Posted on 05/21/2010 7:48:01 PM PDT by socialismisinsidious
Obama government defends healthcare law in court
Reuters ^ | May 17, 2010 | Reuters
Posted on Monday, May 17, 2010 10:50:25 PM by SmartInsight
The Obama administration has urged a court to reject an attempt to block a controversial new law overhauling the U.S. healthcare system, saying it was constitutional and any challenge was premature.
A conservative public interest group, the Thomas More Law Center, had filed a lawsuit in Michigan on March 23, the day Obama signed the law, and asked the court for an injunction to block it from taking effect.
Health Reform Threatens to Cram Already Overwhelmed Emergency Rooms
The Hill ^ | May 15, 2010 | Jay Heflin
Posted on Tuesday, May 18, 2010 12:23:19 AM by T.L.Sink
The new healthcare law will pack 32 million newly insured people into emergency rooms that are already crammed beyond capacity, according to experts. The idea was that if people have insurance, they will go to a doctor rather than putting off care until they faced an emergency. People who build hospitals, however, say newly insured people will still go to emergency rooms for primary care because they don't have a doctor.
NFIB - National Federation of Independent Businesses Joins Lawsuit Challenging Healthcare Law
NFIB ^ | 051710 | NFIB
Posted on Tuesday, May 18, 2010 2:44:39 AM by Fred
WASHINGTON, D.C., May 14, 2010 — Dan Danner, president and CEO of The National Federation of Independent Business, America’s leading small business association, issued the following statement. For more information visit www.NFIB.com/hclawsuit.
White House Health Czar Repeats False Claim of Lower Health Costs
cns news ^ | 5/18/10 | Matt Cover, Staff Writer
Posted on Tuesday, May 18, 2010 12:27:25 PM by Nachum
(CNSNews.com) – White House health care czar Nancy-Anne Deparle repeated the claim that the health care reform law signed by President Obama will result in lower health care costs despite a well-known government report to the contrary.
Deparle, speaking to the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) in Washington on Monday, said that the new health care reform would make health care more affordable by lowering premiums and reducing costs.
Austerity Anger Heads To France: Health Care Protest Shuts Down Paris Train Station
The Business Insider ^ | 5-18-2010 | Gus Lubin
Posted on Tuesday, May 18, 2010 2:40:46 PM by blam
Even without a deficit crisis, France is running out of money to pay for its generous social programs.
95% of French anesthestists are striking today to demand a raise. Several thousands held a particularly annoying protest on the tracks of a major Parisian train station, which blocked trains for hours, according to Le Monde.
As the austerity bug hits France, paying for the world's best health care system will be a major challenge. The country has tried for decades to reduce health care pay and benefits, and only succeeded in stirring up public outrage.
IRS pitches tax credit for health insurance
google ^ | 5/18/10 | ap
Posted on Tuesday, May 18, 2010 3:53:58 PM by Nachum
WASHINGTON — Pitching President Barack Obama's health care law to skeptical business owners, the IRS on Monday will announce ground rules for small firms wishing to claim a new federal tax credit for health insurance. Created under the health overhaul law, the tax credit covers up to 35 percent of the premiums that certain small businesses pay on behalf of their workers. The IRS notice addresses unanswered questions about the benefit, which is available starting this year. The agency's action comes days after the nation's largest small business lobbying group announced it was joining a lawsuit challenging the health care law. The National Federation of Independent Business argues that Congress overstepped its constitutional authority by imposing a requirement that most Americans obtain health insurance either through an employer, a government program or buying it directly.
Health Overhaul Hits Sales Commissions
Councel of Insurance Brokers of Greater New York ^ | 5/18/10 | wsj
Posted on Tuesday, May 18, 2010 4:09:11 PM by Nachum
Among the first to feel the effects of the nation’s health-care system overhaul are insurance salespeople, whose commissions for selling policies are themselves getting overhauled.
The new law requires that insurers use at least 80% of the premiums to pay for medical care for patients rather than administrative costs and profit-taking. But many companies that sell health insurance to individuals and small businesses maintain a lower “medical loss ratio” because they use more of the premium to cover administrative expenses, including sales commissions.
More Than 60% Of Large Employers Face Health-Care Tax -Consultant
Wall Street Journal ^ | May 19, 2010 | Jilian Mincer
Posted on Thursday, May 20, 2010 4:07:01 AM by SmartInsight
More than 60% of large employers, beginning in 2018, could expect to pay health care overhaul's so-called "Cadillac plan" excise tax if costs for care continue to rise, according to research released Wednesday by consulting firm Towers Watson (TW).
The predictions assume costs would rise 8% a year for average plans and 6% a year for top performing plans, which have been able to keep costs down. While some companies say they would, if necessary, absorb the extra tax because they need to offer the same benefits to remain competitive, most businesses plan to spend the next several years trying to reduce health-care costs to avoid it. They plan to improve worker health, eliminate some benefits and pass more costs on to workers.
FACT CHECK: Health care small biz tax cut elusive
Associated Press ^ | May 20, 2010 | RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR
Posted on Thursday, May 20, 2010 12:32:35 PM by Free ThinkerNY
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Zach Hoffman was confident his small business would qualify for a new tax cut in President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law.
But when he ran the numbers, Hoffman discovered that his office furniture company wouldn't get any assistance with the $79,200 it pays annually in premiums for its 24 employees.
N.J. cops, firefighters start paying for pensions, health care (A whopping 1.5 percent)
North Jersey ^ | 5/21/10 | CHRIS MEGERIAN
Posted on Friday, May 21, 2010 7:38:52 PM by Libloather
TRENTON — A law reducing pension and health care benefits for police and firefighters will go into effect today after a state judge refused to block it.
Unions representing police and firefighters argued that the changes improperly infringe upon the collective bargaining process. They also said the requirement to contribute 1.5 percent of their salary to health care constitutes a tax on public employees.
But Superior Court Judge Linda Feinberg rejected their arguments, allowing the changes to go into effect.
"I don’t think it’s a tax," she said. "It’s a medical contribution."
Goodbye, Employer-Sponsored Insurance
The Wall Street Journal ^ | 05-21-10 | JOHN C. GOODMAN
Posted on Thursday, May 20, 2010 8:50:26 PM by GOP_Lady
Companies are discovering that it's cheaper to pay fines to the government than to cover workers.
Millions of American workers could discover that they no longer have employer-provided health insurance as ObamaCare is phased in. That's because employers are quickly discovering that it may be cheaper to pay fines to the government than to insure workers.
AT&T, Caterpillar, John Deere and Verizon have all made internal calculations, according the House Energy and Commerce Committee, to determine how much could be saved by a) dropping their employer-provided insurance, b) paying a fine of $2,000 per employee, and c) leaving their employees with the option of buying highly-subsidized insurance in the newly created health-insurance exchange.
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