NEW: Fung Responds to Obamacare Diagnosis as “Job Killer”
Wednesday, February 05, 2014
Cranston Mayor and Republican gubernatorial candidate Allan Fung today responded to the Congressional Budget Office’s analysis of the Affordable Care Act and projected job losses as a result of the health care program, referring to Obamacare as a "job killer."
A release from the Fung campaign said that "once elected he will work with the state legislature and health care providers to reduce its detrimental impact on small business and working class families."
"Like many others I have been fearful of the economic impact on small business and working families, and the Congressional Budget Office has now validated our concern about job losses and reductions of hours as a result of the Obamacare mandates,” said Fung. “The nonpartisan report issued by the CBO projects that the health care law will shrink the national workforce at the equivalent of 2.5 million fewer full-time jobs by 2024. This is unacceptable."
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTBased upon state-by-state percentages of overall jobs calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Americans for Tax Reform projects the loss of 8,529 Rhode Island jobs.
"We already have the highest unemployment in the United States and we simply cannot afford to lose any more jobs in this state," continued Fung. "How are struggling Rhode Island families going to be able to afford these premiums, especially when their jobs are potentially on the line?”
“We have an exchange website, call center, and staff that cost more than $99 million,” stated Fung, “but Rhode Island taxpayers should not be left on the hook to pay for the $23.4 million annual expense to maintain the exchange. Unlike each of my opponents in the race for Governor of Rhode Island, I have consistently opposed Obamacare’s extremely high cost, in both dollars and jobs. As Governor, I will remain steadfast in supporting a more efficient and effective health care system, including working across state lines to increase competition and drive down the price of healthcare,” concluded Fung.
Related Slideshow: New England’s Healthiest States 2013
The United Health Foundation recently released its 2013 annual reoprt: America's Health Rankings, which provides a comparative state by state analysis of several health measures to provide a comprehensive perspective of our nation's health issues. See how the New England states rank in the slides below.
Definitions
All Outcomes Rank: Outcomes represent what has already occurred, either through death, disease or missed days due to illness. In America's Health Rankings, outcomes include prevalence of diabetes, number of poor mental or physical health days in last 30 days, health disparity, infant mortality rate, cardiovascular death rate, cancer death rate and premature death. Outcomes account for 25% of the final ranking.
Determinants Rank: Determinants represent those actions that can affect the future health of the population. For clarity, determinants are divided into four groups: Behaviors, Community and Environment, Public and Health Policies, and Clinical Care. These four groups of measures influence the health outcomes of the population in a state, and improving these inputs will improve outcomes over time. Most measures are actually a combination of activities in all four groups.
Diabetes Rank: Based on percent of adults who responded yes to the question "Have you ever been told by a doctor that you have diabetes?" Does not include pre-diabetes or diabetes during pregnancy.
Smoking Rank: Based on percentage of adults who are current smokers (self-report smoking at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime and currently smoke).
Obesity Rank: Based on percentage of adults who are obese, with a body mass index (BMI) of 30.0 or higher.
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