COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Tom Tancredo believes the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will take the nation down the wrong path.
The law, he predicted, will result in a disastrous single-payer health care system. And the former Colorado congressman, a right-wing firebrand, thinks it's no accident.
"Obamacare is designed to fail. It cannot possibly work. Premiums will go up dramatically for obvious reasons," he said at a keynote address Wednesday at the 2014 Benefits Selling Expo. "It's designed to fail to bring about a single payer and bring about a socialized health care system. It is worrisome, to say the least."
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Tancredo — a Republican running for Colorado governor this fall — said the momentum will then work against insurance companies — "the bogeyman," the bad guys who are sending the huge bills to consumers. So they will be eliminated in the single-payer system, he predicted.
That's despite the fact that a "huge part of the insurance industry" went along with PPACA at first. That wasn't surprising, he said, based on the promise that the law would bring them 46 million new customers.
But the industry has caught on to the issues surrounding the law, he said, and it shouldn't merely stand by.
"It's very scary stuff. And as individuals and as an industry we shouldn't be trapped into going along with this," Tancredo said. "It's a suicide pact for the industry and for America."
Tancredo also railed against PPACA sign-up numbers released by the administration Tuesday.
"It's no surprise to me (the administration) gave us the numbers on April 1," he said.
The 7 million sign-ups aren't impressive when you consider that there are 46 million uninsured, he said. Plus, Tancredo said, those who signed up weren't all uninsured, and it's still unclear who signed up, as far as risk pools, age groups, Medicaid numbers and so on.
Tancredo said President Obama was clear about his intentions with his flawed health care plan when he said, "I intend to fundamentally transform America."
"The president has articulated his desires. No one paid attention," he said. "We should have."
"The America he wants to transform is the America I happen to love," he continued.
The big issue, Tancredo said, is that as a country we can't trust big government to handle important domestic policy issues, such as health care.
"I don't know anybody who still thinks the government can overtake anything of significance in terms of domestic policy and do it correctly," he said. "Every time you give them another set of responsibilities you surrender a certain set of freedom. Health care is a perfect example."
During his hour-long session, Tancredo also focused on immigration, his signature issue.
A staunch and vocal opponent of illegal immigration, he said politicians — his own party included — has not done nearly enough to combat the issue.
"We are amiss not to secure our borders, amiss not to enforce the law," Tancredo said. "It's a slap in the face to everybody who had done it the right way."
"It's been an interesting, fascinating time in politics for me," he said. "I've been at odds with my party more than I have been in sync with them."
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