Another ObamaCare Cost: Feds Gave $4.4B to States for Exchange Websites

Photo Credit: Fox News By Fox News.

The Obama administration gave states roughly $4.4 billion in taxpayer dollars to set up their own ObamaCare websites, according to a new analysis, in the latest revelation about the faucet of federal spending switched on by the 2010 passage of the health care law.

Some of the states even took federal money, then decided to let the federal site handle enrollment.

While the steep cost of HealthCare.gov — which is the federally run site — has come under fire, the money granted to the states has so far generated little attention. And while the 14 state-run sites have operated more smoothly than the problem-plagued federal site and have accounted for the lion’s share of signups, the federal money spent on tech support, advertising and other startup costs have hardly yielded the level of customer enthusiasm and participation the administration projected.

Just 106,000 Americans have enrolled since the Oct. 1 rollout — far short of the 500,000 the administration hoped would sign up in the first month. The state-run sites handled 75 percent of the transactions.

The study on state-site spending by the conservative-leaning Americans for Tax Reform group shows the money was distributed through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services grants and argues “federal taxpayer funds were shoveled to states for a variety of vague purposes.”

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Photo Credit: ReutersObamacare: So, what could go wrong next?

By David Nather.

Busted website, canceled policies, lousy early enrollment numbers. And that could be just the warmup.

Because the lesson of the last six weeks is that when it comes to the Obamacare rollout, if it can go wrong, it probably will.

The stumble-filled debut of President Barack Obama’s health care law is drawing new attention to the other risks that have been on the radar screen of health care wonks for months. Think health insurance plans sinking under the weight of sick customers, newly insured people being stunned that they still have to spend on health care, and possibly another wave of canceled policies — right before the 2014 elections.

They’re mostly worst-case scenarios, and an Obamacare recovery in the next few months could still prevent some of the biggest ones from ever happening. But health care experts are taking all of them a lot more seriously now — because at this point, why wouldn’t they?

A complete list of possibilities could be overwhelming, but here are the main ones to watch…

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Proof of Obamacare’s Intentional Deception

Photo Credit: WND A group that has been the driving force in branding Obamacare has recommended a series of phrases, some deceptive, that the White House and Democrats have used to sell the health-care law to the public, WND has found.

The little-known Herndon Alliance has been behind the marketing of Obamacare since the inception of the legislation.

It was the group that crafted President Obama’s false claim that Americans can maintain their “choice” of doctors and insurance plans.

Along with advising the Obama administration, Herndon has been providing strategy to Enroll America, the main organization pushing for the uninsured to sign up for Obamacare. Enroll America’s executive director, Ron Pollack, was a founding member of Herndon.

The Herndon Alliance is “the most influential group in the health arena that the public has never heard of,” reported Politico in 2009.

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Health-care Law has Changed Game for Democrats Looking to Retake the House in 2014

Photo Credit: APFew places may better explain how the bungled launch of President Obama’s health-care law has scrambled the political landscape for Democrats than this hamlet north of Philadelphia.

Democrats have been hoping to capitalize on the political fallout for the GOP from the recent government shutdown. If they can do so anywhere, it should be in the suburbs north and west of the city where three adjoining congressional districts represent a confluence of Democratic Party ambitions for the 2014 midterm elections.

The 13th District is represented by Allyson Y. Schwartz, a popular five-term Democrat who is the leading candidate for governor against a Republican incumbent widely regarded as the most vulnerable in the country.

The two other districts are held by moderate Republicans: Rep. Patrick Meehan in the 7th and Rep. Michael G. Fitzpatrick in the 8th. Obama won both in 2008 and lost both by less than one percentage point in 2012. If Democrats are going to get anywhere near the 18 seats they need to take control of the House in 2014, these two are must-wins, and a few weeks ago, with the GOP suffering in public opinion polls, everything seemed possible for Democrats.

The Affordable Care Act may have changed that.

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DC Mayor Fires Insurance Commissioner Following Critical Remarks of President’s Proposed ObamaCare Fix

Photo Credit: Fox News The District of Columbia’s insurance commissioner says he was fired after questioning President Obama’s plan to fix ObamaCare and saying the city might not follow his suggestions.

Commissioner William White told The Washington Post on Saturday that he was called into Mayor Vincent Gray’s office the prior day and told the Democratic mayor “wants to go in a different direction.”

The president said Thursday that the millions of insurance plans scheduled to be canceled next year to comply with ObamaCare regulations could be extended for a year, after he told Americans prior to the law’s passage that they could keep their existing plans.

However, White and other insurance commissioners across the country have questioned the president’s proposed solution because it could create a mess in the marketplace.

Some of the top reasons for the commissioners’ objections are: policy prices are already locked in to comply with changes in ObamaCare; an extension could conflict with state-level laws to comply with the law and younger Americans needed to join the federal exchange to keep down costs will wait to enroll.

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Establishment Targets Tea Party Rep. Justin Amash Because “He Cannot be Controlled”

Photo Credit: Mlive.com File PhotoMemo to establishment Republicans: Good luck getting Justin Amash.

Seven big Michigan donors have said they’re dedicated to ousting the two-term Western Michigan congressman, who’s facing a 2014 GOP primary from businessman Brian Ellis. J.C. Huizenga and Mike Jandernoa are among those raising money for the cause.

