Posts

Sen. Mark Begich Laughs Off Notion of Voting to Defund Obamacare

/9 Comments/in , /by

Mark BegichWhile pushing an effort to defund Obamacare or risk a government shutdown, congressional Republicans have insisted they might have some unlikely allies on their side: Senate Democrats up for reelection in red states.

But at least two of those Democrats, Sens. Mark Begich (Alaska) and Mark Pryor (Ark.), laughed off the suggestion Thursday that they would vote for a continuing resolution that permanently strips the Affordable Care Act of its funding.

“We’re not going through another [vote to repeal Obamacare], 43rd or 44th — no,” Begich told reporters on Capitol Hill. “Do I have issues with Obamacare? Yes. We’ve proposed multiple amendments and ideas to fix it, to make it better and take out things that aren’t working … but we’re not going through this process.”

When The Huffington Post asked Begich to respond to the idea that Democrats facing tough reelection battles in conservative states might favor House Republicans’ strategy, which ties Obamacare funding to a continuing resolution to keep the government running past Sept. 30, Begich laughed and shook his head.

“No — I think those guys over there should focus on what the American people want, and that is a budget done,” he said. “Quit playing with the continuing resolution, putting the debt at risk, and causing this great economy that’s moved in the right direction to falter again.”

Polling consistently shows a majority of Americans disapprove of Obamacare. A new poll finds that 54 percent want to return to the healthcare system in place in 2009, while 35 percent want to keep Obamacare.

Read more from this story HERE.

At a recent town hall in Anchorage, Senator Begich vowed Obamacare will never be repealed.

Obama’s New Sales Pitch: ‘No Serious Evidence ObamaCare Will Hurt The Economy’ (+video)

/5 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

Besides the fact that most Americans do not like, nor want, ObamaCare, our Snake Oil Salesman-In-Chief continues to sell it to us. Today, Obama’s new sales pitch is that there’s “no serious evidence it will hurt the economy”. Clearly, Obama doesn’t understand economics.

According to Real Clear Politics,

PRESIDENT OBAMA: … in two weeks, the Affordable Care Act is going to help millions of more people. And there’s no serious evidence that the law, which has helped to keep down the rise in health care costs to their lowest level in 50 years, is holding back economic growth.

Wrong! There’s plenty of “serious evidence” showing the negative impact ObamaCare has on the economy. The Heritage Foundation and Freedom Works give examples:

From The Heritage Foundation,

As employers and businesses prepare for Obamacare’s sweeping changes and mandates to begin in 2014, many are already laying off some of their employees. An event at Heritagetoday will discuss the burdens of the law both for small businesses’ ability to hire and grow and individuals’ ability to find jobs. Here are 10 examples of job loss due in whole or part to Obamacare and its consequences:

Medical Device Tax

1,000 jobs lost: “Stryker Corporation Confirms Obamacare Layoffs.”
275 jobs lost: “Medical Device Tax Blamed for Welch Allyn Layoffs.”
100 jobs lost: “Latest Obamacare Casualty: 100 Workers at Smith and Nephew.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Walgreens Changes Health Care Plan for 160,000 Workers Because of Obamacare (+video)

/0 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: YouTube

Photo Credit: YouTube

CBS reports this morning that Walgreens is altering its health care plan for 160,000 workers due to Obamacare:

The plan, as CBS explains, is to protect the company from rising health care costs. Now who will cover the costs? The employees.

Read more from this story HERE.

Sebelius Goes from ‘Will Get Covered’ to ‘Can’ to ‘May’

/4 Comments/in , /by

Kathleen SebeliusTuesday morning, Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius announced on Twitter:

Big news! Nearly 6 in 10 uninsured Americans will #GetCovered for less than $100/month starting Jan 1 #Obamacare #ACA pic.twitter.com/RimQkFIuPJ

— Kathleen Sebelius (@Sebelius) September 17, 2013

However, while Sebelius’s claim sounds like a sure thing (“will” get covered,) the accompanying graphic is somewhat less unequivocal, employing the phrase “can”get covered. But the truth is even one additional step removed…

Read more from this story HERE.

Franchise Owners Come to Washington to Plead for ObamaCare Relief (+video)

/2 Comments/in , /by

obamacare_freedomFranchise restaurant owners have come to Washington seeking a change to ObamaCare that they say could prevent them from having to cut their employees’ hours.

The healthcare law requires large employers to provide insurance to employees who work at least 30 hours per week.

Franchise owners say the employer mandate threatens to erase their narrow profit margins and are telling lawmakers they need to overhaul the law before it’s too late.

“Employees won’t have the hours they need, and they won’t get employer-sponsored healthcare, either,” said Steve Caldeira, president and CEO of the International Franchise Association (IFA).

“[Franchisees] are dealing with high commodity costs, high energy prices, higher taxes from the ‘fiscal-cliff’ deal, and now they are trying to work through ObamaCare,” he said.

Read more from this story HERE.

