The recent judicial decision affirming Virginia’s meritorious lawsuit against Obamacare has highlighted one of the profound flaws of the administration’s health care plan. But a recent news story regarding Louisiana Senator David Vitter has been relatively under-reported, which is a shame, because it also illustrates the hazards of an overreaching bureaucracy. Senator Vitter has been campaigning against an FDA advisory panel’s recent recommendation to take Avastin off-label as a breast cancer-treatment drug.
Health Insurance
Original bill weakened by amendment, but state is first with Democrat-controlled legislature to pass Health Care Freedom Act
On Sunday the Louisiana House concurred with the Senate to pass HB 1474, which provides that no resident of Louisiana “shall be required to obtain or maintain a policy of individual health insurance coverage.” The measure was weakened by a controversial amendment, but Louisiana is the first state with Democratic majorities to pass legislation that opposes federal insurance mandates.
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As early as today the Louisiana Senate will be voting on Rep. Kirk Talbot’s HB 1474, which would protect our state against the unconstitutional government micromanagement of intrastate commerce and personal choice also known as the individual mandate for health insurance coverage. The timing of Rep. Talbot’s bill could not be better. As reported by both the New York Times and the Cato Institute, President Obama’s issuance of new health insurance regulations this week emphasizes the dire economic implications of mandated insurance coverage on private businesses and individuals.
Would you like to read an excessively optimistic view on health care reform? Sen. Mary Landrieu’s op-ed highlights what she believes to be the greatest ObamaCare achievements, praising the full coverage of Louisiana’s children, young adults, and seniors.
Claiming that “congress has finally delivered meaningful health care coverage to all Americans,” Sen. Landrieu argues that the new reform will “save businesses thousands of dollars each year which will allow businesses to potentially increase wages or hire more employees.”
But Sen. Landrieu is overly confident – and even deceptive – because she is neglecting important facts behind the new health care reform: its costs. As Michael Cannon from the Cato Institute points out:
“Obama’s plan [aka: ObamaCare] would vastly increase the size and scope of the federal government, and increase our already record federal deficit”
The Congressional Budget Office estimated costs to be around $940 billion, but this projection takes into account only the costs to expand current health insurance coverage. Considering other unavoidable spending provisions, the costs would amount to around $1.2 trillion. And that is a conservative estimate. Further, the new health care reform will force nearly all Americans to purchase health insurance, set price controls on the private health insurance industry, and increase the federal deficit by providing more than $1 trillion in subsidies.
Sure, Landrieu is right to claim that these reforms will extend coverage to more children, seniors, and sick individuals. Unfortunately she fails to acknowledge that this will not be sustainable in the long run.
