Posts

Obamacare Broke: Sebelius Begs for Donations

/7 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Washington PostHealth and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has gone, hat in hand, to health industry officials, asking them to make large financial donations to help with the effort to implement President Obama’s landmark health-care law, two people familiar with the outreach said.

Her unusual fundraising push comes after Congress repeatedly rejected the Obama administration’s requests for additional funds to set up the Affordable Care Act, leaving HHS to implement the president’s signature legislative accomplishment on what officials have described as a shoestring budget.

Over the past three months, Sebelius has made multiple phone calls to health industry executives, community organizations and church groups and asked that they contribute whatever they can to nonprofit groups that are working to enroll uninsured Americans and increase awareness of the law, according to an HHS official and an industry person familiar with the secretary’s activities. Both spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk openly about private discussions.

An HHS spokesperson said Sebelius was within the bounds of her authority in asking for help.

But Republicans charged that Sebelius’s outreach was improper because it pressured private companies and other groups to support the Affordable Care Act. The latest controversy has emerged as the law faces a string of challenges from GOP lawmakers in Washington and skepticism from many state officials across the country.

Read more from this story HERE.

Obama’s HHS Budgets $150 Million to Teach People How to Enroll in Obamacare (+video)

/0 Comments/in , /by

By Joel Gehrke. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced Thursday that HHS will spend $150 million to teach people how to enroll in the Obamacare exchanges, after a Democratic senator scolded her for running a poor “public information campaign.”

“Investing in health centers for outreach and enrollment assistance provides one more way the Obama administration is helping consumers understand their options and enroll in affordable coverage,” Sebelius said Thursday. HHS promised that the health centers would provide “unbiased information to consumers” about various provisions in the law.

Read more from this story HERE.
________________________________________________

Colorado health insurance exchange seeks another $125 million to implement Obamacare

By Greg Campbell. Conservative members of a nonprofit organization set up to run Colorado’s Affordable Care Act-mandated state health insurance exchange are reeling from sticker shock over the cost of rolling out the program.

Federal grants have already paid $61 million to set up the one-stop health insurance shop, but the board is now being asked to approve another $125 million federal grant request.

Opponents, led by board member Dr. Mike Fallon, said the request is an example of how the spending on the program can easily get out of control.

“Just because federal funds are available doesn’t mean we should ask for them,” the Denver Post quotes Fallon as saying at a meeting earlier this week.

But other board members say the money is needed to advertise what the health exchange will do, as well as hire enough insurance “navigators” to help customers deal with what is expected to be a confusing array of health plan options. Read more from this story HERE.

Obama Admin. Website Refers Pregnant Women to Planned Parenthood

/0 Comments/in , /by

Yep, you read that headline correctly. WomensHealth.gov is a “Project of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women’s Health.” This federal site has a page with a pretty long title: “Pregnancy > Before you get pregnant: Information for all women > If you are sexually active.”

And, near the bottom of the page, there’s a section called “Connect with other organizations.” Most of the organizations are generally well-recognized medical groups – like the American Academy of Family Physicians. But two non-profits make the list as well: March of Dimes and Planned Parenthood.

Planned Parenthood is also listed as an organization to “connect with” on the “Knowing if you are pregnant” and “Unplanned pregnancy” pages. Of course, this should come as no surprise, since Kathleen Sebelius, Planned Parenthood supporter extreme, is the secretary of Health and Human Services.

Lest anyone question why I state that the federal government “refers” women to Planned Parenthood, let’s cover the definition of “refer.” Refer is defined as “to direct to a source for help or information.” By telling women that Planned Parenthood is an organization to connect with, the federal government is clearly directing women to the abortion giant for help.

Interestingly, on the “Unplanned pregnancy” page, women are referred to a fact sheet on the “consequences” of unplanned pregnancy. The fact sheet does not give women the whole range of facts they need. But it begins by mentioning abortion…

Read more from this story HERE.

