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The latest perils of Obamacare have been revealed. The law is going to be more painful than many experts predicted. Besides the negative impact on quality of care, there will also be significant cost increases leading to reduced access to health insurance and patient care. Huge Premium Increases. The New York Times just reported double-digit increases coming for health insurance. The reporter reminded readers that "one of the biggest objectives" of the Obama administration's law was to "stem the rapid rise in insurance costs for consumers." Before he was elected, Mr. Obama promised a $2,500 reduction in family premiums in...

The federal government will likely be involved in running the ObamaCare exchange in at least 30 states, 26 of which expressly declined to establish state exchanges. One health-policy expert refers to it as an "administrative nightmare" for the Department of Health and Human Services. Friday was the deadline for a state to let HHS know if it planned to establish a state exchange. Thus far only 18 states and the District of Columbia are planning on doing so. As of right now only Utah and Florida remain undecided. Utah may still decide to set up a state exchange, but few...

Only 15 states have told HHS that they will develop their own online insurance exchanges. This means the government has to design 35 different sites, with 35 different criteria for coverage -- all by next year. From CNBC: Only 15 states have told the federal government they plan to operate health insurance exchanges under President Barack Obama's reform law, leaving Washington with the daunting task of creating online marketplaces for two-thirds of the country. On the eve of a federal deadline for states to say whether they will run their own exchanges, a top health care policy official told lawmakers...

Pennsylvania will not set up its own health care exchange under the federal Affordable Care Act — at least not for now, Gov. Tom Corbett said Wednesday. Setting up a state-based exchange would be irresponsible, Corbett said as he faulted federal authorities for what he said were inadequate answers to his questions about cost and other issues. "Health care reform is too important to be achieved through haphazard planning," said the Republican governor. "Pennsylvania taxpayers and businesses deserve more. They deserve informed decision making and a strong plan that responsibly uses taxpayer dollars."

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam announced Monday the state will not operate a state-based healthcare exchange under the federal Affordable Care Act. Haslam made the following statement on the issue: “Tennessee faces a decision this week about health insurance exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act. “I'm not a fan of the law. The more I know, the more harmful I think it will be for small businesses and costly for state governments and the federal government. It does nothing to address the cost of health care in our country. It only expands a broken system. That’s why I’ve...

A vote to report a state Obamacare exchange bill out of the Michigan House Health Policy Committee came up short yesterday, with only two Republicans supporting it (Committee Chair Rep. Gail Haines of Waterford and Rep. Mike Callton of Nashville). Following the vote, House Speaker Jase Bolger, R-Marshall, declared the state-run exchange dead, saying: “…After due diligence, however, it is clear that there were too many unanswered questions for the committee to feel comfortable with a state-run exchange and we will not have one in Michigan… The committee apparently was not able to get the answers to key questions or...

<p>Last week I was told by very knowledgeable sources in the State Capitol that Obama Care was a lock to be implemented in Michigan because of the heavy handed pressure by Governerd Rick " Jennifer" Snyder, his bought and paid for minion Speaker of the House Jase Bolger and the Godzilla of health care insurance companies, Blue Cross/ Blue Shield of Michigan. I was told they were demanding the passage of Health Care Exchanges so Obama Care can be implemented ASAP.</p>

Some good news today, as Michigan and Arizona have both made decisions that they will not be setting up a health care exchange under ObamaCare. In Arizona, Governor Jan Brewer declared yesterday that she will not direct the state government to set up an exchange. In Michigan, Governor Rick Snyder has been trying to set up an exchange, but Speaker of the House Jase Bolger has declared that he will not bring the bill to establish exchanges to the floor. 3,500 people have already sent messages urging Michigan's top state officials to stand against ObamaCare, and the Speaker is listening....

<p>Madison - As Gov. Scott Walker contemplates whether to create a state health care exchange under Obamacare, he will have to contend in the coming legislative session with nine lawmakers who have said they back a bill to arrest any federal officials who try to implement the health care law.</p>

Last week, I wrote about the potential impact that the growing influence of Kentucky Senator Rand Paul will have on the ability of Republicans to portray themselves as a solidly pro-Israel party. Senator Paul has written to respond to that piece. My response follows. Jonathan S. Tobin’s Nov. 9 column, “Will Rand Paul Hijack the Pro-Israel GOP?” makes some wildly speculative assumptions about me, my positions concerning our ally, Israel, and the Republican Party’s future. Since Mr. Tobin took it upon himself to image some of my positions, I thought it best to set the record straight by stating what...