Pew Survey: 53% of Americans Disapprove of Obamacare, Highest Negative Since Law’s Passage

/3 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

A Pew Research Center survey found that public views of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act “are as negative as ever, and many are unaware of the elements of the law that will be going into place.”

According to the survey, “opinions are now as negative as they have been at any point since the bill’s passage,” as 53 percent of Americans disapprove of the regulation-ridden health care law, commonly known as “Obamacare,” while 42 percent approve.

The survey was conducted less than a month before the law’s health insurance exchanges open on October 1st.

Those who are uninsured are “as likely to disapprove (46%) as approve (49%) of the law,” Pew found.

And while 39 percent of the public say that Democrats have a better handle on health care, 40 percent now believe that Republicans “would do the better job dealing with health care.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Obamacare Will Question Your Sex Life

/4 Comments/in /by

A man holds a sign at the Tea Party Patriots 'Exempt America from Obamacare' rally on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington‘Are you sexually active? If so, with one partner, multiple partners or same-sex partners?”

Be ready to answer those questions and more the next time you go to the doctor, whether it’s the dermatologist or the cardiologist and no matter if the questions are unrelated to why you’re seeking medical help. And you can thank the Obama health law.

“This is nasty business,” says New York cardiologist Dr. Adam Budzikowski. He called the sex questions “insensitive, stupid and very intrusive.” He couldn’t think of an occasion when a cardiologist would need such information — but he knows he’ll be pushed to ask for it.

The president’s “reforms” aim to turn doctors into government agents, pressuring them financially to ask questions they consider inappropriate and unnecessary, and to violate their Hippocratic Oath to keep patients’ records confidential.

Embarrassing though it may be, you confide things to a doctor you wouldn’t tell anyone else. But this is entirely different.

Doctors and hospitals who don’t comply with the federal government’s electronic-health-records requirements forgo incentive payments now; starting in 2015, they’ll face financial penalties from Medicare and Medicaid. The Department of Health and Human Services has already paid out over $12.7 billion for these incentives.

Read more from this story HERE.

Palin To Union Members: Demand Resignation of ‘Thug’ Bosses For Backing Obamacare

/6 Comments/in , /by

picture - palin-speechFormer Alaska Governor Sarah Palin says that union members across America should demand that Obamacare be repealed and defunded, and some of their leaders should resign for not opposing the health care law.

“Union brothers and sisters, don’t let your incompetent leadership hoodwink you again,” Palin wrote in a Facebook post Thursday. “Demand a full repeal, an immediate defunding, and some resignations.”

Palin, who has in the past criticized union bosses for betraying their hard-working members, said this was another instance of that, as they believed President Barack Obama’s false promises on Obamacare and are supporting carve-outs instead of a full repeal.

“Remember when President Obama promised us, ‘If you like your current health care plan, you can keep your plan?'” Palin wrote. “That was not true, and his deceptive claim falls in line with all the other lies about Obamacare—like there’d be no health care rationing.”

“More cronyism, select exemptions, and special subsidies make the problem worse,” Palin said. “We need to repeal the whole darn thing, and that starts with defunding it.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Medicare Cuts, Obamacare Prompt Hospital Layoffs

/3 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

Many hospitals are slashing jobs and cutting patient services citing Medicare cuts, the difficult health care landscape, and the Affordable Care Act as the reasons behind their decision.

Over a dozen hospitals have announced job cuts in the past three weeks, the Washington Free Beacon found. Some hospitals announced they would close altogether, while others are downsizing and eliminating some of their services.

Connecticut’s Lawrence + Memorial Hospital announced last week it was cutting 33 jobs, citing the “sheer magnitude” of payment cuts from both Medicare and Medicaid.

“L+M and other hospitals are contending with massive structural changes that are happening very rapidly,” hospital president and CEO Bruce D. Cummings said in a statement. “We are also experiencing unexpected—and previously unbudgeted—cuts in federal (Medicare) and state (Medicaid) funding. “

“The sheer magnitude of the Medicare and Medicaid cuts impel us to look at all of our services and costs, including the largest component of our budget—personnel,” Cummings said, citing a 20 percent cut in Medicaid proposed by Democratic Gov. Dannel Malloy and approved by the state legislature resulting in a $550 million hit to Connecticut hospitals. Sequestration also resulted in an additional $1 million loss for L + M this year.

Read more from this story HERE.

Reid Defends Obamacare Exemption for Congress: ‘That’s What the Law Says’

/15 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Daily Caller

Photo Credit: Daily Caller

Senate majority leader Harry Reid defended the special Obamacare exemptions carved out for lawmakers and their staff on Thursday during a Capitol press conference, insisting that Congress members and staff will participate in Obamacare’s exchanges.

Responding to the hoopla surrounding the health insurance policies on Capitol Hill, the Nevada Democrat flatly stated Thursday, “That’s what the law says, and we’ll be part of that.”

Reid said the Republicans and critics are just using the issue as a “diversion” to “try and embarrass the president.”

“Let’s stop these really juvenile political games,” Reid said. “The one dealing with healthcare for Senators and House members and our staff. We are going to be part of exchanges.”

Read more from this story HERE.