The author says that liberal supporters of the troubled Obamacare law tend to shift the subject, ignore the facts, and name call (SIN). They are singularly focused on government control of healthcare, and not the healthcare of the people.
Former president Bill Clinton will speak about Obamacare and health care policy in general in a speech at the Clinton Presidential Center, Sept. 4, 2013 at 11 a.m. eastern time, in Little Rock, Arkansas. It will be broadcast on the Clinton Foundation’s website.
Employers cite Obamcare-related costs as part of the reason they are pulling back on heathcare insurance benefits.
Although President Obama said in spring 2013 that little would change for the 85% to 90% of Americans who already have healcare insurance coverage, only that “their insurance is stronger, better, more secure than it was before,” that does not appear to be the case at a growing number of companies. United Parcel Service (UPS, Fortune 500) told employees that health reform is contributing a 4% increase to the cost of coverage for 2014, while health care inflation adds another 7.25%. And Delta Air Lines (DAL, Fortune 500) said that Obamacare and inflation would increase costs by $100 million, though it only identifies $38 million as due to health reform.
Major Obamacare fees and taxes that employers say will raise their costs: The transitional reinsurance fee, the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute fee, the health insurer fee, the ‘Cadillac’ tax, and the individual mandate. Aside from these items boosting health insurance costs for employers, experts point out that companies have been shifting more of the burden to workers for years.
On the effort to defund Obamacare, Rep. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas has said, “Far too many Republicans are scared of this fight. Unfortunately, right now, Republicans are still not ready to stand up and do what it takes to stop this law, to listen to the American people and say, ‘Let’s get rid of this job killer.'”
Cruz said those who vote to delay instead of repeal Obamacare are only seeking “political cover” through a “symbolic” vote.
The Obama administration has delayed a step crucial to the launch of the new “Obamacare” healthcare law.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) notified insurance companies on Tuesday, August 27, 2013, that it would not sign final agreements with insurance plans between September 5 and 9, as originally anticipated, but would wait until mid-September instead, according to insurance industry sources.
Even so, HHS spokesowman Joanne Peters said the department remains “on track to open” the marketplaces on time on October 1, 2013.
The reason for the delay is unclear. Sources attributed it to technology problems involving the display of insurance products within the federal information technology system.
Senators Ted Cruz of Texas and Rand Paul of Kentucky will headline the Exempt America from Obamacare Rally, September 10, 2013, to bolster the defunding of Obamacare even a government shutdown is involved.
The rally will be held on the West Lawn of Capitol Hill on the same day that Congress returns from its summer recess. Several Tea Party groups will host the event.
More than 30 former administration officials, lawmakers and congressional staffers who worked on the Obamacare healthcare law have since 2010 joined major lobbying firms such as Fierce, Isakowitz & Blalock, The Glover Park Group, Alston & Bird, BGR Group and Akin Gump, which helps these firms land coveted clients. The former officials lobby for corporate giants such as Delta Air Lines, UPS, BP America and Coca-Cola, and for healthcare companies including GlaxoSmithKline, UnitedHealth Group and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.
The clients want expert help in dealing with the sweeping overhaul of America’s healthcare system, which seems to be ever-changing.
The defund ObamaCare effort may be fading in Washington, but many GOP members of the House and Senate vacationing in their home districts are experiencing constant pressure from outside groups.
Heritage Action for America announced a $550,000 online ad campaign Monday, targeting 100 House Republicans, including Speaker of the House John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor, who have not signed onto a letter urging the GOP to tie defunding language to any vote on funding the government this fall.
Another group, the Senate Conservatives Fund, has spent $40,200 on conservative talk radio station ads attacking Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) for labeling the efforts to tie ObamaCare defunding to a government shutdown the “dumbest idea I’ve ever heard.” The same group has spent another $37,500 criticizing Sen. Lindsey Graham since he “refuses to do what it takes to stop funding for this liberal train wreck.”
Obamacare critic Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal pursued funds from an under-the-radar program in the Obamacare health law until the week of August 18, 2013, when his administration reversed course, citing cumbersome federal rules.
Health aides to the Louisiana governor began eyeing the program – a long-term care reform effort called Community First Choice – in 2012 and went as far as submitting a formal application to CMS. But officials say they withdrew the application Monday, August 19, 2013, because complicated federal stipulations would have undermined their efforts and likely led to lawsuits.
Many large companies, including the UPS, are about to curtail health insurance coverage of employees’ spouses in the fall of 2013 if they can get coverage elsewhere, a result in part of Obamacare.
Increased medical costs, “combined with the costs associated with the Affordable Care Act (ACA), have made it increasingly difficult to continue providing the same level of healthcare benefits to our employees at an affordable cost,” UPS said in a memo to employees. This decision by UPS will affect about 15,000 working spouses and will save UPS about $60 million each year.
A survey by consultant Towers Watson found that in 2013, 4 percent of large employers excluded spouses who also had coverage at their own workplace, and 8 percent planned to implement the restriction next year, Kaiser Health News and USA Today reported.
