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As Massachusetts health 'reform' goes, so
could go Obamacare
Robert J. Samuelson - Washington
Post
If you want a preview of
President Obama's health-care "reform," take a look at Massachusetts.
In 2006, it enacted a "reform" that became a model for Obama. What's
happened since isn't encouraging. The state did the easy part: expanding
state-subsidized insurance coverage. It evaded the hard part:
controlling costs and ensuring that spending improves people's health.
Unfortunately, Obama has done the same. Like Obama, Massachusetts
requires most individuals to have health insurance (the "individual
mandate"). To aid middle-class families too well-off to qualify for
Medicaid -- government insurance for the poor -- the state subsidizes
insurance for people with incomes up to three times the federal poverty
line (about $66,000 in 2008 for a family of four). Together, the mandate
and subsidies have raised insurance coverage from 87.5 percent of the
non-elderly population in 2006 to 95.2 percent in the fall of 2009,
report Sharon Long and Karen Stockley of the Urban Institute. Changing Stance, Administration Now Defends
Insurance Mandate as a Tax
Robert Pear - New
York Times
When Congress
required most Americans to obtain health insurance or pay a penalty,
Democrats denied that they were creating a new tax. But in court, the
Obama administration and its allies now defend the requirement as an
exercise of the government's "power to lay and collect taxes." And that
power, they say, is even more sweeping than the federal power to
regulate interstate commerce. Administration officials say the tax
argument is a linchpin of their legal case in defense of the health care
overhaul and its individual mandate, now being challenged in court by
more than 20 states and several private organizations. ObamaCare's huge new burden for small
business
Rep. Andre Cushing, R-Hampde - Bangor Daily
News
Last March, before the
ObamaCare health legislation passed the Democratic Congress, we heard
one of the most shocking statements ever made by a high-ranking federal
official. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi told an audience, "We have
to pass the health care bill to find out what's in it." It's hard to
think of anything that could have been more appalling and frightening to
the American people. Remember, this bill came to more than 2,400 pages
and 400,000 words. It will transform one-sixth of the U.S. economy and
personally affect every American. It will create more than 100 new
federal agencies and impose massive taxation on the productive members
of our society. It is one of the most far-reaching and nation-changing
laws in our history. And Nancy Pelosi's attitude was, "Trust us." US taxpayers soon to taste the bitter fruit
of Obamacare
Floyd and Mary Beth Brown - San
Francisco Examiner
Get ready
for your life to change. The so-called benefits of Obamacare don't start
until 2014, but the tax increases, misallocated resources and federal
regulations start now. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi famously said the
night of Obamacare's passage, "We have to pass the bill so that you can
find out what is in it." The emerging picture is frightening. Obamacare
dramatically alters the already overregulated health insurance market.
The law creates a maze of mandates, federal directives, price controls,
tax increases and subsidies.Firms cancel health coverage
Kay Lazar - Boston
Globe
The relentlessly rising
cost of health insurance is prompting some small Massachusetts
companies to drop coverage for their workers and encourage them to sign
up for state-subsidized care instead, a trend that, some analysts say,
could eventually weigh heavily on the state's already-stressed budget.
Since April 1, the date many insurance contracts are renewed for small
businesses, the owners of about 90 small companies terminated their
insurance plans with Braintree-based broker Jeff Rich and indicated in a
follow-up survey that they were relying on publicly-funded insurance
for their employees.US Congressional members sign on to repeal
Obamacare
Christopher Collins - Examiner
When Obamacare was passed by
the House, a CNN poll had revealed that 56 percent of the public
disapproved of the law. In Paulding County, liberal democrats approved
of the government's healthcare handout while Republicans disapproved. In
less than a year since Obamacare's passage, a move to repeal the law
has gained momentum in the US House of Representatives. On July 9, 2010,
Congressman Steve King (R-IA) had announced that efforts to force the
House of Representatives to vote on legislation providing for a 100%
repeal of "Obamacare" continued to gain momentum, with the addition of
the 109th signature.Insurers Push Plans That Limit Choice of
Doctor
Reed Abelson - New York
Times
As the Obama
administration begins to enact the new national health care law, the
country's biggest insurers are promoting affordable plans with reduced
premiums that require participants to use a narrower selection of
doctors or hospitals. The plans, being tested in places like San Diego,
New York and Chicago, are likely to appeal especially to small
businesses that already provide insurance to their employees, but are
concerned about the ever-spiraling cost of coverage. But large
employers, as well, are starting to show some interest, and insurers and
consultants expect that, over time, businesses of all sizes will
gravitate toward these plans in an effort to cut costs. Obamacare already showing major backlash
Stephen Borthwick - Examiner
There has never been any
doubt that the healthcare reform pushed down the throats of America by
Obama and his loyal sycophants in Congress would spark some backlash,
but even the strongest opponents might be surprised at just how soon it
is happening. Obamacare has not even taken effect yet, and already
insurance companies, struggling to keep down premiums, are cutting off
people's access to their own doctors. A New York Times report details
the happening. Apparently, big insurance companies (who remain nameless,
as usual) are pushing 'affordable' plans with lower premiums but a
significantly reduced list of doctors and hospitals available to clients
of the plan. Abortion foes win a round in health
overhaul
Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar - Associated
Press
Abortion foes have
scored a victory and traditional allies of the Obama administration are
grumbling about a decision to ban most abortion coverage in insurance
pools for those unable to purchase health care on their own. The
Catholic bishops "welcome this new policy," said Cardinal Daniel
DiNardo, although he added the organization remains concerned that other
provisions of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law will
promote abortion.Cigna Jockeys for Position in Overhaul
Avery Johnson - Wall
Street Journal
While he
awaits regulators' draft of important new health-care rules this summer,
Cigna Corp. Chief Executive David Cordani is looking for ways to
benefit. Cigna mainly administers insurance policies for big
businesses--an area little affected by the health-care overhaul. But Mr.
