Orrin Hatch's Top 10 Reasons to Repeal Obamacare

Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch has come out swinging against ObamaCare.

A week before President Barack Obama's much anticipated speech on jobs, Hatch, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee said Obamacare's repeal should be considered "as a means to reduce the deficit and create jobs."

In the spirit of David Letterman, Hatch provided the top 10 reasons it should be repealed: [See a collection of political cartoons on healthcare.]

1. $1.094 trillion in new taxes and penalties once ObamaCare is fully implemented for a full 10 years beginning in 2014.; (According to an analysis by the Senate Finance Committee Republican Tax Staff derived from projections by the Senate Budget Committee Republican Staff March 21, 2010 based on estimates by the Congressional Budget Office and The Joint Committee on Taxation);
2. $701 billion increase to the deficit in the first 10 years of ObamaCare (Report by the House Budget Committee, "The Budget Record of the 111th Congress: More Spending, Taxes, Deficits and Debt," Sept. 29, 2010)
3. $2,100 increase in premiums for families buying insurance on their own due to ObamaCare (Letter from the Congressional Budget Office to Sen. Evan Bayh regarding health care premiums, Nov. 30, 2009)
4. 800,000 reduction in the American labor force due to ObamaCare provisions that "will effectively increase marginal tax rates, which will also discourage work" (Testimony of Douglas W. Elmendorf, Director, Congressional Budget Office, House Budget Committee Hearing "The Congressional Budget Office's Budget and Economic Outlook," Feb. 10, 2011)
5. $118 billion in new costs imposed on states for ObamaCare's Medicaid expansions—budgetary costs that will crowd out other state programs like education or law enforcement (Joint Report by the Senate Finance Committee and House Energy and Commerce Committee, Medicaid Expansion in the New Health Law: Costs To The States, March 1, 2011)
6. $311 billion projected increase in health costs due to ObamaCare (Report from Richard S. Foster, Chief Actuary at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, April 22, 2010)
7. 9.4 percent increase in private health insurance premiums in 2014 (4.4 percentage points higher than without the health law) ("National Health Spending Projections Through 2020: Economic Recovery And Reform Drive Faster Spending Growth," Health Affairs, July 28, 2011)
8. 10.7 percent increase in prescription drug spending in 2014 (5.1 percent higher than without the health law) ("National Health Spending Projections Through 2020: Economic Recovery And Reform Drive Faster Spending Growth," Health Affairs, July 28, 2011)
9. 8.9 percent increase in physician and clinical services in 2014 (3.1 percent higher than without the health law) ("National Health Spending Projections Through 2020: Economic Recovery And Reform Drive Faster Spending Growth," Health Affairs, July 28, 2011)
10. 7.2 percent increase in hospital spending in 2014 (1.0 percent higher than without the health law) ("National Health Spending Projections Through 2020: Economic Recovery And Reform Drive Faster Spending Growth," Health Affairs, July 28, 2011)

The U.S. House of Representatives has already voted to repeal the president's most significant legislative accomplishment. The Senate has yet to take up the repeal measure, thanks in no small part to Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid's unwillingness to do so. [See photos of healthcare reform protests.]

"We all knew that ObamaCare was going to be disastrous for our economy and every day that goes by proves that point," Hatch said in a release issued Monday. "Whether it be the trillions of dollars in tax hikes or the sheer number of job losses directly from ObamaCare itself, it's clear that repealing ObamaCare must be on the table during any talks to slash our nation's debt and create much-needed jobs."

• See a collection of political cartoons on the budget and deficit.
• Read Scott Galupo: Healthcare Mandate Could Have Turned Off Democrats
• Read Rick Newman: 7 Ways Obama Can Gain Credibility on Jobs

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