“The Supreme Court gave its definitive ruling upholding the Affordable Care Act in June. But that hasn’t stopped three other legal challenges to core provisions of Obamacare — including the mandates and subsidies — that could unravel big parts of the law if they succeed.”
“By the end of this week, states must decide whether they will build a health-insurance exchange or leave the task to the federal government. The question is, with as many as 17 states expected to leave it to the feds, can the Obama administration handle the workload.”
“Tuesday night’s win in the presidential contest for President Obama was a win for ObamaCare, the president’s signature legislation from his first term. ObamaCare will now continue to be implemented. This future means that we will continue to be faced with rising insurance premiums, as our current insurance expands to cover all patients regardless of pre-existing condition, age, or how many times they’ve already used the policy.”
“House Republicans will take aim at President Obama’s divisive Medicare cost-cutting board during the new Congress, Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) wrote Wednesday. The alert came in a letter from the House majority leader to his GOP colleagues lamenting Mitt Romney’s presidential loss and outlining ways for Republicans to pursue tailored interests legislatively.”
“President Obama’s health care reform law – Obamacare – continues to be very controversial, exit polls indicated Tuesday. In Florida, the exit polls showed 49% of voters say the 2010 law should be repealed completely or in part. Forty-three percent said it should be expanded or kept as is… Exit polls in Ohio, show 52% said they think the president’s health care reform law should be repealed completely or in part while 42% said it should be expanded or left as is. There’s a similar split in other swing states.”
“Voters in Missouri approved a measure Tuesday that will hamper its governor’s ability to implement President Obama’s healthcare law. The law will prohibit the governor from creating an insurance exchange unless the move is authorized by the state legislature or by a ballot initiative. Given the makeup of the statehouse, the measure’s approval Tuesday all but ensures that Missouri will have a federally run exchange.”
“Obamacare has been the dog that didn’t bark in this campaign. Given some of the damaging ideas in the law, that’s a surprise. Among the worst is medical device tax, which kicks in next year. The reticence to fight about the tax is odd: It already is destroying job opportunities, and it soon will start blocking medical developments that could improve or even save many lives.”
“President Obama’s narrow victory has left proponents of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) breathing a collective sigh of relief, believing that the legislation is safe. It’s true, of course, that the election’s outcome has ended the prospect of a new administration using Republican majorities in both chambers and the budget reconciliation process to force outright repeal. But the reality of the economic and political situation means the core elements of the ACA remain very much in play.”
“Measures in four states—Alabama, Florida, Montana and Wyoming—were on the ballot last night relating to ALEC’s model Freedom of Choice in Health Care Act. Preliminary results show the measures passed as constitutional amendments in Alabama (Amendment 6) and Wyoming (Amendment A), and as a referendum in Montana (LR 122). The Florida measure failed.”
“November 16th is the deadline for states to submit a blueprint to the federal government for Obamacare’s insurance exchanges — a key component of the new healthcare law. Already, the exchange system is proving to be an unmitigated disaster. No one should be surprised by this. Like so much of the president’s gargantuan healthcare entitlement, the exchanges are burdened by a spider’s web of confusing regulations, poor design, and a top-down, command-and-control structure.”