap for its unverified claim that 7.1 million Americans have “enrolled” in Obamacare. But let’s review the facts.

Uploaded by

OrtmanForSenate
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

April, 2014

Keep Your Doctor, Change Your Senator


By U.S. Senate Candidate - Julianne Ortman
Of course our goal must be to repeal Obamacare and never replace it with
another federal program. We must work strategically and effectively to plan
for its demise."
he Obama Administration recently took a
much-publicized victory lap for its
unverified claim that 7.1 million Americans
have enrolled in Obamacare. But lets
review the facts.
When the Affordable Care Act was
forced through Congress, we were told it
would make healthcare more affordable.
We were told we could keep our doctors.
We were told that internet health
exchanges would make enrolling a simple
task. We were told we needed the
Affordable Care Act to provide health
insurance options for an estimated 30
million uninsured Americans who couldnt
otherwise obtain coverage. And we were
told by the President himself on June 5,
2008, that it could accomplish all this and
the costs for our insurance premiums
would drop by an average of $2,500 per
family. We now know, all too well, that
these claims were false.
Finally, the Presidents memorable
guarantee, If you like your healthcare plan,
you can keep it, was designated by
PolitiFact as Lie of the Year in 2013!
Since Obamacare was passed in
2010, the economic consequences for our
families, doctors and patients, the
insurance industry, employees and
employers and our nation just keep piling
up. Small businesses are avoiding hiring
new employees so they wont be required
to comply with large employer mandates.
Because of Obamacare, the American
Health Policy Institute reports that large
employers expect their costs to escalate by
between $151 billion and $186 billion.
And employers of all sizes are transitioning
their workforce to part-time. Even the
Nevada AFL-CIO last year adopted a
resolution that said, among other things,
that Obamacare would lead to the
destruction of the 40 hour work week,
higher taxes and force union members
onto more costly plans.
The mandates of Obamacare have
sown instability in families finances and
instability in the job market. By 2012,
median family income had fallen to
$60,000 -- down from $65,000 in 2008.
Of all jobs created in 2013, a staggering
1 Prepared and paid for by Julianne.mn www.julianne.mn
www.Julianne.mn
T
www.Julianne.mn
April, 2014
75% of them were part-time only. And by
2023, the net costs for Obamacare will be
in the trillions, according to the
Congressional Budget Office.
And what of the estimated 30
million eligible uninsured Americans from
2010? Reviewing the 7.1 million that have
sort of enrolled (people were counted
even if they didnt actually agree to
coverage or pay for it) through the March
31, 2014 deadline, the RAND corporation
estimates that only 2 million were
previously uninsured.
In other words, after creating chaos
in one-sixth of our economy, with real and
measurable harm to our families and
businesses, Obamacare has covered just a
tiny fraction of the intended beneficiaries.
Its time for the naked, unadorned truth:
Obamacare is a measurable and colossal
failure.
I have vigorously fought Obamacare
at every step of its advancement. First, in
2009 I introduced a resolution in the
Minnesota Senate to direct Congress to
vote no on the legislation. (Floor debate,
MN Senate, 3/18/2010) In my view,
Obamacare is a violation of the 10th
Amendment and an assault on our ability
as a State to manage healthcare as we
decide.
Minnesota never needed Obamacare
because we had MNCare (affordable and
accessible healthcare insurance for all who
wanted it, without mandates for anyone
else). The Minnesota Care and Health Act
(MCHA) also offered an option for those
with pre-existing conditions who could not
find coverage in the private marketplace.
Second, in 2010 after Obamacare
was passed and signed into law, I rallied all
68 GOP Legislators at the Capitol to sign a
letter to the Attorney General insisting she
challenge the constitutionality of
Obamacare as a violation of the Commerce
Clause: Congress has no power to regulate
insurance markets by forcing Americans to
buy a product or service that we do not
want. Of course DFL Attorney General Lori
Swanson refused and joined the Obama
side of the case.
Third, as a Minnesota State Senator,
I joined as a party to the federal court
challenge to Obamacare decided in the
U.S. Supreme Court. The fact that the law
was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in
2012 makes the Presidents 30-plus
Executive Orders changing the law without
Congressional approval all the more
dangerous to constitutional order, and
another giant step toward tyranny. (The
Road to Constitutional Crisis, Chanhassen
Villager, 7/18/2013)
Fourth, in 2013, I voted against
Minnesotas early opt-in to Obamacare
and against the $150 million boondoggle
known as MNSure, the state exchange.
Of course our goal must be to
repeal Obamacare and never replace it with
another federal program. We must work
strategically and effectively to plan for its
demise. The U.S. House can vote 500
times to repeal, and a courageous few in
the Senate may filibuster to protest it, but
even if the Senate as a body will not help,
and even if the President refuses to
acknowledge his failure, we must never
give up. If we cant repeal it, we must
defund it. If we cant defund it, we must
dismantle it one mandate at a time. We
must find another line of attack. If taking
back a Republican Majority in the United
States Senate in 2014 is the only way to
repeal, then the stakes in our U.S. Senate
race could not be greater.
I have never defended Obamacare
and Im not about to start now. Please
dont trust any message intended to
mislead you; I have been among the States
most vocal opponents of Obamacare over
many years. While we have to admit that
Al Franken made history by voting for
Obamacare, when I am elected to the
United States Senate I will correct that
wrong, and history will record that
Minnesota led the effort to repeal it.
2 Prepared and paid for by Julianne.mn www.julianne.mn
State Senator Julianne Ortman has practiced law for 25 years
and has served in the Minnesota Senate for 12 years. She is the
only Republican in the
past 40 years, and the
rst woman ever, to
Chair the Minnesota
Senate Tax Committee.

You might also like