Fiscal hawk Rep. Dave Brat of Virginia said repealing Obamacare is bigger than just fixing the nation’s health care policy — it could help preserve entitlements for future generations.
Brat, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, noted while President Barack Obama assured his landmark health-care legislation would drive down costs, it has done the opposite, which is taking its toll on entitlement programs.
“So, Obamacare, the big promise was it was going to bend the cost curve down, but instead of bending the cost curve down, costs are going up anywhere from 20, 30, 40 percent per year for every family,” he told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “That’s harmful at the individual level, but on the national level, the number one cost driver for Medicare and Social Security and a lot of Medicaid are health-care costs.”
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office’s long-term projections, if current policies remain in place, both Social Security and Medicare will be insolvent by 2029. Brat said if strides aren’t taken to bring the cost curve down, it could spell trouble America’s youth.
“The health-care policy is important on its own, but it’s even more important because it can help sustain the lives of Medicare and Social Security programs and help all the people that will eventually be in those programs,” he said. “It’s an equity thing, I mean people talk about the harm of this that or the other and they always leave out the harm of an entire generation of kids getting nothing — I mean it’s staggering to think about that.”
Brat stressed Congress is being presented with a unique opportunity to fix one country’s most pressing issues.
“So it’s not just an Obamacare vote, it’s not just about current benefits — it’s about the next 30-40 year trajectory,” Brat continued. “We have a once in a century opportunity to fix this thing — and if we fail right now then the mandatory piece is broken.”
The House is expected to vote on the Obamacare repeal bill Friday.
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