Now that [Obamacare] has become law over the objections of
the American people, congressional Democrats such as
Chairman Waxman profess shock and surprise at hearing
American employers announce that they will have no choice
but to make painful changes to comply with it.
Obama: Health care law just ‘first step,’ will require future ‘adjustments’
By: Byron York
Chief Political Correspondent
03/30/10 2:53 PM EDT
On the day he signed the “fixes” to the new national health care law, President Obama is leaving open the possibility of more government-mandated changes in the health care system. In an interview with the “Today” show, Obama said the new health care law “is a critical first step in making a health care system that works for all Americans.” But the president suggested that no one should expect “reform” to stop there. “It’s not going to be the only thing,” Obama told interviewer Matt Lauer. “We’re still going to have adjustments that have to be made to further reduce cost.”
Meanwhile, another company says it will suffer a large financial hit related to the costs of Obamacare. Prudential Financial says it will take a $100 million charge to cover its cost of providing prescription drug coverage to retired employees. A tax break in the Obamacare legislation makes such coverage more expensive, and Prudential joins AT&T, Verizon, Caterpillar, Deere, 3M, Valero Energy, and AK Steel in announcing writedowns due to anticipated higher health care costs. The announcements, made to comply with a Securities and Exchange Commission deadline, have angered Democrats on Capitol Hill, who insist that “independent analyses” say the companies’ costs should be lower, not higher, under the Democratic plan. House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman Henry Waxman has ordered the CEO’s of several of the companies to testify before the panel on April 21, as well as produce internal company documents related to health care cost calculations — a move that House Minority Leader John Boehner calls pure intimidation. “Now that [Obamacare] has become law over the objections of the American people, congressional Democrats such as Chairman Waxman profess shock and surprise at hearing American employers announce that they will have no choice but to make painful changes to comply with it,” Boehner said.
Read more at the Washington Examiner: washingtonexaminer.com |