All Planned Parenthood Charges Dropped After Sebelius Document Shredding

/3 Comments/in , /by

All of the charges against a Planned Parenthood abortion business have been dropped after one of the most politically biased cases pro-life groups say they can remember. The case was embroiled in controversy after it was found documents critical to it were destroyed during the administration of former Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.

Earlier this month, a Kansas judge dismissed dozens of misdemeanor charges alleging that the abortion business failed to test whether an unborn child was viable (as required by state law) before doing a late-term abortion, and that it manipulated records it submitted to the state to cover up those crimes.

Planned Parenthood filed motions seeking to dismiss the criminal case involving 58 counts related to illegal late-term abortions. It wanted all charges dropped and Judge Stephen Tatum dismissed them all.

Now, prosecutors announced today they are dismissing the rest of the charges as Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe and Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt made the joint decision today about dropping the final 32 charges.

Peter Brownlie, president of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri applauded the dismissal, telling the Kansas City Star: “The dismissal of these charges is a strong blow against those who have been using this case to further their political agenda to eliminate access to abortion care and harm Planned Parenthood. It makes clear what Planned Parenthood has said throughout this case: that Kline, Brownback and their supporters are willing to use any means they can to accomplish their ends, including misusing the law enforcement and judicial systems at great taxpayer expense.”

Read more from this story HERE.

August 1, 2012: The Day Freedom of Conscience Died in America

/1 Comment/in /by

Photo credit: majunznk

As of July 31, 2012, a business owner who objects to abortion had the freedom of conscience to make sure that her company’s insurance policies did not pay to facilitate the practice. But as of yesterday, August 1, she no longer has that freedom. The ObamaCare contraceptive and abortifacient mandates took effect August 1, hailed by the Obama regime as a great and wonderful thing.

According to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, “President Obama is moving our country forward by giving women control over their health care. This law puts women and their doctors, not insurance companies or the government, in charge of health care decisions.”

What about pro-life women? Do they not exist?

In reality, what this law does is force millions of Americans to abide by the radical edge of the sexual revolution. It forces millions of Americans to violate their own consciences, and it prohibits the free exercise of their religion. It is a revolutionary act that puts government in charge of what business owners can do and think. It’s un-American. If Rep. Nancy Pelosi gets her wish, the mandate will eventually even force churches to subsidize Planned Parenthood by forcing them to live under the abortifacient mandate. Pelosi said as much in February 2012:

At a press conference, Leader Pelosi was asked by THE WEEKLY STANDARD: ”The Catholic Church in Washington, D.C., is a self-insured institution. Should the Catholic Church in Washington, D.C., be required to pay for these morning-after pills and birth control if they find that morally objectionable?”

Pelosi talked about the importance of women’s health, and then said, “Yes, I think that all institutions who cover, who give, health insurance should cover the full range of health insurance issues for women.”

Concerned Women for America opposes the abortifacient mandate, which means they do not exist in the eyes of Obama, Sebelius and the other radicals who dominate the current regime. Despite the lack of media attention paid to CWA, it boasts 500,000 members, making it the largest public policy women’s organization in the US. They are fighting the mandate, according to a press release quoting CWA President Penny Nance.

Read more from this story HERE.

Obamacare comment by HHS Secretary Sebelius “mirrors Nazi Propaganda”

/7 Comments/in , /by

In a lively panel Thursday at the American Enterprise Institute, author Robert Zubrin compared Obamacare-related comments by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to Nazi propaganda.

Zubrin slammed Sebelius for promoting mandatory contraception coverage as a cost saving measure.

“In testimony in Congress, Kathleen Sebelius actually said that Obamacare would save money — save the nation a lot of money,” Zubrin said, “because it would distribute contraceptives and thus reduce the number of births.”

“The notion that by preventing children from being born we will save the nation money, this mirrors Nazi propaganda calling for euthanasia of ‘useless eaters’ because it would save us all money, it was an incredible statement,” he continued.

Zubrin, a fellow at the Center for Security Policy and a contributing editor for The New Atlantis, did not hold back in his stinging criticism of the “anti-humanist” movement during the event to discuss his new book “Merchants of Despair.”

Read more from this story HERE.