This New CBO Report On Obamacare Might Give the President Heartburn

Americans who lose their doctors, deal with narrow networks, struggle to pay huge premiums with high deductibles, see their work hours reduced, and face tax penalties won’t be surprised by a new report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

Fox News called it the “latest blow” to health care reform. The CBO reported that the unpopular and expensive law known as Obamacare will “reduce work hours equivalent to 2 million jobs in the next decade amid a host of incentives not to work or to work less…”

It didn’t take an intellectual leap to predict that the “Affordable Care Act” would be no such thing. The law regulates the health insurance industry and mandates that individuals buy expensive health care plans or pay a penalty — and negatively impacts the labor market. While health insurance rates rise every year, incomes might not. If a program has to be subsidized, it’s not affordable. According to the report, the subsidies “decline as income increases, reducing the return on earning additional income. That decline is effectively an increase in recipients’ effective marginal tax rate, so it generally reduces their work incentives through the substitution effect.”

Having health insurance doesn’t mean one has access to health services. There’s already a shortage of primary care doctors in the U.S., and Obamacare will make it worse.

The U.S. Senate voted to repeal most of Obamacare last week, including the individual and employer mandates. President Barack Obama will veto the bill if it lands on his desk, but the GOP hopes a Republican White House will relieve the country of his version of “affordable” care.

“When the President’s health law hurts the labor force at the same time it increases health care premiums and taxes, it’s clear the law is not working for the American people,” Sen. Orrin Hatch wrote in a statement.