By Sen. Rand Paul
Roll Call

President Barack Obama’s national health care scheme — Obamacare — became law one year ago last week, and if it is allowed to stand, it poses a danger to the health, freedom and economic well-being of all Americans.

For the first time in U.S. history, the federal government will force you to purchase health insurance. Not just any insurance, but one approved by a government bureaucrat.

The proponents of this law do not seem to understand or care about the consequences.

They do not care if you cannot afford it. They do not care if you have a plan you like better. They do not care about the effect this will have on our struggling economy, or that it adds to our already crippling debt. Obamacare will ultimately lead to harmful results. In fact, it already has. And the more we learn about it, the more problems we discover.

Of course, during the so-called debate about this bill, we were famously told not to worry about what was in it, that we’d learn about it later. Here’s what we’ve learned.

We’ve learned there are new taxes and regulations on business estimated to cost billions of dollars per year.

We’ve learned the administration promise that you can “keep your own plan” was a lie.

The American people are also beginning to see the very real consequences of this big-government meddling. In the past year, premiums for health insurance have increased. Businesses have started to drop health coverage for their employees and even lay people off because of the costs associated with Obamacare’s mandates and regulations. A few days ago, the CEO of Starbucks, once a supporter of the measure, said the effect of it will be too great for businesses to deal with.

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