The Obama Administration released their Mid-Session Review of the budget outlook, and it isn’t pretty. “The primary threat to the nation’s long-term prosperity is runaway federal entitlement spending. Entitlement costs are set to rise so fast and so quickly that the implications for federal deficits and debt are staggering. If allowed to stand, the health law has dramatically reduced the flexibility of the federal government to respond to the coming budget crisis. It locks in massive new spending commitments, and uses every trick in the book to make it look like those commitments have been paid for.”
ObamaCare’s provisions to help the uninsured before the massive subsidy program starts is off to a rocky start. “Earlier this month, the Obama administration launched the latest version of high-risk pools, as authorized by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The new pools are off to a stumbling start – behind schedule, facing resistance (or indifference) from many state governments, structurally flawed, and substantially underfunded. In other words, ‘Close enough for government work.'”
“Missouri voters dealt Obamacare a significant setback yesterday, approving a statewide ballot measure by an overwhelming 3-to-1 margin. The vote was the first time citizens had an opportunity to cast a ballot on the unpopular health care law. Missouri’s measure prohibits the federal government’s enforcement of the individual mandate to buy health insurance. The victory sends a strong message about Obamacare in a bellwether state.”
“This week the Obama administration released a report claiming that the new healthcare law will strengthen Medicare. This is a familiar theme from an administration that has received low marks from seniors, who instinctively know that cutting Medicare spending by $575 billion over the next decade will probably not do them any good. A cynical mind might also conclude that releasing this self-congratulatory message three days before the annual Medicare Trustees Report was meant to deflect attention from more bad news.”
“The political revolt against ObamaCare came to Missouri Tuesday, with voters casting ballots three to one against the plan in its first direct referendum. This is another resounding health-care rebuke to the White House and Democrats, not that overwhelming public opposition to this expansion of government power ever deterred them before.”
Missouri voters overwhelmingly passed a referendum prohibiting ObamaCare’s individual mandate. About 3 in 4 voters rejected this key provision, which would force individuals to buy health insurance or pay a tax.
ObamaCare creates a nightmare of new bureaucracies. There are so many new boards, commissions and agencies created that a new Congressional Research Service report said an accurate count is literally “unknowable” because the law is so vaguely drafted. This creates huge opportunities for bureaucratic malfeasance.
The onerous new tax reporting requirements of ObamaCare which forces businesses to file IRS paperwork on a vast number of business transactions was up for a vote to be repealed in Congress and failed. 40 million businesses would be hit by the requirement.
Virginia’s Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli filed suit to overturn ObamaCare, because it violates a Virginia law which prohibits forcing citizens to purchase health insurance. The Department of Justice filed a motion to have the case dismissed, but a federal judge today ruled that the case is not frivolous and should proceed.
“What would you think if bureaucrats confiscated your iPhone because they decided it didn’t provide enough value? State regulators may help the federal government do just that to the health-care benefits of millions of Americans. The most important element in implementing ObamaCare will be the requirement for health insurers to meet what is called a medical loss ratio.”