Obamacare is kicking in!

PricewaterhouseCoopers reports that businesses that provide health insurance for their employees are facing steep jumps in medical costs next year. Deductibles will reach record highs. And doctors have taken a 21% cut in Medicare reimbursements. What that means is that people on Medicare aren't going to have anyone left to treat them as more and more doctors decide to quit accepting Medicare patients.

Now, Obama has issued warnings to businesses -- they can't pass on their costs to employees. "What we don't want is a massive shift of costs to employees," said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. The administration has arbitrarily instituted new rules -- a business can't drop coverage for a particular health problem, it can't increase the proportion of insurance paid by workers, it can't "significantly" increase deductibles or co-pays. That means we're going to see rising unemployment or higher prices or both. Companies have to make up that money somewhere, and most small businesses are already operating on a shoestring.

Essie May has just one word for all this mess -- REPEAL!

"At a Glance." The Dallas Morning News; June 14, 2010; p. 5A.
"Employers warned not to gouge workers." The Dallas Morning News; June 15, 2010; p. 9A.