“There are 34 million ways to order a Domino’s Pizza, so, thanks to President Obama’s national health care law, the chain’s franchisees may have to spend more than $5 million attempting to squeeze calorie data next to every one of their menu items.”
“Federal payments required by President Barack Obama’s health care law are being understated by as much as $50 billion per year because official budget forecasts ignore the cost of insuring many employees’ spouses and children, according to a new analysis. The result could cost the U.S. Treasury hundreds of billions of dollars during the first ten years of the new health care law’s implementation.”
“The Budget Control Act of 2011 ties increases in the federal debt limit to cuts in spending on a dollar-for-dollar basis. In a deal described by one opponent as a ‘sugar-coated Satan sandwich,’ President Obama agreed that Medicare should be put on the chopping block along with other federal programs. That could prove to be the thread that unravels the massive expansion of health spending created in last year’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.”
“Alas, ObamaCare may poison the well for reform if Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius decides that HSAs don’t meet the law’s requirements for mandated ‘essential’ coverage. Add this to the long list of ways that ObamaCare will inhibit innovation, but it’s getting hard to keep track of them all.”
“The survey found passage of the new health care law prompted health insurance carriers to stop selling new child-only health plans in many states. Of the 50 states, 17 reported that there are currently no carriers selling childonly health plans to new enrollees. Thirty-nine states indicated at least one insurance carrier exited the child-only market following enactment of the new health care laws. Accordingly, child-only health insurance access and competition in the market have declined significantly since passage of the Act.”
“The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is soliciting bids to promote the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) program, a controversial long-term care insurance program established by ObamaCare.
Two contracts are up for grabs: one to create a ‘strategic brand’ for CLASS, the other to develop a CLASS ‘awareness campaign.’ The kicker: The CLASS program has yet to be created, and there is considerable doubt that it ever will be.”
“The administrative costs of operating an exchange plus the administrative costs to a small business of migrating to the exchange are almost certainly greater than the administrative costs of participating in the traditional small-group market (or taking account of other “work arounds” promoted by some insurance producers). Therefore, unless an exchange is subsidized from non-exchange sources (as per Obamacare), it will not attract many participants.”
“In interviews, Mr. Scott, a Republican, and state legislative leaders were clear about their rationale. They said they detested everything about the federal health law, which was declared unconstitutional by a federal judge in a case filed by the state. Unless ordered to do otherwise by an appellate court, they said, they had no intention of putting it in place, even if that meant leaving money on the table.”
“While everyone was watching the debt-ceiling debate, the Department of Health and Human Services announced mandatory coverage of contraceptives (including ones that may act as abortifacients) and sterilization in new insurance plans, with the narrowest of conscience protection.”