Obama's Real History On Health Care: Decreased Competition, State Control

Michelle Malkin has a video with Obama adviser Axelrod stumbling and bumbling his way through an interview on health care on CNN, as if that should present a challenge. Geesh! What would it look like if there were real journalists involved?

Factcheck noted and Newsweek covered Obama's disingenuous attack on McCain back in 2008 for McCain's proposal to increase competition for health care insurance.

An Obama-Biden ad falsely claims McCain says he wants to "do the same to our health care" that "Wall Street deregulation" has done to the banking industry. The ad relies on a single phrase from a journal article under McCain's byline, in which he said he would reduce regulation of health insurance "as we have done over the last decade in banking." But the full context reveals that McCain was referring narrowly to his proposal to allow people to purchase health insurance across state lines.

Meanwhile, the WSJ was looking back into Obama's Illinois Senate record on health care. All he did was drive up costs and reduce competition 43 times by supporting mandates that made coverage more expensive and generic.

By my count, during Mr. Obama's tenure in the state Senate, 18 different laws came up for a vote and passed that imposed new mandates on private health insurance. Mr. Obama voted for all of them.

As a presidential candidate, Mr. Obama says people lack health insurance because "they can't afford it." He's right. But he is also partly responsible for why health insurance is too expensive. A long list of studies show that mandates like the ones Mr. Obama has championed drive up the cost of insurance for the very people priced out of coverage.

Mr. Obama says people need more options to purchase insurance outside the workplace. He also says he can draw on his experience as a state legislator to lead a reform of the kinds of special interests that pursue these mandated benefits. Right now Mr. Obama's health-care proposal, like Hillary Clinton's plan, does the opposite by adding federal regulations on top of state laws.

"My plan emphasizes lowering costs," Mr. Obama says. If that is really what he wants to do, he can start by freeing consumers from forced subsidization of the pricey state mandates. Given a choice between the lower costs he promises and subsidized dental anesthesia he has delivered, some would opt for the affordable health insurance and make do with some extra Novocain.

Creating more competition was the lynch pin of McCain's plan and Obama opposed it, using it to attack McCain every chance he had. That's why today all Axelrod can offer CNN is a song and dance meant to hide Obama's past record and real views on health care. It's all about more state control and less competition for him.

Creating an interstate option for individuals to purchase health insurance doesn't solve every problem faced by the 45 million Americans who are uninsured. But the choice isn't between a regulated or unregulated health-insurance market. The choice is between an overregulated market favored by Mr. Obama and a regulated market favored by Mr. McCain that provides more options to help individuals afford health coverage.

Comments

[plainslow]

The very fact, that he voted on health care, 18 times, in what, 2 years, proves it's overegulated. And that was just in his state. Imagine how many different state rules the insurance comapnaies had to negotiate over all 50 states.

[syn]

In just nine months President Obama killed his presidency and the Democrat Party forever.

I cannot imagine the typical non-voter American putting up with this much longer; Obama's greatest accomplishment will be turning typical non-voters into hard-core votes against him.

It's over for Obama.

[newlyregisteredvoter]

Obama won't go down alone.

Senate Democrats and House Blue Dogs are going to circle the drain with him. He is leading them into the largest defeat in mid-term history by forcing them to vote for "reforms" that are thinly disguised tax increases - just nine months after he was elected on the sweeping promise of "Read My Lips. No New Taxes If You Make Under $250,000."

Obama is making the same mistake that George HW Bush did. You can't brazenly lie to the American people and expect to remain in power. We will utterly decimate you and your legacy. And we'll annihilate everyone who stands with you.

[anon]

Maybe yes, maybe no.

The Dems are going to claim, at least through 2012 that their health care free for all won't/hasn't raised "taxes" on the "middle class"...

Once the boondogle is passed it is going to take some time for the negative effects to be seen, its only now, 3 years after MA passed their universal health care bill that its true costs are coming out and that they've had to cut benefits and raise taxes and that MA now has the highest cost insurance in the nation.

The health care boondogle will definitely end up raising taxes on the middle class, whether they are called taxes or fees or some other Orwellian form of double speak, but this is probably not going to be evident in time for the midterm elections.

They're still saying that the bill(s) are going to be budget neutral, which, while it is obviously a huge lie, it will take time for the lie to become reality.

Same way that in the first year or two the majority of people probably won't see their health insurance radically change, it will be in the 3-5 year window that we'll start to see premiums go up, not down, choices go down, not up and taxes and fees go up not down.

[seekeronos]

Let's not neglect to see the long-range plans of the Socialist Statists masquerading as "democrats" : it's all about state - and collective - power.

The power to force a multi-billion dollar industry into the ground, so that we all are forced onto a national government "healthcare" system, which if left to its own devices, will become the playground of delusional eugenicists and godless "social workers" who hold the power of YOUR life and death in their cold, clammy hands.

Those "Logan's Run" re-runs will certainly take new meaning.

[xerocky]

I can remember O and the Obots making fun of Hillary for her views on health care. I can't stand him because he's so smug without anything, no knowlege, no experience to back it up.

None of what were going through now should be a shock to anyone. It was utterly predictable.

[peggy]

They want gov. run health care.They will have your taxes,health recards.Bank acc.People wake up.He wants to be a dictator.What happened with Iran,Hondures,Wake up.M.Obama was talking about helth care you should herd her.She dump the pore at chicago so her hospital get paying costmers.Watch him in speaches he don't want any one to ask him a question.He want to tell you what he wants. he always looking down his nose at everyone.Acorn and seiu was going to be his strong army.He was stumping. We need a strong army sevillian oneYou can not belive any thing he says.His health story has been false.HE said he didn't know acorn got federal.That was big lie.He lied about ayers.He just lies.

[Earnest Bioidentical Hormone Replacement]

Health insurance is compulsory for the people not just because we get money its a recognition and its a trust worthy service which we have to plan. There are many surgeries need to take place with new technology.

[Gregg]

See the CNN news story: 47% will pay no federal income tax!

http://money.cnn.com/2009/09/30/pf/taxes/who_pays_taxes/index.htm?cnn=yes

I am outraged! I had no idea the problem was this bad. These people are nothing but filthy beggars!!! And, now it’s time to start paying for their health care. Give me a break. I’d rather be mugged, there’s more dignity in it.

We need a new political party in this country, the two we’ve got are nothing but robbing everyone. The republicans are steeling from the middle class and giving to the rich and the democrats are buying votes with our money by allowing this bunch of freeloaders to get a free ride.