“Thanks to Obamacare, the one bright light in many people’s complicated and burdensome health-care spending plans is about to be taken away. That little bit of tax-free medical spending that some of us have enjoyed for years, the health savings plans and the pretax money they provided for over-the-counter remedies . . . cough syrup, saline solution and even toothpaste . . . now will require a doctor’s note.”
“An early feature of the new health-care law that allows people who are already sick to get insurance to cover their medical costs isn’t attracting as many customers as expected. In the meantime, in at least a few states, claims for medical care covered by the “high-risk pools” are proving very costly, and it is an open question whether the $5 billion allotted by Congress to start up the plans will be sufficient.”
“The latest Rasmussen poll of likely voters shows that 66 percent of independents support the repeal of Obamacare, while only 30 percent oppose it. Since the Democrats, of course, are the party that passed Obamacare — without a single Republican vote — it’s amazing that independents are even more supportive of repeal than Democrats are opposed to it. Democrats oppose repeal by the tally of only 60 to 37 percent.”
“It’s hard to know if Democrats are serious about pursuing this course. If so, they are heading down a perilous political path. Here’s why: the more the public learns about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the more they dislike it — and they dislike it plenty right now. In addition, the thinking that continues to animate many Democrats — namely, that the only reason Obama’s health-care overhaul isn’t wildly popular is because of a “communications problem” by the White House and congressional Democrats — is wholly in error.”
“Physician hospital organizations are firing back at President Obama’s health care law in the press and the courts, seeking a repeal of what they argue are “exclusionary and unconstitutional” restrictions. Section 6001 of the health care law effectively bans new physician-owned hospitals (POHs) from starting up, and it keeps existing ones from expanding. It has already halted the development of 24 new physician-owned hospitals and forced an additional 47 to struggle to meet the deadline to complete construction, according to the Physician Hospitals of America (PHA).”