Breaking Health Care Research: After One Year, the Effects of Obamacare Are Grim

Kathryn Nix /

17 June 2009 - Washington, DC - Senators on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee begins mark-up consideration on the Kennedy Health Care bill. The bill which may cost over a trillion dollars is being debated by both sides of the Senate committee.

This week marks the first anniversary of Obamacare. In response, Heritage analyst Brian Blase has provided a one-year checkup on the provisions that are already in place and the effects Americans are experiencing as a result.

Obamacare’s more popular provisions were supposedly front-loaded, and liberals are taking full advantage of this in the ongoing attempt to build support for the unpopular law. This week, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius testified before the Senate Finance Committee on how, in her opinion, Obamacare is already benefiting Americans.

But a closer look shows that her perception may be based more on wishful thinking than reality. Blase’s research highlights how many of the provisions of Obamacare are already impacting Americans in harmful ways.

According to Secretary Sebelius, new insurance regulations “give millions of Americans important new health insurance protections.” But though these new rules are advertised as “consumer protections,” they often do the opposite. Blase writes that “Obamacare has resulted in insurance companies exiting markets, thereby reducing consumer choice.” (more…)