(Exclusive to The Hayride…)

Two years ago this week, President Barack Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act  (commonly referred to as “ObamaCare”).

Do you remember the promises the President made?  At the time, President Obama promised the American public that the new health care law would be budget neutral, would decrease families’ health insurance costs, and would bend the cost curve downward.

Some believed him. Some didn’t.  But many were skeptical.

Regardless of where you stood then – experts now say that the Democrats underestimated the true cost of their health care law.  In fact, ObamaCare contained a series of budget gimmicks to hide the real cost of the bill from the American people. According to current estimates, the bill will spend nearly $1 trillion more over the next decade than was originally predicted.

They promised ObamaCare would lower insurance costs – it hasn’t – insurance costs in America have risen. They promised that you could keep your insurance – not true. In Louisiana alone, more than 233,000 people will lose their private health insurance – forcing many families into government-run health care.

Louisiana, like the other 49 states, will not be able to afford ObamaCare.

According to a new report:
•      ObamaCare will cost Louisiana more than 7 billion dollars over the next 10 years.
•      ObamaCare will also drastically expand the state’s Medicaid rolls.
•      Under ObamaCare, more than 233,000 Louisiana residents will lose their private health insurance and will be forced into the state’s Medicaid program.

The effects of ObamaCare were entirely predictable.  In fact, I have been a consistent and staunch opponent of ObamaCare because we are all aware of the failures of government-run healthcare programs around the world.  England and Canada, for example, both have government-run health care systems, and both countries lag behind in medical care and innovative medicine.

But you don’t have to look to other countries to see the failures of government-run health care systems.  Here in the United States, Massachusetts serves as a good example of the problems that have arisen and will continue to arise when government oversteps its limits, stifles freedom and choice, and begins regulating health care.

Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, is the author and champion of his state’s failed health care take-over, commonly referred to as Romney Care.  The similarities between Romney Care and ObamaCare are incredible.  In Massachusetts, Romney Care has led to doctor shortages, increased wait-times to see physicians, and the highest health insurance premiums in the nation.

One of the most important issues this election will be ObamaCare and the question of the proper role of government in regulating health care.  Mitt Romney offers the same “big-government” solutions that President Obama has for the past three years.  In stark contrast, my candidacy has focused on the need to repeal ObamaCare and return to a more limited role of the federal government.

Let’s work together to make health care in America the best it can be through the freedom of the marketplace. Let’s improve the quality and limit the cost of health care, while protecting those with uninsurable health conditions. This way each person, family, and small business is free to choose the best for their health and their health care, including their doctor and the features of their health plan.  We can do this the right way, rather than through broken promises and imposing liberal government “solutions” that undermine the health of our families and the health of America.

Rick Santorum, a former representative and senator from Pennsylvania, is a candidate for the Republican nomination for president.