Today, House Republicans, released a new report entitled ObamaCare: A Budget-Busting, Job-Killing Health Care Law documenting the devastating impact on the economy, Small business, and jobs.

From the report:

Economic Consequences. Consistent with respected economists‟ forecasts, the health care law contains a number of provisions that will eliminate jobs, reduce hours and wages, and limit future job creation. Specifically, the law:

• Penalizes employers for failing to offer coverage deemed acceptable by the government;
• Imposes burdensome mandates on small businesses, including new paperwork requirements; and
• Compounds the uncertainty employers and entrepreneurs are facing amid a challenging economic climate.

Independent analyses have determined that the health care law will cause significant job losses for the U.S. economy: the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office has determined that the law will reduce the “amount of labor used in the economy by roughly half a percent…,” an estimate that adds up to roughly 650,000 jobs lost. A study by the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB), the nation‟s largest small business association, found that the law‟s employer mandate alone could lead to the elimination of 1.6 million jobs, with 66 percent of those coming from small businesses. By comparison, then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) stated that “in its life,” the health care law would “create 4 million jobs – 400,000 jobs almost immediately.”

Fiscal Consequences. Studies of the health care law reveal that it will cost taxpayers more than originally estimated, and may exacerbate the nation‟s dire fiscal condition. Specifically, the law:

• Relies on accounting gimmicks that mask its true cost to taxpayers;
• Double-counts savings from Medicare that are widely viewed as unsustainable; and
• Requires additional government spending to direct its implementation.

According to an analysis by House Budget Committee Republicans, the health care law will cost the nation $2.6 trillion when fully implemented, and add $701 billion to the deficit in its first ten years.iv By comparison, President Obama stated during a joint session of Congress on September 9, 2009 that he would not sign health care reform that “adds one dime to our deficits – either now or in the future.”v Recommendations. The evidence is overwhelming: Immediate steps should be taken to repeal the health care law and replace it with common-sense reforms to lower costs and protect jobs. Such measures would ease uncertainty for employers and entrepreneurs, and give Congress an opportunity to take the necessary measures to address the nation‟s fiscal challenges.

Recommendations. The evidence is overwhelming: Immediate steps should be taken to repeal the health care law and replace it with common-sense reforms to lower costs and protect jobs. Such measures would ease uncertainty for employers and entrepreneurs, and give Congress an opportunity to take the necessary measures to address the nation‟s fiscal challenges.

This chart also demonstrates how the law‟s authors used CBO‟s methodology to their advantage. CBO evaluates legislation over a ten-year budget window. The health care law‟s most significant benefits don‟t take effect for four years, however, meaning that the
law requires ten years of tax increases and ten years of Medicare cuts to pay for six years of spending. This trend is reflected in the chart below.

Budget Committee Republicans‟ analysis also uncovered that the health care law will actually increase the deficit by $701 billion over the next ten years. This figure is reached after balancing the CBO savings figure against a number of accounting gimmicks that were ineligible for inclusion in CBO‟s original analysis:

• $53 billion of savings is claimed by counting increased Social Security payroll revenues. These dollars, however, are already spoken for by Social Security beneficiaries, meaning either that benefits will not be paid out, or the law‟s authors are double-counting the savings.
• $70 billion of savings is claimed from the newly created Community Living Assistance Services and Support (CLASS) program. These savings are achieved by collecting premiums immediately and beginning to pay out benefits after five years, hence why savings appears in the ten-year budget window. Over time, however, as CBO has found, this new entitlement “would eventually lead to net outlays when benefits exceed premiums.”xlix The Washington Post has said of the CLASS program: “These are not „savings‟ that can be honestly counted on the balance sheet of reform.”l Senate Budget Chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND) has called CLASS “a Ponzi scheme of the first order.”li
• $115 billion in new government spending required to implement the health care law is not factored into CBO’s initial estimate. On May 11, CBO notified Congress that additional discretionary spending would be required to implement the government takeover of health care. This includes roughly $9 billion for both the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).lii

Speaker Boehner released the following statement:

“The evidence is clear: by raising taxes, imposing new mandates, and increasing uncertainty for employers and entrepreneurs, ObamaCare is already destroying jobs in this country.  And it will continue to destroy jobs unless we do something about it.  The report released today shows how the health care law is making it harder to end the job-killing spending binge that threatens our children’s future.   When you look at it dollar by dollar, the numbers just don’t add up.  This report presents a very sobering picture, and every lawmaker and taxpayer – no matter where you stand on this critical issue – should take a look at it.

“With nearly 10 percent unemployment and massive debt, the American people want us to focus on cutting spending and growing our economy.  That’s why tomorrow the House will take the first steps towards repealing this job-killing health care law and replacing it with reforms that will bring down costs and protect jobs.”

Here’s the report in it’s entirety.

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ObamaCareReport