When liberal U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown cast the 60th and deciding vote for President Barack Obama’s healthcare law, it didn’t just cut $550 billion from Medicare but also included a slew of job-killing taxes that are crushing small businesses across the Buckeye State.
In Lorain County, Invacare has said that Brown’s healthcare law has stopped them from hiring new workers. Over in Columbus, Electric Power and White Castle are taking a large financial hit due to this same costly law.
Meanwhile in West Chester, AK Steel has lost millions of dollars from new taxes in the healthcare bill.
Finally, down in Cincinnati emergency room doctors are concerned that the law will prevent them from finding primary care physicians who will accept new patients.
Notably, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has stated the healthcare law will kill 800,000 jobs nationwide.
- QUESTION: “In your estimation, the health care law would reduce employment by 800,000…”
- DOUGLAS ELMENDORF, CBO Director: “Yes… there would be a reduction of 800,000 workers.” (U.S. House Of Representatives, Budget Committee, Hearing, 2/10/11)
- QUESTION: “The last question is, it’s been argued and was argued here yesterday with the chairman, that the new health care law will create jobs and increase labor force participation. But if I recall from your analysis, it was quite the opposite. Is that not the case?”
- DOUGLAS ELMENDORF, CBO Director: “Yes.” (U.S. House Of Representatives, Budget Committee, Hearing, 2/10/11)
From Cleveland To Columbus And Down To Cincinnati, Sherrod Brown’s Healthcare Law Is Literally Killing Jobs Across Ohio
In Lorain County Ohio, The Threat Of Obama’s Medical Device Tax Is Causing One Of Their Largest Businesses To Stop Hiring. “[I]n the short run, some of his policies could cost existing jobs, especially health-care reform, if it is enacted. One of the few large businesses that has prospered in Lorain County in recent years has been Invacare, a maker of home medical devices, such as walkers and wheelchairs… The company has 1,300 employees in Lorain County but has stopped hiring in anticipation of a tax on medical devices that was proposed to help pay for the president’s health-care reform plan.” (Michael A. Fletcher, “Assessing Obama’s Promises Of Jobs In A Hub Of Manufacturing,” The Washington Post, 1/22/09)
Dr. Michael Nauss, Emergency Physician From Cincinnati, OH: “The new legislation will impact emergency physicians greatly as newly insured patients find it difficult to find primary care doctors who accept their insurance.” (Parija Kavilanz, “Doctors: A Tough Job Just Got Tougher,” CNN.com, 4/8/10)
West Chester, OH-Based AK Steel Holding Corp. Took A $31 Million Charge From ObamaCare. “AK Steel Holding Corp., The third largest U.S. steelmaker by sales, said it will record a non-cash charge of about $31 million resulting from the health-care overhaul signed into law by President Barack Obama.” (“AK Steel Sees $31 Million Charge From New Health Law,” BusinessWeek, 3/23/10)
Columbus, OH-Based American Electric Power Took A $21 Million Charge From ObamaCare. “American Electric Power said Thursday its first-quarter profit dropped 4 percent as the lingering effects of the recession continue to hurt power demand. … AEP recorded a $21 million charge because of the recently enacted federal health care overhaul. AEP and other companies currently receive a government subsidy to keep prescription drug benefits for retirees. They have been able to deduct their expenses, but that ends in 2013 under the recently passed legislation.” (Mark Williams, “AEP 1Q Earnings Drop 4 Percent,” The Associated Press, 4/29/10)
Ohio Industrial Manufacturer Eaton Will Take A $25 Million Charge Due To ObamaCare. “Industrial company Eaton said Thursday it plans to take a $25 million charge during the first quarter due to the recently-passed health-care legislation. Eaton joined a growing list of companies detailing the financial impact of the health-care bill, which was signed into law by President Barack Obama last week. Eaton said it needs to take the non-cash charge because it won’t be able to receive a subsidy for providing prescription-drug benefits to retirees.” (Matt Egan, “Eaton To Take $25 Million Health Care Hit,” Fox Business, 4/1/10)
