Free Republic

Want to know what’s happening with Obamacare? Good luck finding out. The White House recently adopted a new approach for updating Americans on the country’s most consequential law. I call it the “needle in a haystack” method: Bury the announcement in hundreds of pages of regulations and hope no one finds it. The White House tried a test run several weeks ago. Hidden in the midst of a 436 page regulatory update, and written in pure bureaucratese, the Department of Health and Human Services asked that insurance companies limit the looming premium increases for 2015 health plans. But don’t worry,...

This is the Senate bill to reverse the Hobby Lobby decision: S.2578 -- Protect Women's Health From Corporate Interference Act of 2014 (Placed on Calendar Senate - PCS) S 2578 PCS Calendar No. 459 113th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 2578 To ensure that employers cannot interfere in their employees' birth control and other health care decisions. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES July 9, 2014 Mrs. MURRAY (for herself, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BEGICH, Mr. BENNET, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BOOKER, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. BROWN, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. DURBIN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. FRANKEN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND,...

Coverage Expansion Through Age 29 Who is eligible? In order to participate, the “Age 29” law requires the coverage, the young adult’s parent, and the young adult to meet certain requirements. The Coverage The coverage must: Be a group or group remittance health insurance policy that includes coverage for dependents; Be issued in New York State and subject to New York State laws; and Be fully insured (this benefit does not apply to self-funded plans). Please contact your employer, employee benefits administrator or insurance company to find out what state laws apply to the policy and if your coverage is...

Colorado will begin charging an Obamacare tax next month on all health insurance policies — even those obtained through private employers — to help prop up the state’s struggling health care exchange. ... Republicans have called the Obamacare tax unconstitutional, given that the state’s constitution requires voters to approve any tax increases, but exchange managers insist it’s a fee, not a tax.

In Vermont, the rate increases announced Monday range from 9.8 percent to 18.3 percent. Kentuckians will pay up to 17 percent more in 2015, and in Virginia rates will rise as much as 22 percent. These increases are the direct result of the Obamacare scheme to make health care “more affordable,” and the increases could have a considerable impact on the November congressional elections. The state-by-state drip, drip, drip of bad news for Democratic candidates can be good news for the rest of us if it encourages voters to shake up Washington. The shake-up starts with getting the government out...

How does one define most basic health insurance? If one is Deutsche Bank, as follows: "Health insurance annual premium is for a basic policy for a local resident between 25-35 years. Since the definition of a standard package varies between countries, we have tried to stick to an insurance policy which covers inpatient events and no extra covers like dental, etc.... The data has been sourced mainly from local providers of heath insurances, reports of organizations engaged in research of health care and news clippings."And how much does "most basic health insurance" cost around the world? According to Deutsche...

So how can numbers coming from the Obama admin be reliable?That was the testimony today from insurance company executives, on the “back end” of the Obamacare website. That’s the part of the website which transmits data to and from insurance companies. It’s the part the public never sees, but it is critical to the operation of the system as to payments, enrollments, and other data. Via Capitol Cities Project: During a hearing on Capitol Hill today, insurance companies unanimously said that the Obamacare website is still not fixed. “One final question for all the panelists: Is the website fixed?,” asks...

Have you ever wondered why ObamaCare is burdened with so much complexity? Here's the answer: Barack Obama. Obama? Yes, the president himself. He campaigned on the promise that he would put partisanship aside and unite the country behind sensible answers to pressing problems. Then he didn't. How could that possibly have worked in health care? Easy. Obama could have adopted the approach taken by his 2008 opponent, John McCain. In fact we now know that Zeke Emanuel and others on the White House staff were urging him to do just that. Also, before he became the president's chief economic adviser,...

The Department of Health and Human Services is proposing a rule that would, if implemented, guarantee that even more Americans who like their health insurance plans cannot keep them. Fixed indemnity plans, which pay insured customers a set amount towards medical expenses and are often cost-effective relative to more comprehensive health insurance, are popular forms of coverage, and potentially becoming more popular in the wake of Obamacare. Health insurance industry representatives say that fixed indemnity plans have been attracting more interest as many Americans look for a way to mitigate against the high deductibles applicable to many insurance policies available...

The United States has seen the sharpest increase in health insurance premiums in the last year than possibly ever, a new survey has found, and analysts have concluded the "increases are largely due to changes under the Affordable Care Act." According to Forbes Magazine, a quarterly survey by investment bank Morgan Stanley of 148 brokers who sell insurance showed that premiums accelerated in the last quarter more than of any of the 12 prior quarterly periods, a peak which has coincided with the run-up to the Obamacare deadline.