Oklahoma is latest to reject state-based health exchangeBy Sam Baker - 11/19/12 03:23 PM ET Add Oklahoma to the list of Republican-led states that won't implement the key feature of President Obama's healthcare law. Gov. Mary Fallin said Monday that she won't set up a state-based insurance exchange — a new portal where people who don't get insurance through their employers can shop for coverage, often with help from a federal subsidy. "It does not benefit Oklahoma taxpayers to actively support and fund a new government program that will ultimately be under the control of the federal government, that is...

The picture below shows $15 trillion dollars worth of $100 bills on $10 million dollar pallets stacked on top of each other over an area that is one third larger than a regulation football field. An electronics van is parked between the stack and the Statue of Liberty. A single $100 million dollar pallet rests in front of the truck’s cab. See it?Recently, I reported that the Federal Reserve Bank (FED) secretly gave ten trillion dollars of interest-free loans to over a dozen European banks to shore up the Euro and keep them financially solvent. I later found out that...

UPDATED — Republican House and Senate lawmakers on Wednesday voted to call Gov. Steve Beshear out of bounds for his executive order creating a health exchange — an outgrowth of the U.S. Affordable Care Act. Sen. David Givens, R-Greensburg, offered a motion at the interim legislative health and welfare committee declaring that Beshear does not have the authority to create a new agency — in this case, the Kentucky Health Exchange — by executive order. Instead, the governor by law can only rearrange existing agencies and still must get the legislature’s ultimate approval, Givens said, citing state statute . The...

Governor Steve Beshear said the actions of Republican lawmakers at Wednesday’s interim joint committee on Health and Welfare, “don’t mean anything,” and he will continue to implement the Kentucky Health Benefit Exchange. Beshear, who is fresh off an economic development trip to India, said he has the authority to create the exchange through executive order. And he said it was prudent for Kentucky to do so because the Affordable Care Act, which was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in June, calls for some type of system to match the uninsured with health coverage. If Kentucky’s government didn’t set up...

PUBLIC COMMENTS REQUESTED: The Minnesota Department of Commerce has issued a call for public comments on "a draft of proposed Guiding Principles for the Minnesota Health Insurance Exchange" (HIX). (see official draft below) DEADLINE: Monday, September 24, 2012 Let's deluge the Department of Commerce and Commissioner Mike Rothman with comments opposing the guiding principles of the Exchange --- which is being built under Governor Dayton's executive order. No law allows the Exchange, but the Governor doesn't care. He's happy to install the "centerpiece" of Obamacare in Minnesota at a taxpayer cost of $40 million - $80 million per year to...

I'm looking for some assistance with finding out why some organizations restrict the Send-As permission in Exchange/Outlook. What are the security risks in giving out this permission and what should an organization do to minimize those risks? I'm looking to develop a policy for granting Send-As rights for a non-profit and your input would be most helpful! Thank you!

In the aftermath of the Obamacare ruling, the proponents of Obamacare are touting “Insurance Exchanges” as one of the cost drivers to save people money. As a person who was on the board of an exchange, and has traded markets for twenty five years, I think I know a little bit about exchanges-or at least enough to analyze the government run exchanges for health insurance. There is a lot wrong with the Obamacare bill. But one of the unique parts of the bill was the creation of exchanges for health insurance. However, these aren’t exchanges like you might be imagining....

Obama's Trojan Horse is stuck. Only 13 states have said they're going to build the Obamacare insurance "Exchange" --the federal takeover center. So the federal government despite, according to The Times, not wanting to "feed fears of a federal takeover" is....taking over. As The New YorkTimes reports, "Obama administration officials are getting ready to set up and operate new health insurance markets in about half the states, where local officials appear unwilling or unable to do so. The markets, known as exchanges, are a centerpiece of President Obama's health care law, and running them will be a herculean task that...

The next shot in the legal war over the health reform law isn’t another lawsuit but an academic paper that says federal exchanges can’t give people subsidies to help pay for their coverage. And though the law’s supporters have dismissed it out of hand just as they dismissed the challenge to the individual mandate, the paper could be the start of a challenge that — if it’s successful — could do almost as much damage to the law. “The IRS rule is illegal,” Adler and Cannon contend. “It is not authorized by the text of the [Patient Protection and Affordable...

On Monday, the administration of MN Governor Mark Dayton announced a $41 million contract to "design and develop" a state health insurance exchange (HIX) - President Obama's federal takeover center, his superstructure for the nationalization of health care. National Registration System, not a "Marketplace": This is not a one-stop-shop, it's a center to register (and pay) for government-approved health insurance. Using the exchange, every person, or their employer, must register each individual's insurance status with the federal government for approval or exaction of the Obamacare tax-penalty.  The registration and IRS enforcement occurs as you purchase government-approved health insurance online through the exchange,...