Posted on 12/03/2014 2:51:27 AM PST by Libloather
Former Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Tuesday dismissed the recent comments by ObamaCare consultant Jonathan Gruber, though she acknowledged that “a lot of Americans have no idea what insurance is about.”
Gruber, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, came under fire last month for saying the process of passing ObamaCare was purposefully obscured and for calling voters “stupid” because they did not understand healthcare.
In an Q&A with USA Today, Sebelius called him “dead wrong” on the issue of transparency. But she added that throughout her tenure as HHS secretary, she learned that many Americans have "very low" financial literacy about insurance terms like “deductible” and “copay.”
“That has been a stunning revelation. It’s not because anybody hid it from folks, it’s because this is a complicated product,” she said.
Sebelius said she is frustrated by the Republican’s “see I told you” approach to criticizing ObamaCare, which has become evident as the GOP requested Gruber to testify on Capitol Hill next week.
The former Kansas governor said the fallout from Gruber’s comments were already hurting the healthcare law he helped shape, and could be worse after he is grilled by the House Oversight Committee.
“Clearly he is not very articulate with the phrasing he uses. I have no idea what Dr. Gruber is going to say, but frankly I don’t really think it’s relevant,” she said. “He didn’t influence the members of Congress who actually wrote the legislation.”
Sebelius also weighed in on the recent comments from Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) who said last week that the timing of the healthcare law had been a mistake. His remarks have morphed into new political fuel for the GOP against the still unpopular healthcare law.
“Chuck Schumer may not be the only one who said it was a mistake,” Sebelius said, adding that many people close to Obama had expressed skepticism or outright opposition to the plans.
“But was it worth it? You bet,” she said.
When two liberals finish a conversation they both walk away thinking that they have just finished talking to the dumbest person they have ever met
Stupid American voters.
“a lot of Americans have no idea what insurance is about.”
In regards healthcare insurance, that’s absolutely true...and these guys took full advantage of that.
Actually, it’s a stretch to call it (ACA) “insurance”. It’s a mandatory wealth-transfer program.
Insurance is a tool of society to mitigate risk and indemnify happenstance.
If it’s run by government, then it’s not insurance. It’s government, a tool of government. The IRS has their big greedy hands in Obamacare. If that’s not enough proof then I don’t know what is.
Everybody is in the same plan, everybody has the same coverage. Premiums are calculated from last years medical expenses, but not administrative. Every premium goes towards medical expenses, no ‘lock box or borrowing from the fund since every year the pool is set to zero — progressive schedule on premiums if you like.
Too bad a bunch of U.S fortune 500 companies will be totally put out of business and 300k people out of work. :/ <— sarcasm tag.
Yes, It’s socialistic. No I’m not a socialist. It’s just the employee/employer relationship paradigm is changing just as Alvin and Heidi Toffler predicted.
Mmmmmmm.......sounds a lot like Madoff's tactics---to shrug off, and demean, the suckers he was ripping off.
REALITY CHECK when govt con artists screw-up---they resort to conman parlance to cover their ***es.
They stupidly backed themselves into a corner, so they do what any practiced conman would do.......they blame their victims.
We're just "too stupid" to figure it out.....we need the govt's help.
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Where is all the money going? Was the lure of insiders' cashing-in the incentive for passing the atrocity?
Taxpayers demand an immediate accounting as to exactly how our tax dollars changed hands---and how much the Obama suck-ups got to facilitate Obamacare.
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The Untraceable $8 Billion ObamaCare PR Budget---truly govt fraud at its finest. Egged on by Pelosi, Democrats slavishly voted for Obamacare by an historic straignt-party line vote. But not one Democrat told Americans about Obamacare's Section 4002---which mandates an $8B untraceable fund to "promote" Obamacare (apparently b/c Boobamba had so little confidence in his signature legislation).
WHAT DO PELOSI/GRUBER/SIBELIUS KNOW ABOUT THIS?
ACA SEC. 4002. PREVENTION AND PUBLIC HEALTH FUND.
(a) PURPOSE. It is the purpose of this section of the ACA to establish a Prevention and Public Health Fund (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Fund’’), to be administered through the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Secretary, to provide for expanded and sustained national investment in prevention and public health programs to improve health and help restrain the rate of growth in private and public sector health care costs.
(b) FUNDING.—There are hereby authorized to be appropriated, and appropriated, to the Fund, out of any monies in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated—
(1) for fiscal year 2010, $500,000,000;
(2) for fiscal year 2011, $750,000,000;
(3) for fiscal year 2012, $1,000,000,000;
(4) for fiscal year 2013, $1,250,000,000;
(5) for fiscal year 2014, $1,500,000,000; and
(6) for fiscal year 2015, and each fiscal year thereafter, $2,000,000,000.
