– Health Care Costs Increase: “national health expenditures under the health reform act would increase by a total of $311 billion (0.9 percent) during calendar years 2010-2019.” [Page 4] The actuaries found the law bends the cost curve up by a greater degree than either the House or Senate-passed legislation, despite the Administration’s claim that slowing national health spending was the “single most important” reason to overhaul the health system.

– Over One-Half Trillion in Medicare Cuts: The Medicare actuaries found that the new health law cuts “$575 billion” [Page 4] from Medicare.

– Seniors’ Access to Care Jeopardized: As a result of the cuts to Medicare, the actuaries found, “absent legislative intervention, [providers] might end their participation in the program (possibly jeopardizing access to care for beneficiaries).” [Page 10]

– Workers & Seniors Can’t Keep the Health Plan They Have and Like: “We estimate that such actions would collectively reduce the number of people with employer-sponsored health coverage by about 14 million.” [Page 7] Furthermore, 2 million Americans who currently have employer-provided health coverage will be dumped into Medicaid. [Page 3] Additionally, the actuaries predict millions of seniors will lose their Medicare plan because massive cuts to the program will result in, “about 50 percent” of seniors no longer being in a plan. [Page 11].

Here is the entire list of ways in which costs will increase. But I’m sure there’s more to be disovered even beyond this:
http://republicans.waysandmeans.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=182448

The Icing:
Sebelius admitting she’s clueless on how much ObamaCare will cost just two days ago! (VIDEO)
http://www.breitbart.tv/obamacare-sebelius-admits-admin-has-no-clue-how-much-high-risk-pools-will-cost/

The New York Times: All the news that’s fit to print after they get what they want.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Now-they-tell-us-NYT-health-care–89002817.html

“Today is a terrible day in our country’s history. As your next Attorney General, I will do everything legally and constitutionally possible to fight the federal takeover and implementation of heath care. I would join AG’s from states across the county to file lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of this Leviathan.

“As a State Attorney General is it your constitutional duty to protect the rights of Georgia’s citizens and the sovereignty of the state. This bill contains federal mandates and provisions that are unconstitutional and must be challenged.

“I commend the current AG’s of South Carolina, Florida and Virginia who have taken the lead and I challenge all current state AG’s and AG candidates for this important office to tell the voters what they would do if elected. In Georgia, it will be incumbent on the next AG to lead the fight for future generations.”

I spotted this YOU LIE! bumper sticker in east Cobb this afternoon. You gotta love east Cobb Republicans…

Third, as the government-run healthcare plan gobbles up business, there would be no incentive to improve quality or increase efficiency, but instead we’ll see eventual efforts to control costs by restricting access and choice-such as happens now in England and Canada. When the good people of Georgia have to wait months or years for surgery or specialized medical care, we’ll know the house is on fire. Access and Choice will decrease-not increase.


The societal engineers who want to tear down the private sector in health insurance don’t want to be honest about the “uninsured” statistics either. They pad the numbers with illegal aliens, with young people who choose not to be insured (because they often think they are invincible), and with people in transition between jobs. So, before we take such drastic action, let’s do more to encourage the non-profit clinics out there providing a medical home to the uninsured-clinics such as the Good Samaritan Health Center in Atlanta and the Athens Neighborhood Health Center.


Fourth, have you ever thought that if government can’t afford to finance existing programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, then providing health care for all our citizens might really be tricky? We must wake up and smell the smoke before it’s too late.


I travel the state frequently and often tout the importance of changing the batteries in smoke detectors and testing the equipment at least once per year. Fellow citizens, the detector in all our brains is beeping incessantly trying to warn us of a disaster that awaits if we allow this takeover. Yet, our smooth talking president and his big-government allies in the U.S. Congress are telling us it is a false alarm and urging everyone to return to business as usual. This is a mistake, and as a statewide-elected official in Georgia, I must urge you to tell your Congressman to vacate this hasty plan and return to sanity.


Finally, let’s think about the future. Do you possibly want to saddle your children, your nieces and nephews, and even your grandchildren with trillions of future tax payments when we can’t pay the debt we already have?


The house is on fire-but the fire can be put out. Call the White House and the U.S. House of Representatives today and tell them to back away from this ill-considered government takeover of healthcare. Urge them to delay this rushed effort to socialize the best medical system in the world.


John Oxendine is the State Insurance and Fire Safety Commissioner and can be reached at john@johnoxendine.com