“Forty-eight percent of U.S. small-business owners say the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA) is going to be bad for their business, compared with 9% who say it is going to be good, and 39% who expect no impact… Similarly, 52% of owners say the ACA is going to reduce the quality of healthcare they and their employees receive. This contrasts with 13% who feel it will improve the quality of care their employees get, and 30% who see no impact.”
“So, if repeal is not a viable short-term option, reveal must be. Dissecting Obamcare’s defective anatomy while offering alternatives is the way to get our health care system back on track. That’s why the two committees we chair will continue our aggressive oversight, exposing Obamacare’s failures – and discussing ways to provide more affordable health care to all Americans. What have our efforts ‘revealed’ so far?”
“The Affordable Care Act is sure to survive the latest vote scheduled for Thursday by the House of Representatives to repeal it — since the Senate doesn’t plan to take it up and President Obama would veto it if it somehow reached his desk — but the administration’s signature legislative achievement still faces serious perils ahead.”
“The House will vote again next week to repeal the 2010 health-care reform law, a decision by top Republican leaders designed in part to appease GOP freshmen lawmakers who have not had an opportunity to take a vote on the issue.”
“The Obama administration announced new funding Thursday for efforts to help the uninsured find coverage through ObamaCare. The Health and Human Services (HHS) Department will spend $150 million on enrollment assistance through community health centers, which serve an estimated 21 million patients annually. The funding comes as Democrats are expressing concerns about implementation of the landmark law. Polls show that few people understand it, or how they might benefit.”
“When the Affordable Care Act was passed, opponents (mostly Republicans) warned that it would be a disaster. Few of us on Capitol Hill could have anticipated that we would later be joined by a raft of former Democratic proponents so eager to distance themselves from ObamaCare that they’re using even harsher terms. Let’s call these politicians the Train Wreck Club.”
“Obamacare fires are flaring up all over — in Hill hearings, in scary headlines about big rate hikes and in closed-door meetings of nervous Democrats. The White House response: We’ll get to that. President Barack Obama’s messaging gurus and their allies say they will step on the gas before enrollment begins this fall, but the effort, they concede, is not in full swing.”
“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.”
“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 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.'”