The Washington Times reports, "Health care reforms could cost 20m work coverage".
This is based on information from the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation. Basically, President Obama's claim that "you could keep your insurance if you like it" won't apply to millions of Americans.
At best, workers dumped from their current plans might be able to scramble for some sort of coverage on government-run exchanges. But those policies will be loaded with expensive mandates on terms dictated by government and/or special interest groups with "pull" to determine what's considered an "essential benefit". People will have to pay for services they might not otherwise choose in a genuine free market (such as in vitro fertilization services or alcoholism treatment).
Furthermore, to save money these "qualified" (i.e., government-approved) plans will likely have to omit coverage for various services the government has decided are unnecessary, such as screening mammograms below age 50 or PSA prostate tests for men. The latest addition to this list of "nonessential" benefits will likely be annual Pap smears for cervical cancer screening). Through these exchanges, the government -- not you and your doctor -- will determine what's "essential" and what's "nonessential" to your health.
Forcing people out of their current coverage and into government-run insurance allows the Left to pin the blame on the "free market", while essentially herding Americans into state-run medicine.
Don't let them get away with this slippery sleight-of-hand.
The blog of Freedom and Individual Rights in Medicine (FIRM)