(c) USE OF FUND.—The Secretary shall transfer amounts in the Fund to accounts within the Department of Health and Human Services to increase funding, over the fiscal year 2008 level, for programs authorized by the Public Health Service Act, for prevention, wellness, and public health activities including prevention research and health screenings, such as the Community Transformation grant program, the Education and Outreach Campaign for Preventive Benefits, and immunization programs.
(d) TRANSFER AUTHORITY.—The Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of may provide for the transfer of funds in the Fund to eligible activities under this section, subject to subsection (c).
(read how insiders got even more $$billions below)
The most unsavory was Landrieu's $4.3 billion "Louisisana Purchase."
THE PAPER TRAIL IS HUGE Sen Landrieu (Scumocrat-LA) sold her aye vote in what Forbes Magazine dubbed "The 'Louisiana Purchase" that included a massive $4.3 Billion to Landrieu
FORBES REPORTED the Democrats’ nailed Landrieu’s support for Obamacare w/ a greenback bribe. Landrieu, critics believe, pledged her vote in exchange for some $200 million more additional federal funds for Louisiana. Except that, due to a drafting error, the law ended up giving Louisiana $4.3 billion: more than twenty times the assigned amount. MORE HERE http://www.forbes.com/fdc/welcome_mjx.shtml
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BACKSTORY In the fall of 2009, Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) was trying to get the necessary 60 Dimocrat votes to pass the Affordable Care Act. He needed every Dim on board, which gave waffling senators a great deal of leverage. In Landrieu's case, she connivingly saw that selling her aye vote could get her maybe $200 million federal dollars. Obama complied. Reid chalked up another vote for Obamacare----not the measly $200 million but $4.3 billon was attached to the Obamacare bill earmarked for Landrieu.
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How $4.3 billion to Landrieu was calculatedly attached to the Obamacare bill, and how Obama and Reid failed to catch and fix it, is yet another indictment of the Obamacare atrocity.
The $4.3 billion handoff to Landrieu should be investigated as an indication of how EVERY Democrat came to vote for Obamacare....and how tax dollars were laundered to get lock-stepping Democrats' votes.
HHS “Started” Individual Obamacare Applications Prior To Deadline; Obtained Personal Info From States
Shark Tank / FR Posted on Friday, April 04, 2014 by M. Thatcher
In the closing days of the open enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) , the US Dept of Health and Human Services (HHS) was mailing out letters notifying certain Americans that the govt agency had already started a healthcare coverage application on their behalf.
The HHS letter stated that the information they used to begin the application for individual Healthcare was obtain by the state agency in charge of implementing Obamacare.
The next step for the individual would be to visit the web site Healthcare.gov and complete the already started application to see if they qualify for “Marketplace coverage.”
News of the HHS letter was first mentioned by a listener of the popular “Daybreak with Drew Steele” Show on Fox 92.5, which is out of Fort Myers, Florida.(Excerpt)
Read more at: http://www.shark-tank.com/2014/04/04/hhs-started-individual-obamaca ...
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NEED TO KNOW:
(1) which states participated in giving confidential information to HHS, and,
(2) how would state agencies know which of their citizens would want or need a new Obamacare-compliant policy.......without violating that individual's privacy--and without consulting the individual?
(3) for an application to be legally enforced, the individual would have had to sign it.
(4) Who signed the app? (Forgery must be considered.)
(5) When a third party commits you to a financial transaction, that person is considered your fiduciary....and CANNOT act WRT a payment method or other financial burden that conflicts with your best interests.
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FBI TIPS PAGE https://tips.fbi.gov
“But was it worth it? You bet,” she said.
This arrogance of the left is breathtaking. "Sure we destroyed industries, jobs, the economy and even lives for an idea we thought might be bad. Was it worth it? You bet."
Why is everyone who created, or runs,
OBAMACARE/RomneyCARE not controlled by it, but is EXEMPT?
Special, aren’t they?
“The former Kansas governor said the fallout from Gruber’s comments were already hurting the healthcare law he helped shape, and could be worse after he is grilled by the House Oversight Committee.”
It were? They does? Idiot journalists.
Although very condescending, sebelius is correct in that many Americans have no clue about health insurance...since they think that they shouldn't have to pay for it...or anything else.
Communism on parade.
OK, Sebelius, explain how pre-existing fits into insurance.
Moron.
“He didn’t influence the members of Congress who actually wrote the legislation.”
Really? And exactly who are/were those members who “actually” wrote the legislation?
Americans have “very low” financial literacy about insurance terms like “deductible” and “copay.” <<
Yeah....Nobody can understand those words.....maybe converting them to Spanish will help....../s
That reminds me of the conversations between the sheep and sheep dog in the movie Babe.
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