Posted by Jim Lindgren:
White House says Obama Health Care Promises Should Not Be Taken Literally.
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2009_06_14-2009_06_20.shtml#1245550653
After President Obama�s big speech on health care, I was among the
first to note that he could not possibly keep his promises on health
care. Now, [1]according to the Associated Press, the White House has
backed off Obama�s promises made just last Monday.
Here is part of [2]my post last Monday:
In President Obama�s speech to the AMA, he made firm promises that
I don�t think he can keep if his plan were to be enacted:
So let me begin by saying this: I know that there are millions of
Americans who are content with their health care coverage - they
like their plan and they value their relationship with their
doctor. And that means that no matter how we reform health care, we
will keep this promise: If you like your doctor, you will be able
to keep your doctor. Period. If you like your health care plan, you
will be able to keep your health care plan. Period. No one will
take it away. No matter what. . . .
If you don�t like your health coverage or don�t have any insurance,
you will have a chance to take part in what we�re calling a Health
Insurance Exchange. . . .
If this goes through, many employers will do little different than
they are today. But if the Obama plan is enacted, a substantial
portion of employers will cut their health subsidies � raising
their employees� share of contributions to the company plan � in
order to drive some of the employees into the government exchange
and the public option. Other employers may drop their plans
altogether � after all, workers could buy their own coverage in the
government exchange � or simply fund part of their workers�
participation in the exchange.
These changes, which would be the direct results of the
implementation of the Obama plan, would make it virtually
impossible for Obama to keep these promises: �If you like your
doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor. Period. If you like
your health care plan, you will be able to keep your health care
plan. Period. No one will take it away. No matter what.�
Here is [3]Mike Gonzalez at Heritage on Friday:
Less than 24 hours after Heritage Foundation President Ed Feulner
questioned the veracity of President Obama�s persistent claim that,
under his health care proposals, �if you like your insurance
package you can keep it�, the White House has begun to walk the
President�s claim back. Turns out he didn�t really mean it.
According to the Associated Press, �White House officials suggest
the president�s rhetoric shouldn�t be taken literally: What Obama
really means is that government isn�t about to barge in and force
people to change insurance.� How�s that for change you can believe
in?
Depending on how the public plan is designed in Congress, millions
of Americans would lose their existing coverage. By opening the
public plan to all employees and using Medicare rates, the Lewin
Group, a nationally prominent econometrics firm, has said that the
public plan could result in 119.1 million Americans being
transitioned out of private coverage, including employer based
coverage, into a public plan. With employers making the key
decision, millions of Americans could lose their private coverage,
regardless of their personal preferences in this matter.
In other words, if you believed something closer to the opposite of
what Obama promised, that would be closer to the truth. When Obama
said he �will keep this promise�:
If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor.
Period.
he actually meant:
If you like your doctor, many of you will NOT be able to keep your
doctor. Period.
And when Obama said he �will keep this promise�:
If you like your health care plan, you will be able to keep your
health care plan. Period. No one will take it away. No matter what.
Obama really meant:
If you like your health care plan, many � perhaps most � of you
will NOT be able to keep your health care plan. Period. Someone �
perhaps your employer � may take it away. It all depends on how
things work out.
References
1.
http://blog.heritage.org/2009/06/19/obama-walks-back-promise-on-keeping-your-private-insurance/
2. http://volokh.com/posts/1245089978.shtml
3.
http://blog.heritage.org/2009/06/19/obama-walks-back-promise-on-keeping-your-private-insurance/
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