“States already struggling to get by will face even tighter fiscal constraints thanks to yet another costly Obamacare mandate. A study last week from the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured revealed President Obama’s health care takeover would dump $1 trillion in new costs on federal and state taxpayers over the next decade.”
Details“As key provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are moving closer to full implementation, the Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS) is beginning to define regulations, with the latest round of draft rules released last Friday.
Among the new regulations is a proposed 3.5 percent “user fee” to be charged to insurers that want to sell plans on the
federally facilitated insurance exchanges (FFE).”
“President Obama won re-election and Democrats maintained control of the Senate this month, but the states hold the future of ObamaCare in their hands. Knowing the harm the law would do to their citizens, to the economy and to American health care, governors should refuse to become its enablers.”
Details“But the real story is that Democrats are reaping the GOP buy-in they earned. Liberals wanted government to re-engineer the entire health-care system and rammed the Affordable Care Act through on a party-line vote, not stopping to wonder whether it would work. Now that implementation is proving to be harder than advertised, they’re blaming the states for not making their jobs easier.”
Details“Nearly three weeks after President Obama’s reelection, the Administration has officially published three proposed rules implementing his signature legislative package, the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The proposals are relatively uncomplicated compared to other ACA rules; together, they take up a brisk 93 pages. Nevertheless, they represent some of the more notable changes mandated by the law.”
Details“The vast majority of Americans with “pre-existing conditions” already have insurance. Why? Age is strongly correlated with developing a chronic illness – and seniors are covered by Medicare. If you’re disabled and poor, and can’t work, you’re eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. The low-income poor (healthy or not) are already eligible for Medicaid. In between, the majority of Americans have employer-provided insurance, and are also already protected from pre-existing insurance exclusions or rate hikes due to illness, through HIPAA. Who’s left then? Not that many people.”
Details“Arizona Governor Jan Brewer said on Wednesday she was rejecting a major provision of President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform law that calls for creating state-based health insurance markets where consumers can purchase private, federally subsidized coverage.”
Details“The landmark health-care law, which survived the threats of repeal and a Supreme Court review, now confronts another hurdle: living up to expectations. As the administration spells out the details, many uninsured will be surprised at how much they will have to pay. It may involve ‘very substantial amounts,’ and ‘there still will be a significant number of people who can’t afford health coverage,’ said Ron Pollack, head of Families USA, a consumer group that backs the law.”
Details“For the first time in 12 years, a majority say it is not the federal government’s responsibility to ensure that health care coverage is provided to all Americans, according to a poll on Wednesday.
Only 44 percent believe the government should guarantee health care coverage, and 54 percent believe it has no such responsibility, according to a Gallup survey.”
“Dozens of lawsuits have been filed in protest of the Obama administration’s policy that most employers include no-cost coverage of FDA-approved prescription contraceptives in health plans. Churches and some — not all — religious organizations are exempt. But more than three dozen for-profit and nonprofit organizations have gone to court, citing religious objections to the birth control coverage rule, which itself is part of the women’s health provisions in the controversial health law.”
Details