...today, health insurance reform is the law of the land all across America...
AT&T Inc. will take a $1 billion non-cash accounting charge in the first quarter because of the health care overhaul and may cut benefits it offers to current and retired workers...
...over the last year, there's been a lot of misinformation spread about health care reform. There's been plenty of fear-mongering, plenty of overheated rhetoric...
AK Steel Corp... and Valero Energy announced [similar] accounting charges, saying the health care law that President Barack Obama signed Tuesday will raise their expenses.
...You turn on the news, you'll see the same folks are still shouting about there's going to be an end of the world because this bill passed. (Laughter.) ...
On Friday, 3M Co. said it will also take a charge of $85 million to $90 million.
...I'm not exaggerating. Leaders of the Republican Party, they called the passage of this bill "Armageddon." (Laughter.) Armageddon. "End of freedom as we know it" ...
Manufacturer John Deere announced Thursday that it expected the company's expenses to be about $150 million higher than last year...
...So after I signed the bill, I looked around to see if there any -- (laughter) -- asteroids falling or -- (applause) -- some cracks opening up in the Earth. (Laughter.) It turned out it was a nice day. (Laughter.) ...
That came a day after Caterpillar predicted a new cost of $100 million...
...Birds were chirping. Folks were strolling down the Mall. People still have their doctors...
Most of the new costs will come in a reduction in subsidies that about 1,400 companies receive for providing drug coverage to their retirees. In an effort to raise several billion dollars for implementing the health care package, the law makes those subsidies taxable, just like income...
From this day forward, all of the cynics, all the naysayers -- they're going to have to confront the reality of what this reform is and what it isn't... this isn't a government takeover of our health care system. They'll see that if Americans like their doctor, they'll be keeping their doctor. You like your plan? You'll be keeping your plan. No one is taking that away from you...
...10 top companies, including Caterpillar, John Deere, Verizon, Xerox, Boeing and Met Life, warned Congress in December that over the long term, it would [hurt their bottom line] "Taxing the subsidy means that more companies will eliminate or reduce the coverage," they warned, "and more retirees will shift to Medicare ... which will create more cost for both the government and the retirees."Doesn't Obama's rhetoric sound like "Hugo Chavez North"?
The real, uhmmm, benefits of Politburo-style central planning won't become obvious until 2014, when ObamaCare kicks in for good. But don't worry. Government-run health care will be shovel-ready.
Sources: Chicago Sun-Times Transcript, 'AT&T will take $1B non-cash charge for health care' and 'Health care law brings big cost for big companies'
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