Heartland Institute Experts React to Obamacare Repeal Vote

Published January 20, 2011

The House of Representatives voted today to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. The following statements from health care policy experts at The Heartland Institute may be used for attribution.

Peter Ferrara, senior fellow for health care policy at The Heartland Institute and author of “The Obamacare Disaster”:

“In voting to repeal Obamacare’s government takeover of health care today, the House Republicans voted as well to repeal trillions in future Medicare cuts that would leave America’s seniors unable to get essential health care when they most need it. Current law still provides for this effective early death sentence for millions. This unreported story is documented in official U.S. government reports. Most Democrats have no idea what they have done in enacting Obamacare.”

For more comment, contact Peter Ferrara at peterferrara(at)msn(dot)com or 703/582-8466.

Ben Domenech, research fellow for health care policy at The Heartland Institute and managing editor of Health Care News:

“Today’s vote to repeal Obamacare is a key example of how the newly elected Republicans under John Boehner’s leadership aim to fulfill their promises to voters. But it’s the questions that come next that Republicans need to be prepared to answer.

“Rather than make small modifications to make a bad law better, Republicans should instead pass a comprehensive expansion of the ability for states to receive waivers from Obamacare. This would provide states, and the businesses within those states, immediate relief – while not falling into the trap of thinking that any small improvements could make this unworkable law palatable to the American people.”

Avik Roy, a Heartland Institute health care policy advisor and investment analyst who blogs at The Apothecary (http://www.avikroy.org):

“Some people argue that Republican efforts at repealing Obamacare in this Congress, with a Democratic Senate and a Democratic White House, are purely symbolic. I disagree. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will do so much damage to our nation’s fiscal stability, and do so much to make health care unaffordable for the very people who need it most, that the House of Representatives should have no higher priority, and no higher duty, than attempting to repeal this law.”

For more comment, contact Avik Roy at media(at)heartland(dot)org or call Jim Lakely at 312/377-4000.

The Heartland Institute is a 26-year-old national nonprofit organization based in Chicago. Its mission is to discover, develop, and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems. For more information, visit our Web site at http://www.heartland.org or call 312/377-4000.