By Diane Alter, Contributing Writer, Money Morning•
There have been fears surrounding the "real" Obamacare facts since the Affordable Healthcare Act was first mentioned.
"An unfolding disaster for the American economy," 2012 Republican presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney said of Obamacare. Fellow candidate Rick Santorum called it "the beginning of the end of freedom in America."
Signed into law on March 23, 2010, Obamacare was peddled to Americans as the answer to the precarious problems plaguing the country's healthcare system.
Among its promises were: uninsured Americans were to gain coverage through an expansion of Medicaid; insurance providers couldn't deny coverage to individuals with pre-existing conditions; employers had to offer health insurance to employees; and costs would come down.
As many Obamacare provisions start to kick-in, the nation is finding out how the sweeping health care overhaul fails to live up to its promises.
At over 20,000 pages long, the legislation is full of stipulations chipping away at what it claimed it would achieve.
Following are some of the most alarming Obamacare facts uncovered to-date.
The Seven Scariest Obamacare Facts
No cancer care at age 76. In March 2010, then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said at the Legislative Conference for the National Association of Counties, "But we have to pass the [health care] bill so you can find out what's in it..." What's in it on page 272 is that age 76, when most people need health care the most, they will no longer be eligible for cancer treatment.
50% of Americans to become reliant on the government. Obamacare makes half of all Americans dependent on a government program through its huge expansion of Medicaid and the implementation of tax-payer funded subsides to purchase health coverage (which is now required by law). Government programs are rife with poor outcomes, a prime one being that government handouts further fosters dependency while discouraging independence.
Part-timers get punched. Many part-time workers will have to pay for their own health insurance. The law requires employers with more than 50-full time employees (those working more than 30 hours a week) to provide healtchare. As a result, scores of companies are increasing part-time headcount while slashing full-timers. Part-timers, now required by law, must buy their own insurance with whittled down paychecks.
Doctor care will suffer as physicians and hospitals are burdened with mounds of paperwork and scores of new patients. Millions on new insured entering into the system and are sure to take advantage of healthcare previously out-of-reach. Patients can expect longer waits, less face-to-face time and a more distant relationship with their doctors.
Obamacare leaves 30 million Americans uninsured. Despite spending some $1.68 trillion on the new healthcare law, 30 million Americans will still be uninsured 8 years after Obamacare is fully implemented, according to the Congressional Budget Office. That's because a Supreme Court decision ruled states are no longer obligated under Obamacare to expand eligibility for their Medicaid programs. Many are doing just that.
Premiums for families will increase by roughly $2,100. For a family of four, the cheapest plan - dubbed Bronze in Obamacare-speak - will cost $20,000 a year in 2016. That's an increase of more than $4,000 from the average of $15,745 such families paid in 2012.
Obamacare kills small business. "If [employees] are thrown out of their medical plans now, where they're covered in a good plan and thrown under the bus, they're going to be destroyed," The Home Depot Inc (NYSE: HD) co-founder Bernie Marcus said on Newsmax TV. "If, in fact, they don't stay as full-time employees but go to part-time employees, they're going to be destroyed. People have to understand that the villain is not their employer; the villain is the U.S. government. Obamacare is the capper. That's the bullet to the temple."
What do you think - what are the scariest Obamacare facts you've encountered so far?