The Republican heavy-hitters signed a letter obtained by The Hill claiming that Amash “and others have effectively nullified the Republican majority in the U.S. House.”

The libertarian-leaning Amash has inflamed the GOP leadership and some business leaders because he can’t be controlled.

He’s refused to toe the party line on civil liberties issues. He’s not afraid to blast warrantless wiretapping (something many Democrats won’t do) or vote present on Planned Parenthood funding, despite being pro-life.

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U.S. War Readiness in Jeopardy as Pilots Flee (+video)

Photo Credit: WND As if to dramatically illustrate repeated claims top generals have made to WND of a purge of senior officers and a degradation of military readiness under President Obama’s leadership, stunning testimony at a recent Senate committee hearing shows America may soon be unable to fight and win a war.

The Air Force is having problems retaining its pilots, even though they are being offered big bonuses to remain, senators learned at the Nov. 7 Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.

The problem appears to be partly from sequestration, which has imposed budget limitations on pilots’ ability to get in both the requisite flying time and the training needed to fly the next generation of aircraft, according to Air Force Secretary Eric Fanning.

He expressed grave concern about the trend toward budget cutbacks.

Likewise, at a recent Defense One Summit in Washington, Fanning warned that “we’re going to have flying hour issues for the foreseeable future,” a reference to the reality that pilots must fly a certain number of hours to maintain their ratings on various aircraft.

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Will this Court Case Destroy Obamacare?

Photo Credit: WND

The Obama administration may be alarmed over the dismal number of people signing up for Obamacare, the rising health-care costs for Americans, the legal challenges to the religious discrimination embedded in the law and other problems.

But all of that would be of no consequence if a lawsuit in federal court in Washington succeeds. It alleges senators overstepped their authority in creating the Affordable Care Act and the law, therefore, is null and void.

The case argues that since the U.S. Constitution requires that revenue-raising measures originate in the U.S. House and Obamacare was created in the Senate, the law is unconstitutional. The case is headed toward the Supreme Court.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who has been leading the Obamacare charge since its inception, took a House-passed bill, deleted its contents and then substituted the Senate’s 2,000-page bill.

Now dozens of members of the U.S. House of Representatives are signing onto the battle, claiming the Senate didn’t have the authority to pass the bill.

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Deadly Storms Hit Midwest; Tornadoes Slam Illinois, Indiana

Photo Credit: mccun934/flickrDozens of tornadoes and intense thunderstorms swept across the Midwest on Sunday, unleashing powerful winds that flattened entire neighborhoods, flipping over cars, uprooting trees and leaving at least five people dead.

Illinois took the brunt of the fury as the string of unusually powerful late-season tornadoes tore across the state, injuring dozens and even prompting officials at Chicago’s Soldier Field to evacuate the stands and delay the Bears game.

“The whole neighborhood’s gone. The wall of my fireplace is all that is left of my house,” said Michael Perdun, speaking by cellphone from the hard-hit town of Washington, where he said his neighborhood was wiped out in a matter of seconds.

“I stepped outside and I heard it coming. My daughter was already in the basement, so I ran downstairs and grabbed her, crouched in the laundry room and all of a sudden I could see daylight up the stairway and my house was gone.”

An elderly man and his sister were killed when a tornado hit their home around noon in the rural community of New Minden, said coroner Mark Styninger. A third person died in Washington, while two others perished in Massac county in the far southern part of the state, said Patti Thompson of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency. She did not provide details..

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Massachusetts Politician Calls For Law Allowing Police To Enter Private Homes, Ensure Guns Are Stored Safely

Photo Credit: Opposing Views Swampscott, Mass., Selectman Barry Greenfield recently announced that state law should allow local law enforcement to enter private homes and inspect the safeguarding of guns.

Greenfield reportedly expressed concern over the Newtown, Conn., school massacre and other instances where young students have brought firearms to school. The politician reasoned that school shootings often involve children taking guns from parents who did not properly lock away their firearms.

Greenfield stated that the problem lies in the law enforcement. Police are not legally authorized to inspect the homes of gun owners to ensure that guns are being stored safely, he noted.

“We need the ability to enforce the state law,” Greenfield told Swampscott Patch. The selectman has reportedly already spoken to Swampscott Police Chief Ron Madigan about the issue.

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Obama Wants the Volcker Rule on Wall St. Oversight Completed by End of Year – Part of Dodd-Frank

Photo Credit: Mark Wilson/GettyThe Obama administration, currently stumbling through the health care overhaul, has reached a critical stage in its other signature effort: reining in Wall Street.

The push to reshape financial oversight hinges on negotiations in the coming weeks over the so-called Volcker Rule, a regulation that strikes at the heart of Wall Street risk-taking. The rule, which bans banks from trading for their own gain, has become synonymous with the Dodd-Frank overhaul law that Congress adopted after the financial crisis.

Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew has strongly urged federal agencies to finish writing the Volcker Rule by the end of the year — more than a year after they had been expected to do so — and President Obama recently stressed the importance of the deadline.

While regulators are optimistic they will complete the rule soon, even after facing a lobbying onslaught from Wall Street, they have little time to overcome the internal wrangling that has stymied them for years.

The tension among regulators — five agencies are writing the rule — has centered on just how stringent to make it.

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