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TableofContents1.Obamacare’sCorporateWelfareSecret.......................................................................42.TaxpayersfootingthebillforObamacare’scollapse....................................................53.Obamacareleavestaxpayersvulnerabletospecial-interestcashgrab........................64.Obamacare’sFalsePromiseofthePublicOption.........................................................75.DoctorsNowSpendMoreTimeonPaperworkThanPatients......................................86.AnObamacareMagicTrick:Making$7BillionDisappear.............................................9HoldthemAccountable...................................................................................................10

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“Ifyoulikeyourhealthcareplan,youwillbeabletokeepyour

healthcareplan,period.”

Obamacareisstillinitsinfancybutithasalreadymanagedtodeliveralifetimeofdisastersandfailedpromises.Now,moreandmoreAmericansaresufferingfromthefinancialburdenofthepremiumsandtaxesassociatedwiththislegislation.Theeffects

arebeingfeltineverycornerofthecountry—fromdoctorstopatients,everydaytaxpayerstosmallbusiness-owners.

Let’stakealookatsomeofthebiggestexamplesoffalloutfromObamacaresofar…

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Obamacare’sCorporateWelfareSecret

AFPhasbeenfightingcorporatewelfareforyears,butfewofthesecasesaremoreegregiousthantheongoingObamacarebailout.

First,themajorhealthinsurancecompanieshelpedwriteObamacare.Then,withunworkablemandatesandcostoverruns,thelawbegantofallapart.Now,thosesameinsurancecompaniesarereceivingabailoutwithyourtaxpayerdollarsasthelawisonthevergeoftotalcollapse.

Through a little-known provision within the president’s health care law called the Obamacarereinsuranceprogram,theObamaadministrationhaspaidoffsomeofthelossesoftheseinsurerswith$3.5billionintaxpayerfunds.

These taxpayer dollars were meant for the Treasury to help pay down federal deficit, but theDepartmentofHealthandHumanServices(HHS)optedtofunnelthemdirectlytoinsurancecompaniesinstead.

TheadministrationhasalsobailedoutinsurersthroughanotherObamacareprovisionknownasCost-SharingReduction.HHSsent$5billiontotheseinsurancecompanies,despitethefundsbeingdeniedbyCongress.Recently,afederaljudgeruledthattheObamaadministrationunlawfullyusedthistaxpayermoney,sayingtheonlywayitcanbespentisifCongressauthorizesit.

AmericanshavealreadypaidforObamacareintheformofhigherpremiumsanddeductibles.Wedon’twanttopayforthisfailinglawagainbybailingouttheverysamecompaniesthathelpedcreateit.

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TaxpayersfootingthebillforObamacare’scollapse

Foryears,theObamaadministrationhasbeenpayingoffthelossesincurredbythemajorhealthinsurersunderthepresident’shealthcarelaw.

Theadministrationsentbillionsmajorhealthinsurancecompanies–thesameonesthathelpedwriteObamacare inthefirstplace–throughaprovision inthe lawknownasCost-SharingReduction.ThepresidentdidsodespitethefundsbeingdeniedbyCongress.

A federal judge recently ruled that theObamaadministrationunlawfullyused this taxpayermoney,sayingtheonlywayitcanbespentisifCongressauthorizesit.

TheCenter forMedicaid andMedicare Services has also beenmisappropriating billions of taxpayerdollarsbycoveringthelossesofinsurancecompaniesthroughanotherprovisionknownasObamacarereinsurance.

Atotalof$3.5billionhasbeensenttotheseinsurerssofar,andasObamacarecontinuestocollapse,theywillseekmorehard-earnedtaxdollarstocovertheirlosses.

Americansdon’twanttofundanymorecorporatewelfare,especiallyasaresultofalawthoseverysamecorporationshelpedcreate.TheonlyremedyforObamacareistopulltheplugonceandforall.

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Obamacareleavestaxpayersvulnerabletospecial-interestcashgrab

Obamacareisintrouble.Threeofthenation’sfivelargestinsurershavealreadylargelyretreatedfromtheObamacareexchanges,andafourthisthreateningtodothesame.WhilethenumberofAmericansnominally “covered” by insurancehas increased, analysis indicates that premiums, deductibles, andother out-of-pocket costs have all grown under Obamacare. These increased costs, combinedwithadeclineinthesizeofprovidernetworks,haverenderedexistinghealthinsuranceplansallbutuselessformanyAmericans.

Forthepast fewmonths,theObamaadministrationhasbeentreadingwateronthis issue,withtheDepartment of Health and Human Services (HHS) issuing statement after statement qualifyingObamacare’s losses and trying to reassure theAmerican people that the federal exchangewas notcirclingthedrain,asfeared.The“fakeit‘tilyoumakeit”approachhasnotbeenworking,though–andthehealthcarelaw’sproblemscontinuetomount,makingitnecessaryfortheadministrationtoexploreitsoptions.

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Obamacare’sFalsePromiseofthePublicOption

Lessthanthreeyearsaftertakingfulleffect,ObamacarenowfindsitselfindirecircumstanceswithmajorinsurerscancellingObamacareinsuranceplans,thenumberofavailableplansonthefederalexchangeindecline,andinsurancepricesrapidlygrowingoutofcontrol.Proponentsofthepresident’shealthcarelawarguethattheyhaveasolution:thepublicoption.

