Senate Committee Leaders Alexander and Hatch Release Joint Report on Obama Administration’s Obamacare Claims

Washington, D.C., Sept. 2- Senators Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), the top Republicans on the Senate committees overseeing health policy, today released a joint report dispelling eight major claims from the Obama administration on the president’s health care law.

Alexander, the senior Republican on the Senate HELP Committee, said: “Too many Tennesseans and Americans around the country have been hurt by the false promises that led to Obamacare becoming law. They have lost their doctors, seen their work hours cut, and watched as shrinking family incomes are being impossibly stretched by higher health care premiums and out-of-pocket health care costs. Republicans have a better idea—we are ready with proposals to repair the damage Obamacare has done and prevent future damage with step-by-step reforms that reduce the cost of health insurance and expand freedom and choice.”

Hatch, the senior Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, said: “The facts keep getting in the way of Democrats’ promises on Obamacare. Every day countless hard-working Americans are getting pummeled by the law’s shortcomings –facing higher premiums, fewer choices, and burdensome complications. This report provides a fresh look at the claims used to sell Obamacare versus the disturbing reality of the law. Frankly, the Administration owes the American people an honest conversation about the current state of Obamacare. We should scrap this disastrous law and replace it with common-sense reforms that will increase Americans access to quality health care. 

The joint report from the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee and Senate Finance Committee reads, “In promoting the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) to the American people, the Obama administration made numerous claims about how the legislation would change the health insurance marketplace for the better, improve affordability, and preserve access for millions of Americans, all while boosting the economy and reducing the deficit.”

Citing numerous policy, press, governmental, and academic sources, the committees’ report finds: “Four years after its passage, Obamacare has failed to deliver.”

The report continues: “Instead of increasing access to affordable insurance, many enrollees are coping with higher premiums and out-of-pocket expenses. Instead of allowing policyholders to keep their doctors, provisions in the law have led insurance companies to craft narrower networks that sometimes exclude key hospitals and providers. Instead of boosting the economy and helping to create jobs, PPACA’s taxes and mandates have been a deterrent to businesses expanding or hiring new employees—further hindering a fragile economic recovery. Instead of reducing the deficit, the law is on track to increase deficits by at least $340 billion. Instead of making it easier for Americans to comparison shop for insurance and enroll in Medicaid, the government has wasted millions of taxpayer dollars creating broken exchanges. And, instead of strengthening Medicare, PPACA cuts billions of dollars from the popular Medicare Advantage program and reduces seniors’ benefits. The myths proclaimed by administration officials and PPACA supporters have misled taxpayers, employers, health care consumers, and others. The facts speak for themselves.”

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For access to this release and Ranking Member Alexander’s other statements, click here.