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Another Obamacare Pitfall

Dear Editor,

President Obama promised that his healthcare reforms would require a big upfront investment but the return would be lower costs, higher quality, more workers covered and your choice of insurance provider. As a small business owner, I have found all of these promises to be false.

I moved my business to Rockaway in 1999 and from day 1, I provided good medical and dental insurance to all full-time employees at no cost to them. Shortly after Obamacare was implemented, my health insurance costs rose 40 percent. I was forced to reduce the quality of coverage for all employees, including myself. One year later, New York State approved an additional 17.9 percent increase for my health insurance carrier. Meanwhile, two other major carriers stopped offering coverage for businesses of my size, rather than operate under the new regulations. Small companies provide a significant number of jobs – and healthcare coverage – in America. How can we survive and/or continue to provide coverage for our workers under these conditions?

Well-intentioned people want to provide free healthcare to everyone. But look at the outcome of their policies: higher costs, lower quality coverage, fewer workers covered and fewer choices for employers and employees alike. Is this what we are paying $1 trillion for?

And let’s not forget who brought you this disaster. It was our congressman, Anthony Weiner, who twisted the arms of reluctant Democrats to get Obamacare passed. That is his ultimate legacy; not his embarrassing personal foibles but his destructive professional accomplishments.

President Obama inherited a bad status quo and, with the help of Mr. Weiner, made it worse for the vast majority of Americans. We do need to start over with creative solutions, not a scheme that leaves us all bankrupt and without good healthcare.

PAUL KING