GOP report rips health reform law

The new Republican majority in the House released a report Thursday they say makes a case for repealing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which they plan to do next week.

Called ObamaCare: A Budget-Busting, Job-Killing Health Care Law (PDF), the report cites analysis from Republicans in the House Budget Committee showing the law will cost the nation $2.6 trillion when fully implemented and add $701 billion to the deficit in the first 10 years. “By comparison, President Obama stated during a joint session of Congress on Sept. 9, 2009, that he would not sign healthcare reform that ‘adds one dime to our deficits—either now or in the future,'” the report said.

In addition, the report says the health reform law “imposes burdensome mandates on small businesses, including new paperwork requirements” and “double-counts savings from Medicare that are widely viewed as unsustainable.” Regarding jobs, the report cites a study from the National Federation of Independent Businesses that found an employer insurance mandate could lead to the elimination of 1.6 million jobs between 2009 and 2014, with 66% of those coming from small businesses.

During a House Rules Committee hearing Thursday morning, Republican representatives of three committees—Education and the Workforce, Energy and Commerce, and Judiciary—were asked by a few Democratic members of the Rules Committee to cite data that show job losses as a result of the health reform bill, given that House Republicans introduced legislation called Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, said his committee would provide that data by day's end.

Also Thursday, Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said his committee will host a series of hearings that illustrate benefits from the health reform law. The first will examine how the law protects consumers against insurance industry abuses, such as denying coverage to Americans with pre-existing conditions. That hearing is scheduled for Jan. 27.