ObamaCare Update: Unpopular And Expensive

Not long after PresBo triumphantly signed ObamaCare into law, all the while proclaiming how health care will be less expensive, several companies analyzed the law and re-valued their companies downwards. Essentially, ObamaCare caused those companies to be worth less... it's called a writedown.
http://politicsalabama.blogspot.com/2010/03/early-obamacare-results-companies.html

The bill is now law, and those companies are required to immediately restate their value to reflect their long-term health liabilities... including taxes.

So several high-profile companies have done so, and in the process "written down" their net worth by quite a lot of money... collectively, the new law cost them almost $1.4 billion.

The moment they did so, the companies in question were attacked by the President, various administration officials, and numerous Democrats in Congress. The Congressmen, notably Henry Waxman (D) and Bart Stupak (D), demanded Congressional hearings to expose just how badly those companies were behaving.

Well, the Congressmen have examined the evidence and the results are out. The companies acted properly by re-valuing their net worth downwards because of ObamaCare's increased cost burdens.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/27/business/27health.html?ref=instapundit

Representative Henry A. Waxman of California and Bart Stupak of Michigan, both Democrats, opened an investigation and demanded that four companies — AT&T, Caterpillar, Deere and Verizon — supply documents analyzing the “impact of health care reform,” together with an explanation of their accounting methods.

The documents — hundreds of pages of e-mail messages and financial worksheets — include large amounts of data that substantiate the companies’ concerns. They have reignited a battle over the law in Congress.

Representative Joe L. Barton of Texas, the senior Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said, “From a financial standpoint, from a purely economic standpoint, many companies would be better off discontinuing health care as a fringe benefit, paying the penalty and pocketing the savings.”

In a memorandum summarizing its investigation, the Democratic staff of the committee said, “The companies acted properly and in accordance with accounting standards in submitting filings to the S.E.C. in March and April.”

Moreover, it said, “these one-time charges were required by applicable accounting rules.” The committee staff said this view was confirmed by independent experts at the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the American Academy of Actuaries.

So the Democrats overreacted and demonized companies complying with ObamaCare... and all because the immediate results of the law directly contradicted what the liberals claimed the results would be. Political posturing at it's worst... attack and demonize anyone telling the truth.

Oh, and the overall total is now up to $3.4 billion in lost value, all directly attributable to ObamaCare.

A tabulation by the United States Chamber of Commerce shows that at least 40 companies have taken charges against earnings that total $3.4 billion since the law was signed.

Maybe all of this is one big reason why more people than ever want ObamaCare repealed.
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/64746

Fifty-eight (58) percent of likely voters said they would support an effort to repeal the legislation, as Republicans have given consideration to campaigning on such a promise. Just 38 percent communicated opposition to such an effort.

The percentage who support repeal efforts are up 3 percent from the week just after the bill passed, when President Obama made several campaign-style stops in support of the bill.

The ranks of those who believe the bill will be “bad for the country” have also increased from 49 to 52 percent over the same time period, while the percentage of likely voters who believe reform will be “good for the country” has inched down from 41 to 39 percent.

So, for all you Democrats who think that you will see a popularity boost because of ObamaCare... what HAVE you been smoking?

UPDATE: And there ARE Democrats who believe precisely that.

The third-ranking House Democrat on Tuesday touted the party’s efforts to sell the healthcare law, predicting voters would see “a big difference” from the opposition-dominated town halls of last summer.

“We’re going to go out to the American people and let them know exactly what’s in the bill,” Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) told reporters after the House Democratic caucus's weekly meeting.

“I think you’re going to see a big difference this August than last August,” Clyburn, the Democratic whip, said, referring to the heated town hall meetings that nearly derailed the healthcare push in 2009.
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/94607-clyburn-predicts-august-healthcare-bump