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As we move one step closer to a healthcare bill introduced on the Senate floor, the American people should remind President Obama of the promises he made. Already, President Obama has contradicted a number of assurances he gave to the American people:

1. President Obama promised not to raise taxes on the middle class.

Contradiction: The middle class will be hit with $2 billion in “penalties.” The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that there will $2.8 billion in penalties for those who do not purchase healthcare, $2 billion of which will be paid by taxpayers earning less than $120,000 for a family of four.

2. President Obama promised not to add one penny to the deficit.

Contradiction: The House version of the healthcare bill will add an estimated $239 billion over the next ten years.

3. President Obama promised that if we liked our current healthcare plan, then we will be able to keep it.

Contradiction: The healthcare plan will cut Medicare Advantage benefits by half.

4. President Obama promised that if you like your current doctor or hospital, you will be able to keep them.

Contradiction: The healthcare plan will force doctors and hospitals to increase patient volumes to make up for Medicare cuts, and thus reduce patient access.

5. President Obama promised that no government bureaucrat will stand between patients and doctors.

Contradiction: Senator Baucus’s version of the healthcare plan would create an “Independent Medicare Commission” that would be able to deny benefits to the elderly or disabled based on a calculation of costs versus benefits.

6. President Obama promised to “slow the growth of healthcare costs for our families.”

Contradiction: The Senate version of the healthcare bill will tax medical technology companies and drug makers that will increase the cost of everyday healthcare devices such as pacemakers, eyeglasses, hearing aids, and powered wheelchairs.

Read more promises and contradictions in my Human Events newsletter here. The American people should remind President Obama of his promises, and ask him if he will veto a healthcare bill with so many contradictions.

We need to do more to ensure that Washington does not cut Medicare Advantage benefits. Medicare Advantage has been crucial in giving 11 million senior citizens the ability to choose their own private insurance plan. Data from the Center for Policy and Research have shown that seniors enrolled in Medicare Advantage are more satisfied with their healthcare than those in traditional Medicare.

Public-plan advocates including members of Congress, the White House, and the New York Times have tried to convince Americans that the cuts would be modest at best. At the same time, the Times acknowledges that Medicare benefits “would shrink by more than half from current levels.” (Read more in my Human Events newsletter.)

Healthcare provider Humana took the first step in drawing this risk to the American people, but they were censored. As Washington continues to debate, we need to continue to voice our opinion to our senators and representatives and let them know that we will not tolerate any plan that goes further for special interests than it does for advancing a more efficient and more cost-effective healthcare system.

President Obama says he is serious about working across the aisle to pass healthcare reform. Here are three ways to prove it.

First, he should reassure us that the bill will not subsidize healthcare for those who are illegally residing in the United States. He should do this not simply with a promise, but by insisting that an amendment that would require valid identification, previously rejected by Democrats, be included in the bill.

Second, President Obama should take the necessary steps to reduce fraud. At the Center for Health Transformation we estimate that $70–120 billion is lost to healthcare fraud and waste a year. That’s more than has been spent on the stimulus.

Third, President Obama and Congress should move to pass legislation that sets a cap on non-economic damages and attorney fees recovered in medical malpractice cases. The federal government should follow the lead of California and Texas and set a cap on damages that can be paid for malpractice injuries. The House passed a bill in 2005 that would have done just that, but the legislation was not signed into law. You can read more about these three proposals in my column in the Washington Examiner.

Obama has an opportunity to re-approach healthcare reform in a meaningful way—slow down. The August recess demonstrated that many Americans are fearful and confused about the dramatic reforms coming from Washington. President Obama should consider breaking up the giant healthcare bill into four or five bills that have wide support. (See my column in the Washington Examiner for more.)

Just as I told then–First Lady Hillary Clinton in the spring of 1993, take your time, no one in the country can possibly manage in one bill to reform a sector of our economy that makes up 17 percent of GDP. Healthcare should not be approached as a single item on a list of “Things To Do Before 2010.” Instead, President Obama and Congress should buckle down, prepare to spend time negotiating, modifying, and reworking, and then introduce one segment of healthcare reform, one step at a time.