“Health insurers say they plan to raise premiums for some Americans as a direct result of the health overhaul in coming weeks, complicating Democrats’ efforts to trumpet their signature achievement before the midterm elections. Aetna Inc., some BlueCross BlueShield plans and other smaller carriers have asked for premium increases of between 1% and 9% to pay for extra benefits required under the law, according to filings with state regulators. These and other insurers say Congress’s landmark refashioning of U.S. health coverage, which passed in March after a brutal fight, is causing them to pass on more costs to consumers than Democrats predicted.”
“As part of the run up to the November elections, the Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington think tank, has established an “action arm” to push for repeal. Much of the focus involves tapping into what it perceives is significant grassroots backing. The group has enlisted the help of 74 conservative organizations to talk to lawmakers. The effort, which is being led by Michael Needham, also has a form letter available on its website for voters to send to their representatives in Congress. The ultimate goal is to have lawmakers vote up or down on repealing the health reform law. With 170 Republican signatures currently on a discharge petition to bring a repeal bill to the House floor – 218 is the necessary number – Heritage Action is now eyeing Democrats who voted against passage of the health law. And, despite the long odds against repealing the law anytime soon, Needham says the prospects of success are good, even if it takes another four years and a new Congress.”
“To counter this election-year ruse, my colleagues and I at Docs4PatientCare are enlisting thousands of doctors in an unorthodox and unprecedented action. Our patients have always expected a certain standard of care from their doctors, which includes providing them with pertinent information that may affect their quality of life. Because the issue this election is so stark—literally life and death for millions of Americans in the years ahead—we are this week posting a ‘Dear Patient’ letter in our waiting rooms.”
Despite a summer-long campaign from ObamaCare supporters, their own polling demonstrates the public is still opposed to the new law. “The August Health Tracking Poll finds that support for health reform fell over the course of August, dipping from a 50 percent favorability rating in July to 43 percent, while 45 percent of the public reported unfavorable views.”
“They now understand that the public has not, and will not, buy the argument that a government takeover of American health care will somehow lower costs. Americans have long understood that Obamacare is a massive new spending commitment, piled on top of the unaffordable ones already on the federal books. That’s a recipe for financial disaster, not deficit cutting. The solution is repeal coupled with a reform that puts consumers, not the government, in charge of controlling costs. That’s the way to fix health care — and the budget too. And, yes, it can be done.”
“The notion that ‘if you like your health plan you can keep it’ under Obamacare has already been proven a lie. Just ask the 200,000 Massachusetts residents enrolled in Medicare Advantage who will be forced to switch, with the elimination of that popular program. Now a new analysis by a private research firm estimates that more than 3 million Medicare beneficiaries nationwide will be forced to find a new prescription drug plan, thanks to an expected culling of the plans offered in each state. Gee, nobody mentioned that!”
In the teeth of a severe recession, ObamaCare supporters pushed a government take-over of the health care system filled with job-killing taxes and mandates instead of any activity to promote economic growth. This fact is only now dawning on many progressives. “Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), the president of this Congress’s first-term Democrats, said that his party’s months-long battle to pass healthcare reform might have come off as a distraction considering the tough economic climate in the U.S.”
“A new poll shows that public support for health care reform dropped sharply in August – a dagger in Democrats’ hopes that their landmark legislation will help them in November’s midterm. The Kaiser Health Tracking Poll has support for the bill dropping seven percentage points in August – down to 43 percent – while opposition rose 10 points to 45 percent. That’s the weakest showing since May – and a far cry from the bump proponents had hoped to see as some of the law’s more consumer-friendly provisions kick in.”
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in an interview that Americans need to be “re-educated” when it comes to ObamaCare. These comments come as a wave of new polling demonstrates how public opinion has not been swayed by the Administration’s hard sell.
“What Congress passed this spring is the illusion of Medicare reform. It does not ease cost pressures but papers over them with unsustainable price controls. It will end in disappointment, just as every other such effort has.”