SEBELIUS HAS “NO IDEA” WHAT’S IN OBAMACARE AND WHAT IT WILL COST

On Wednesday March 7, 2012 HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius went before the Appropriations Subcommittee at a hearing on the new health care program.  Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) was questioning Sebelius on a number of issues and at times appeared confused by the questions that were being asked.  Johnson challenged Sibelius over claims that the new health care law will reduce the deficit over the next ten years.  Her response to a number of questions was that she had “no idea” what Johnson was talking about. 

Listening to this testimony by someone of her supposed intellect would make a grown man cry. It did not exactly exude an air of confidence and if this is the best that we can expect from a top official within the Obama Administration we are monumentally screwed. 

In July 2009 Obama said,  “When I say ‘If you have your plan and you like it,… or you have a doctor and you like your doctor, that you don't have to change plans,’” “what I'm saying is the government is not going to make you change plans under health reform.” It turns out, if you like your health insurance plan you can't actually keep it.


During questioning Sebelius was asked, “The bottom line here is, the cost of this healthcare law is so uncertain, don’t you think we ought to put the brakes on it?” Johnson asked. In March 2010 Nancy Pelosi said, ‘But we have to pass the bill so you can find out what is in it away from the fog of the controversy.’ What I don’t want to see is that we have to implement it to figure out how it’s going to bust a hole in our already horribly broken budget.”

The following exchange between Johnson and Sebelius speaks for itself:

SEBELIUS: The original estimate, yes.  I think that’s–

JOHNSON: Right. So, the original estimate for deficit reduction–

SEBELIUS: I’m assuming–

JOHNSON: The original estimate for deficit reduction in the first 10 years was $143 billion, correct?

SEBELIUS: Yes–

JOHNSON: So now we, we’ve reduced that $143 billion by $86 billion – by not getting revenue from the CLASS Act – and now $111 billion because we’ve increased the mandatory costs of the exchanges, correct?

SEBELIUS: I’m assuming the numbers are correct.  I’m sorry I don’t have them.

JOHNSON: So, when you add those together, that’s $197 billion added to the first 10-year cost estimate of Obamacare, so now we are instead of saving $143 billion, we are adding $54 billion to our deficit, correct?

SEBELIUS: Sir I –

JOHNSON: We’ll submit that to the record. But, that’s basically true.  So instead of saving $143 billion, by this administration’s own figures and budget, we’re now adding $54 billion to our deficit in the first 10 years.  To me, that would be the first broken promise. It is true that the President said that by enacting this healthcare law, every family would save $2500 per year, in their family insurance plan – correct?

SEBELIUS: He said that once the exchanges are up and running and you have an affordable marketplace, the insurance estimates were that the rates would go down by about $2500, yes– that has not occurred yet.

JOHNSON: The Kaiser Family Foundation has already released a study saying that average costs of family healthcare plans is up $2200, correct?

SEBELIUS: Again, there is no new marketplace yet for insurance policies.

JOHNSON: But the costs are already up. We’re already different by $4700; it’s going to be hard to get us down to $2500 cost savings.  I would consider that broken promise number two.

It’s also true, that President Obama very famously said, ‘if you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor.’  Period.  ‘If you like your healthcare plan, you will be able to keep your healthcare plan.’  Period.  No one will take it away, no matter what. Now, we’ve granted quite a few waivers – about 1,200 to 1,700 waivers – on about 4 million Americans, correct?

SEBELIUS: I’ve no idea what waivers you’re talking about or–

JOHNSON: Well, those are waivers–

SEBELIUS: On doctors and health plans, is that…I–

JOHNSON: Just waivers from having to implement portions of the healthcare law that probably would have allowed those – or forced those workers – off their employer-sponsored care.

SEBELIUS: Again, I’d be happy to answer these questions, but I have no idea what waivers you’re talking about–

JOHNSON: The waivers that HHS has granted to employers not–

SEBELIUS: Which do what?

JOHNSON: Not having implemented sections of the healthcare law.

SEBELIUS: There have been waivers granted to employers, yes.

JOHNSON: And had those waivers not been granted, chances are, those employees probably would have lost their employer-sponsored care, correct?

SEBELIUS: I have no idea. I mean, I’m happy to answer those one at a time and look at the waivers and see what–

JOHNSON: Unfortunately, I’m pretty short on time.