Of all the dubious claims made in the editorial "Maryland's health care imperative" (Jan. 27) the idea that the state should move forward on implementing the provisions of the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) in order to curb rising health care costs stands out as the most unsupportable. This legislation will not hold down health care costs and, in fact, where a similar plan has been tried in Massachusetts, costs to both health care consumers and the state government have increased dramatically.

Many health care experts doubt the federal legislation will reduce health care costs or even reduce their growth rate. The most recent expert to express his skepticism? Medicare's chief actuary, who in testimony before the House Budget Committee on January 26 said that this bill will not bring down unsustainable health care costs.

The Sun praises Massachusetts for its health care law, upon which the federal legislation is modeled. That law has failed to bring down health care spending in the Bay State, however. The cost of health insurance premiums in Massachusetts are rising more than the national average. Overall health care spending has increased by 23 percent, and the state government is paying $225 million more than it projected on the program.

Do we really, as the Sun's editors say, need "to set a course that will allow it to achieve those goals as well"? Our state will be better off if this federal law is repealed.

Marc Kilmer

The writer is a senior fellow at the Maryland Public Policy Institute.