Sorry, The CBO Did Not Say Health Reform Kills 800,000 Jobs | The New Republic

Sorry, The CBO Did Not Say Health Reform Kills 800,000 Jobs | The New Republic

From Jonathon Chait on the "job killing" myth:

Other provisions in the legislation are also likely to diminish people’s incentives to work. Changes to the insurance market, including provisions that prohibit insurers from denying coverage to people because of preexisting conditions and that restrict how much prices can vary with an individual’s age or health status, will increase the appeal of health insurance plans offered outside the workplace for older workers. As a result, some older workers will choose to retire earlier than they otherwise would. (CBO)

In other words, people who are only working because they desperately need employer-sponsored health insurance will no longer do so. They're not going on the public dole -- they're just people who have the means not to work full-time and will be free to make employment decisions that aren't premised upon an individual health insurance market that shuts them out. Some workers will choose to retire early because they now have the ability to buy their own health insurance. This is what Republicans call "destroying jobs."

Now, CBO does show a very minor effect of higher taxes discouraging the work incentive. But this is a very small portion of what is a fairly small effect to begin with. Basically the analysis shows the effect of giving workers with preexisting conditions access to a health care system that doesn't lock them into the employer-provided system. Apparently, in the conservative view, being chained to your desk at some big company until you're 65 and unable to retire or start your own business because the individual market is rife with adverse selection is defined as "freedom."

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