“The president and his team understood early on that they could not pass a sweeping health care bill without promising those with good insurance that, at a minimum, their coverage wouldn’t be harmed and their costs would not go up. Despite the relentless sales pitch, there was always a lot of skepticism among voters that such a government-heavy plan would leave them alone and be cost-free. Now, of course, their skepticism is being validated. Yes, the bill has passed. But a price will be paid for muscling it through to passage based on promises that are being broken just a few months after enactment.”
“Experts say the new regulations make holding costs down even more of a Sisyphean challenge for small businesses: If they make changes in their current plans to save money, they risk losing their grandfathered status and will be forced to comply with new mandates that are expected to increase costs.”
The first draft of ObamaCare included a $250 billion increase in payments to doctors who treat Medicare payments, the so-called “doc fix.” It’s intended to fix the fact that current law includes substantial cuts in reimbursements to doctors, so large increases are needed just to keep reimbursement levels constant. Democrats removed the doc fix funding from later versions of ObamaCare because it added so much to the price tag as to be politically unpalatable. But this was just a gimmick, because the intention was always just to spend the doc fix billions and break the budget after ObamaCare was the law of the land.
A pamphlet recently sent from the Department of Health and Human Services to seniors allegedly contains “accurate information about the new services and benefits to help you and your family now and in the future”; however, according to Arizona Senator Jon Kyl, a review of the pamphlet’s contents reveals this statement to be anything but accurate.
“One of the main arguments for both RomneyCare (the health care law Massachusetts enacted in 2006) and ObamaCare (the federal law enacted in March of this year) is that once the government mandates that everyone purchase health insurance, premiums will fall due to broader pooling. A new study published by the Forum for Health Economics & Policy suggests the opposite.”
In light of ObamaCare’s plans to cut over $500 billion from Medicare, the continued support that the overhaul has received from the AARP — first in helping to get it passed and now in assisting with its marketing post-passage — may seem rather odd. But when a series of advantages afforded to the powerful seniors’ lobby by the legislation are taken into account, the reason for AARP’s allegiance no longer seems so mysterious.
“A June Health Affairs briefing on the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) showed just how deep the chasm is between many of Washington’s policy experts and ordinary Americans… While Washington is focused on convincing states to take federal government grants, ordinary Americans are worried about keeping existing coverage. While Washington policy experts wants to make the PPACA work, most American voters want it repealed.”
“Most health policies that cover small groups and individuals in Florida – including the state’s own Cover Florida plan – likely will flunk federal requirements that take effect in September, the governor’s office says. “
Ohio taxpayers will be on the hook for $1.45 billion in new Medicaid spending over 10 years as part of the unfunded mandates of ObamaCare. This new spending comes as the state faces a $8 billion budget shortfall over the next two years.
House Republicans created a report card for ObamaCare 90 days in, cataloguing the failing grades the bill received on issues like costs to families, job creation, and deficit reduction.