CEO Of Cleveland’s Invocare Says Medical Device Tax Is Like “Throwing A Hand Grenade” Into Health Care Industry. “The law includes a 2.3% excise tax on the sale of all medical devices except for consumer goods, such as contact lenses and hearing aids. . .Among established medical device companies, Invacare Corp. of Elyria, the world’s largest wheelchair maker, has been a vocal opponent of the tax. Invacare CEO A. Malachi Mixon III in a January interview with Crain’s went so far as to say the tax was the equivalent of ‘throwing a hand grenade in the mi ddle of the health care economy.'” (Chuck Soder, “Tax On Medical Device Manufactuers Could Be Taxing,” Crain’s Cleveland Business, 3/29/10)
Columbus-Based White Castle Predicts ObamaCare Will Consume More Than Half Its Profits. “The White Castle hamburger chain fears that a health insurance reform law adopted earlier this year will put its profits on a downward slide. The Columbus-based family owned restaurant chain – known for serving small square hamburgers called ‘sliders’ – says a single provision in the bill will eat up roughly 55 percent of its yearly net income after 2014.” (Sabrina Eaton, “Ohio Hamburger Chain Says Insurance Reform Will Bite Into Profits,” The [Cleveland] Plain Dealer, 7/4/2010)
- ObamaCare Will Prevent White Castle From Expanding In Ohio. “The financial hit will make it hard for the company to maintain its 421 restaurants, let alone create new jobs, says company spokesman Jamie Richardson. White Castle employs more than 10,000 people nationwide, and more than 1,200 in Ohio.” (Sabrina Eaton, “Ohio Hamburger Chain Says Insurance Reform Will Bite Into Profits,” The [Cleveland] Plain Dealer, 7/4/2010)
CEO Of University Hospitals In Cleveland, Ohio Warns ObamaCare “Creates A Larger Burden On The States.” “UH’s Zenty said, ‘Even though it appears more coverage will be provided through Medicaid, that creates a larger burden on the states. And with the state of Ohio’s looming budget deficit, we need to be mindful of how that will be funded.'” (Evelyn Theiss, “Health Care Bill Should Save Cleveland Hospitals Money On Treating Poor, But Exact Amount Unclear,” The Cleveland Plain Dealer, 4/7/10)
- And Executive Director Of Center For Community Solutions In Cleveland, Ohio Says Ohio Will Have To Raise Taxes “To Meet The Obligations Assumed In The Bill.” “John Begala, executive director of the nonprofit Center for Community Solutions, said preliminary analyses show that $20 billion (per year) in costs for health care reform will be divided among the 50 states, but added, ‘The budget estimates on this bill are so convoluted it’s simply impossible to know more.’ ‘We’re already facing a $3 [billion] to $4 billion shortfall going in the next biennium. It’s almost unimaginable that Ohio will be in a position three years from now to meet the obligations assumed in the bill without raising revenue for that purpose.'” (Evelyn Theiss, “Health Care Bill Should Save Cleveland Hospitals Money On Treating Poor, But Exact Amount Unclear,” The Cleveland Plain Dealer, 4/7/10)
Ohio Woman Says ObamaCare’s Tanning Tax Would Hit Middle Class Because “It’s The Working People That Will Have To Pay For It, No Matter What.” “If anything, Snyder, 53, of 106 Lee Ave., Marietta, said, the measure is more of a tax on the middle class. ‘It’s supposed to tax (the salon owners), which will then be passed onto us. It’s the working people that will have to pay for it, no matter what,’ she said. ‘They say it’s a sin tax, but I just wish they’d leave us alone.'” (Justin McIntosh, “Tanning Tax Burns Some,” Marietta Times, 4/12/10)
Cleveland Clinic Chief Executive Toby Cosgrove Says ObamaCare Could “Stiffle Medical Innovation.”“Cleveland Clinic Chief Executive Toby Cosgrove told a full house at a City Club speech Wednesday he’s concerned that health-care reform could stifle medical innovation. ‘I think we have to worry very significantly about innovation,’ Cosgrove said in response to a question about the effects of health-care reform. He was referring specifically, he said, to the comparative-effectiveness provision in the law. Comparative effectiveness is shorthand for studying different treatments and paying for those that work.” (Diane Suchetka, “Cleveland Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove Talks About Health-Care Reform And More At City Club,” The Cleveland Plain Dealer,8/19/10)
