RIGHT SPEAK: Obamacare Pain Spreads to Middle-Class Families, Workers

We're heartened that the Senate's new leaders plan to strip out the worst parts of ObamaCare. By raising premiums and reducing wages, the law is squeezing the middle class harder and harder.

Two new national surveys show the pain of ObamaCare metastasizing throughout family households and workplaces.

A CBS News-New York Times poll finds the majority of Americans blame surging premiums on the president's signature legislation, while a National Federation of Independent Business survey finds more firms delaying hiring, cutting work hours and freezing wages to avoid or absorb the costs of new government mandates.

Asked about co-pays and other out-of-pocket expenses they're paying under ObamaCare, a majority — 52% — of respondents to the CBS-New York Times poll said they are paying more. Fully a third said those costs are "up a lot."

They're not paying more because they're going to the doctor more. Nearly three-quarters said their out-of-pocket costs have gone up "because the cost of the usual amount of medical treatment has become more expensive," the survey noted.

Satisfaction with the quality of care, meantime, is plunging. CBS-New York Times found the share of patients who are somewhat or very satisfied with their medical treatment has dropped to 69% from 78% in 2009, while dissatisfaction has jumped to 28% from 18% over the same period.