Cordani hopes to sell more policies to individuals if the new
health-care rules create an attractive-enough market. Insurance
regulators are drafting rules that will effectively determine how
lucrative that market will be by dictating how much leeway insurers have
to calculate their "medical-loss ratio," or how much of premiums
insurers use for medical care rather than administration. Small companies in Massachusetts canceling
health care coverage
Kim Priestap - Wizbang
So many of us predicted this
that no one can say they weren't warned. Unfortunately, though, we will
see the same thing happen after ObamaCare is implemented in 2014: The
relentlessly rising cost of health insurance is prompting some small
Massachusetts companies to drop coverage for their workers and encourage
them to sign up for state-subsidized care instead, a trend that, some
analysts say, could eventually weigh heavily on the state's
already-stressed budget. Tanning proprietor sounds off on health
care tax
Amanda Harnocz - Tallmadge
Express/ Associated Press
Some
patrons may be sizzling over the new 10 percent health care tax on
indoor tanning services, which is affecting business locally. "Business
is definitely slower," said Sherri Turner, owner of U B Tan on Erie
Road. "I'm down this year from last year, the new tax has hurt me --
business could be better." The Obama administration approved the tax in
March as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The
government expects the tax to bring in $2.7 billion in the next decade
to help pay for the $940 billion federal health care overhaul.Watchdog called in over safety fears at NHS
trust
A London NHS
hospital trust has been referred to the independent health regulator
amid concerns over patient safety, staffing levels and equipment
shortfalls, it has emerged. James Brokenshire, Conservative MP for Old
Bexley and Sidcup wrote to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) outlining a
list of issues at the South London Healthcare NHS Trust following
representations from medical staff. He said: "I had a meeting with a
number of senior clinicians from the trust three weeks ago raising
concerns over clinical safety issues, particularly the availability of
essential equipment and some staffing levels; the impact this was having
and the fact matters were not being addressed."Consultants worried about supplies at
London NHS trust
Essential medical supplies have been lacking at one of
London's NHS trusts while too many operations are being cancelled,
senior clinicians have said. Staff at South London Healthcare Trust have
been "raising concerns over clinical safety issues" and matters such as
in adequate bed linen. Their local MP, James Brokenshire, has reported
their fears to a regulator. The trust acknowledged problems but stressed
it was "on an improvement journey" to make its services better.Hispanic Democrats want health-care fix
Carrie Budoff Brown - Politico
A group of Democratic lawmakers wants to use the
immigration reform debate to fix one of the most hotly contested aspects
of the health care law -- provisions that bar immigrants from using new
government programs to get coverage. The move by the Congressional
Hispanic Caucus would add a contentious new element to an already
monumental task -- passing a bill that puts 11 million illegal immigrants
on a path to citizenship. But the lawmakers say they're merely
following through on a pledge they made when the health care overhaul
passed in March, and they expect the White House and Democratic
leadership to do the same.How to Care for 30 Million More Patients
R. Pete Vanderveen - Wall
Street Journal
Many worry
there won't be enough physicians to care for the estimated 30 million
more patients who will be insured under the health law passed earlier
this year. The Association of American Medical Colleges estimates a
shortage that could reach 150,000 doctors by 2025. Pharmacists, who
number almost 300,000 today, could help fill the gap. The men and women
who complete a four-year graduate professional program are trained to
master complex medications--including more than 10,000 prescription drugs
and dozens of new, more sophisticated ones approved annually by the
Food and Drug Administration. Bypassing Senate hearings on health care
pick a bad idea
Perception sometimes
can be as important as substance, particularly when it comes to politics
and our nation's leaders. President Barack Obama bypassed the Senate
and appointed Dr. Donald Berwick, a Harvard professor and patient care
specialist, to run Medicare and Medicaid. By doing so, he has implied
that he not only wants to circumvent the process for naming important
department heads, but will do anything to get his way. The president may
have the best intentions here, but he has created the perception that
he's trying to hide something from the American people because he knows
they won't like it if it's made public.Justice Department charges 94 people with
health-care fraud
Jerry Markon - Washington
Post
The Justice Department
stepped up its crackdown on Medicare and Medicaid cheats Friday,
announcing charges against 94 people in what authorities called the
largest health-care fraud sting in U.S. history. Federal agents fanned
out across five states to arrest defendants accused of bilking the
Medicare system out of more than $251 million through false claims for
services that were medically unnecessary or never provided. Among those
charged, officials said, are doctors and health-care company owners and
executives. Thirty-six of the defendants had been arrested as of Friday
afternoon. | Latest Polling |
|
Rasmussen Reports July 12, 2010 53 percent of voters favor repealing Obamacare |