WASHINGTON, DC - House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) issued the following statement in advance of the two-year anniversary of President Obama’s health care law:
“It’s been two years since the president signed the unprecedented, unconstitutional, and unaffordable health care mandates into law, and by the president’s own standards, this law has failed the American people. The president and congressional Democrats promised to reduce premiums, preserve Americans’ current health care plans, create jobs, and strengthen Medicare. Not only is the law not decreasing premiums, it actually makes them more expensive. The Congressional Budget Office recently affirmed once again that millions of individuals are likely to lose their current health care plans as a result of one-size-fits-all requirements handed down from Washington. The fees and mandates used to fund the health care law have increased the financial burden on businesses struggling to hire and invest in a weak economy. And, in addition to stealing $575 billion from Medicare to fund the law’s new entitlements, the law created the controversial IPAB, which threatens seniors’ access to treatments and services.
“It has exacerbated our nation’s health care challenges, hampered economic growth, and encroached upon the freedom of the American people. And we’ve only begun to scratch the surface -many of the law’s most onerous mandates have yet to be outlined and implemented.
“While its fate in the Supreme Court is uncertain, one verdict is final: the president’s health care law over-promised and has failed to deliver on the real cost-saving reforms our nation’s health care system so desperately needs. It is no wonder a majority of Americans have consistently favored repeal of the health care law.
“The greatest challenge facing our nation’s health care system is the rising cost of care. Until we implement reforms that actually address the catalysts for these increases, the problem will only worsen. House Republicans have voted to repeal the law in its entirety, defunded key provisions, and exposed numerous budget gimmicks that forced the administration to switch gears and reverse some of its own policies. I will continue working with my colleagues to chip away at the law’s funding and offer commonsense alternatives that bring down the cost of health care without placing the federal government between patients and their doctors."