The public option is a government-run health insurance plan that would be sold alongside privateinsuranceplans on theObamacare exchange. If it sounds familiar, that’s because someObamacareproponents tried include to enact the public option in the legislation six years ago before it wasultimatelytakenoutofthefinalbill.Thepolicyisnowmakingacomebackmasqueradingasasimplesolutiontospurcompetitioninthehealthinsurancemarketplaceandcontrolgrowingpremiumprices.

Thisproposalignoresthefactthatadilutedversionofthepublicoptionhasalreadybeentriedintheformof co-ops.Theco-ops,asdefined in thehealthcare law,are stateor regional-basednon-profithealthinsurancecompanies,whoseboardsandleadershiparerequiredtobefreeofinsuranceindustryinsiders,andaresubject to intensegovernmentoversight.Obamacaregave$2.4billion in taxpayer-fundedstartuploansto23co-opslocatedacrossthecountry.Theseco-opsweresupposedtoserveas“competition”forprivateinsuranceplans–butevenwithouttheneedtomakeapennyofprofit,theyfailedmiserably.Withonlysixoftheoriginal23remaining,billionsoftaxpayerdollarshavebeenlostonstartuploansthatwillmostlikelyneverberepaid.

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DoctorsNowSpendMoreTimeonPaperworkThanPatients

Youmaybetheoneontheexamtable,butit’syourdoctorwhohasaheadache.Accordingtoarecentlypublishedstudy in theAnnalsof InternalMedicine, foreveryhouradoctor spendsactually treatingpatients, she spends two hours doing paperwork. If that seems a little backward, it should. Onehealthcarereformundertakeninrecentyearsistheefforttoswitchdoctorsfrompaperrecordstotheelectronic health record system (known as EHR). Unfortunately, this system was developed bybureaucrats,notdoctors,andasaresult itdoesn’tworkparticularlywell.Doctorsarenowspendingmoretimecreatingrecordsofcarethantheyspendprovidingcare(thethingtheyspentyearslearninghowtodo.)

This troubling trend is evenworse than it seems, too.Not only are physicians spendingmore timeoutsideoftheexamroomdoingpaperwork,thatpaperworkisalsocuttingintoactualpatientexamtime– limiting doctor-patient interaction,which could decrease the quality of care received. Evenwhendoctorsareintheexamroomwithpatients,theyonlyspendabouthalf(52.9%)ofthetimeexaminingpatients,butspendawhopping37%oftheappointmentdoingpaperwork.

Thesekindsofbureaucraticdemandsonbothdoctors’andpatients’timearethenewstatusquounderObamacare.Thepresident’shealthcare lawcreatednearlycountlessnewregulations, requirements,andprocesses–butdidnothingchangethenumberofpracticingphysicians.Andthelawcertainlydidn’taddanyhourstotheday.Asaresult,doctorsarefeelingthecrunchandpatientsarepayingtheprice.Ifthatmakesyoufeelalittlequeasy,yourdoctormightbeablehelp…afterhedoeshispaperwork,ofcourse.

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AnObamacareMagicTrick:Making$7BillionDisappear

While proponents of government-run healthcare continue to extol the virtues of Obamacare andcelebrateitsso-calledsuccess,somelawmakersarecontendingthatit’sonlyanillusion.

U.S.Reps.KevinBradyandPeterRoskam,ChairmenoftheHouseWaysandMeansCommitteeandtheWays and Means Oversight Subcommittee respectively, recently revealed the results of a jointinvestigationintopaymentsmadebytheObamaadministrationunderacostsharingreductionprogramestablishedbythepresident’shealthcarelaw.

A programwith a name like “cost sharing reduction” sounds fairly innocuous. To hear the Obamaadministrationexplainit,theprogramsimplyhelpslow-incomeAmericanspayfortheirout-of-pockethealthcarecosts.Butthisexplanationisapoliticalsleightofhand.Intruth,themainfunctionofthesepaymentsistosubsidizeinsurancecompaniesinordertoinducethemtohangonandcontinueofferinghigh-risk,low-paymenthealthinsuranceplansontheailingObamacareexchanges.Byhelpingpeoplepayfortheplans,theyhopetohelpthelawsurvivejustalittlelonger.

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HoldthemAccountableWe must hold accountable the politicians who forced Obamacare on theAmericanpeopleandthosewhocontinuetosupportit.Willyoujoinus?AFPhasspent30yearsestablishingagrassrootsinfrastructureoffieldstaff,volunteers,andcitizenleaders.Wehelpthemtogodoor-to-doorandspeakwithmembersof thecommunityabout theeconomic issuesaffecting theirfamilies.Thenweequipthemwitheasy-to-use,state-of-the-arttoolstoreachtheir elected officials and urge them to support free-market policies. Webelievethatmodelisthebestinclass,helpingustorecruitevenmorepeoplepassionateaboutadvancingeconomicfreedom.Wealsoencourageactiviststoattendourgrassrootseventsaswellasemail,write, call, and visit the offices of lawmakers to persuade them to voteconsistentwitheconomic freedomonspecific legislation.Today,AFPhasapowerfulstate-basedmodelinplacereadytomeettheenormouschallengesof2016andbeyond.Withthehelpof freedom-lovingpatriots fromacrossthecountry,wemustpersuasivelydeliverthemessagethatpoliticianscan’tcontinuetopassbig-government legislationwithouttremendousorganizedopposition.Wemustvigorously remindAmericans that the free-market system is thebestway tocreaterewardingjobsandopportunity—notbiggergovernmentprograms.