“Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) says he shares colleagues’ concerns that the Affordable Care Act could become a ‘train wreck’ if it’s not implemented properly. Reid warned that people will not be able to choose health insurance plans on government health exchanges if federal authorities lack the resources to set them up and educate the public.”
“Another GOP governor has pledged to go ahead with Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion, and once again, industry was standing right there with him… The same thing is happening in Ohio and Missouri. In Idaho, the GOP governor and legislature decided to build an Obamacare exchange thanks to industry pressure.”
“The complaint focuses on the law’s distribution of federal subsidies for Americans to purchase insurance, and whether people can get them if they live in one of the 33 states that have refused to set up their own insurance exchanges and have left that task up to the federal government.”
“There is no way to spin these results as anything but a rebuke to those who are pushing states to expand Medicaid. The Obama administration has been trying to convince states to throw more than a trillion additional taxpayer dollars at Medicaid by participating in the expansion, when the best-designed research available cannot find any evidence that it improves the physical health of enrollees.”
“In recent weeks, there have been increasing expressions of concern from surprising quarters about the implementation of ObamaCare. Montana Sen. Max Baucus, a Democrat, called it a ‘train wreck.’ A Democratic colleague, West Virginia’s Sen. Jay Rockefeller, described the massive Affordable Care Act as ‘beyond comprehension.’ Henry Chao, the government’s chief technical officer in charge of putting in place the insurance exchanges mandated by the law, was quoted in the Congressional Quarterly as saying ‘I’m pretty nervous . . . Let’s just make sure it’s not a third-world experience.'”
“President Obama said Tuesday that his healthcare law is bound to hit some snags as it comes fully into place over the next six months. ‘Even if we do everything perfectly, there will still be glitches and bumps … That’s pretty much true of every government program that’s ever been set up,’ Obama said at a news conference. Asked about Democratic concerns that the implementation could be a ‘huge train wreck,’ Obama said the law will be fully implemented on time.”
“The lack of competition in nearly a dozen states could present problems when the insurance exchanges that are part of the Affordable Care Act launch in October. The exchanges are supposed to give Americans who do not get health insurance from their employers the opportunity to choose from an array of private insurance plans. The idea is to generate competition between insurers that will lead to lower premiums.”
“Some 500 healthcare provider groups and companies, patient advocates and employers on Thursday signed a letter to Congress urging repeal of the Independent Payment Advisory Board in fear that not only will its cost-cutting powers hurt patients’ access to care, but that it will also raise costs for employers, and actually raise costs in the long run.”
“The Department of Health and Human Services has just handed out a $3.1 million PR contract to improve the public image of Obamacare. Advertising Age reports that the firm Weber Shandwick will help ‘roll out a campaign to convince skeptical — or simply confused — Americans the Affordable Care Act is good for them and convince them to enroll in a health plan.'”
“Congressional leaders in both parties are engaged in high-level, confidential talks about exempting lawmakers and Capitol Hill aides from the insurance exchanges they are mandated to join as part of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, sources in both parties said.”