Proof: Obama Care Law Hurts Jobs, Increases Costs

With the Federal Reserve's latest report that the new Health Care Law, aka Obamacare, hurts jobs and increases costs, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke may find his name rising to the top of the White House hit list. Ben, if they wanted you to report something, they would have given you the "varnished" words. While the White House may have ruled our using drones today, the Vince Foster - Fort Marcy Park plan is still viable. Now - read on for the 'unvarnished" info.

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by Sean Hackbarth, Free Enterprise Institute: Are you looking for a job? Look into a consulting gig advising companies – including those in the health care sector- on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). According to the Federal Reserve's latest collection of comments from businesses and contacts found in the Beige Book, there is a shortage of health care law consultants in the Atlanta region:

On balance, firms providing accounting and consulting services to healthcare providers reported much-increased demand because of regulatory changes, resulting in shortages of compliance specialists.

While this niche industry is booming, the Kansas City regional bank reported, “Firms continued to report changes in health care policy and fiscal uncertainty as reasons for delayed hiring.”

A Gallup survey found the health care law causing other distortions in the labor market. The percentage of the work force composed of part-time workers reached 20.6% in February, its highest level since 2010. Gallup’s Chief Economist, Dennis Jacobe, notes that with the PPACA this isn’t unexpected:

Uncertainty encourages companies to hire part-time instead of full-time workers. So do policies such as those in the [PPACA] that place extra requirements on companies hiring full-time employees. In this regard, it is not a surprise that employers appear to be seeking more part-time workers and fewer full-time employees in 2013. This emphasis on hiring part-timers is not good news for Americans seeking full-time work or for the overall U.S. economy.

And from the “we told you so” file is a report from Congressional Republicans that found that the health care law is leading to health insurance premium spikes. Premium increases in the individual market are expected to rise from as “little” as 8% in Rhode Island to 106% in Ohio, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Missouri. Young adults in particular will be hit hard. The report finds that individual market premiums in Milwaukee, WI will rise 202%; in Chicago, IL, they will rise 202%; and in Austin, TX, they’ll rise by 183%.

We see rising insurance premiums reflected in the Beige Book. The Philadelphia regional bank said, "Health insurance costs are mixed, ranging from very high increases to no change,” and the Cleveland regional bank said “rising health insurance premiums remain a challenge” for manufacturers. We're almost three years in and the PPACA still isn’t doing what was promised: Lower costs.

The reason for the premium increases shouldn’t be any surprise: more regulations; one-size-fits-all health benefits standards; and taxes and on health insurance, drugs, and medical devices.

In short: The health care law hurts the job market and is failing to keep health care costs down. And that is before the law has been fully-implemented. I shudder to think what’ll happen once 2014 comes around.

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Tags: Obamacare, federal health care law, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, PPACA, Federal Reserve, hurts jobs, job, jobs, increases costs, rising insurance premiums To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!