Here's more fallout from the health care law: Until now, customers could walk into an insurance office or go online to buy standard health care coverage any time of year. Not anymore. Many people who didn't sign up during the government's open enrollment period that ended Monday will soon find it difficult or impossible to get insured this year, even if they go directly to a private company and money is no object. For some it's already too late. With limited exceptions, insurers are refusing to sell to individuals after the enrollment period for HealthCare.gov and the state marketplaces. They...

With the March 31st deadline now passed for ObamaCare, it seems that the Obama administration is in full gloat mode. They say that 7 million people have signed up for ObamaCare and that despite a rocky start, the program is a success. President Obama gave a speech in the Rose Garden today, saying, "The law is doing what it's supposed to do. It's working." So is President Obama correct in that ObamaCare is a success? The answer depends upon your viewpoint. If you're Obama or one of his progressive liberal cronies, then ObamaCare is a success. The Affordable Care Act...

Some hearing-impaired California residents attempting to sign up for health insurance through the Covered California website prior to Monday’s deadline got a surprise -- and it wasn’t just long wait times. A page on the site allowing users to compare coverage costs listed a TTY phone number for the hearing-impaired, 1-888-899-4500, which was just one digit off from the correct “Contact Us” number. The incorrect number is for a hotline that offers up “hot ladies” instead of health insurance. “Welcome to America’s hottest talk line. Ladies, to talk to interesting and exciting guys free, press one now. Guys, hot ladies...

Health care expert Bob Laszewski explains why the answer to this simple question should be the decisive factor in determining the relative success or failure of Obamacare: Are enough people getting coverage who didn’t have it before to justify the sacrifices the people who were already covered––in the individual, small group, and large employer market––are making or will make? I will suggest the country will never really be able to judge how good or how bad Obamacare is until that question is answered…It’s easy to answer this question. We only need ask the carriers for two numbers: The number of...

The problems with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act may be masking another major change in the way health care is delivered to U.S. consumers, experts believe. At a conference in Washington on Thursday, health care and business professionals said that there’s an increasing trend in the industry toward cutting insurance companies out of the process entirely, as large, regional hospital systems move into the insurance business. Dr. Kenneth L. Davis, CEO and president of Mount Sinai Health System, the largest health care provider in the state of New York, said that starting next year, Mt. Sinai will begin...

The Obama administration just changed the ACA again, as reported by Fox News: "The Obama administration will grant extra time to Americans who say they are unable to enroll in health care plans through the federal insurance marketplace by the March 31 deadline, in a decision that swiftly drew Republican ridicule.   All consumers who have begun to apply for coverage on HealthCare.gov, but who do not finish by Monday, will now have until about mid-April to ask for an extension."  Will it matter?  Probably not! The ACA has a bigger problem than "computer glitches" or "high deductibles," In other words, the...

That time of the week has come again where we sift through the debris of the preceding week and find out which person or group has been acting against the American people. Sometimes these entities are cloaked in the aura of righteousness, but they can mostly be described as hypocrites or opportunists. Our Jerk of the Week this time is a surprising choice is it is a group that represents an occupation that most Americans greatly respect and admire: doctors. Recently, the American Medical Association began to whine about an obscure rule in ObamaCare that could cost medical practitioners a...

Contrary to the thoughts of liberals, the ObamaCare mess continues to pile up. Every measurable yardstick that would spell failure in the private sector is being touted as a success in the pubic sector. If any business acted in the manner that the federal government has, they would be sued mightily and face prison time. Since it's only taxpayer dollars being wasted and our liberties curtailed, then it's just the new normal as the mainstream media turns a blind eye to what Obama and his cronies have been doing. One of the key cons of the ObamaCare mess is that...

Voters in November might be ready to show Democrats what they think about removing choice and hiking costs, as well as their arrogance in determining that a few politicians in Washington know better about their choices than they do. Unfortunately, Barack Obama doesn’t appear to have figured out this problem. In an interview with WebMD, Obama finally acknowledged that, contra his promise, people might not be able to keep the doctors they liked, but that they probably shouldn’t have liked those doctors in the first place:CLICK ABOVE LINK FOR THE VIDEO “For the average person, many folks who don’t have...

The genuine “can do” spirit of America is far more powerful and long lasting than the empty mantra “yes we can.” The cheap knock off slogan coined by political hucksters will ultimately be swept aside as America wakes from the Barack Obama nightmare. One sign of Americans’ “can do” response to the man who fancies himself as our king is the growing enrollment in Medi-Share, a Christian alternative to Obamacare. Built on the simple truths that people need health care insurance and that Obamacare is not health care insurance but a devious scheme to entice us to trade our freedom...