Free Republic

The death panels aren’t going to come through the front door. They’re going to sneak up on you from behind with piano wire. On July 29, 2013, a working group for the National Cancer Institute (the main government agency for cancer research) published a paper proposing that the term “cancer” be reserved for lesions with a reasonable likelihood of killing the patient if left untreated. Slower growing tumors would be called a different name such as “indolent lesions of epithelial origin” (IDLE).Their justification was that modern medical technology now allows doctors to detect small, slow-growing tumors that likely wouldn’t be...

For months now, we’ve been waiting to hear how much Obamacare will drive up the cost of health insurance for people who purchase coverage on their own. Last night, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services finally began to provide some data on how Americans will fare on Obamacare’s federally-sponsored insurance exchanges. HHS’ press release is full of happy talk about how premiums will be “lower than originally expected.” But the reality is starkly different. Based on a Manhattan Institute analysis of the HHS numbers, Obamacare will increase underlying insurance rates for younger men by an average of 97...

During his Tuesday remarks at the Clinton Global Initiative, President Obama admitted that his health care law raises taxes: “So what we did — it’s paid for by a combination of things. We did raise taxes on some things.” “Some things” is an understatement. Below is just a partial list of Obamacare’s new or higher taxes on Americans: Starting in tax year 2013: Obamacare Medical Device Tax: Medical device manufacturers employ 409,000 people in 12,000 plants across the country. Obamacare imposes a new 2.3 percent excise tax on gross sales – even if the company does not earn a profit...

U.S. officials for the first time disclosed insurance prices that will be offered through new federally run health-care exchanges starting Oct. 1, showing that young, healthy buyers likely will pay more than they do currently while older, sicker consumers should get a break. The plans, offered under the health-care overhaul to people who don't get insurance through an employer or government program, in many cases provide broader coverage than current policies. Costs will vary widely from state to state and for different types of consumers. Government subsidies will cut costs for some lower-income consumers. Across the country, the average premium...

Andy and Amy Mangione of Louisville, Ky. and their two boys are just the kind of people who should be helped by ObamaCare. But they recently got a nasty surprise in the mail. "When I saw the letter when I came home from work," Andy said, describing the large red wording on the envelope from his insurance carrier, "(it said) 'your action required, benefit changes, act now.' Of course I opened it immediately." It had stunning news. Insurance for the Mangiones and their two boys,which they bought on the individual market, was going to almost triple in 2014 --- from...

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/09/23/aca-family-glitch-issues/2804017/.

Walgreens, the nation’s largest drugstore chain, reportedly will no longer offer health insurance coverage to about 180,000 employees at its approximately 8,000 US stores. Going forward, workers will need to buy coverage on so-called healthcare exchanges with an employer-provided subsidy. The company apparently attributed the major change to its benefits package to healthcare cost increases as well as Obamacare, according to the Wall Street Journal. Healthcare exchanges or marketplaces are supposed to be up in running as of October 1 under Obamacare, a.k.a. the Affordable Care Act. During an August 2009 town hall meeting, President Obama promised that “If you...

Senate majority leader Harry Reid defended the special Obamacare exemptions carved out for lawmakers and their staff on Thursday during a Capitol press conference, insisting that Congress members and staff will participate in Obamacare’s exchanges.Responding to the hoopla surrounding the health insurance policies on Capitol Hill, the Nevada Democrat flatly stated Thursday, “That’s what the law says, and we’ll be part of that.”Reid said the Republicans and critics are just using the issue as a “diversion” to “try and embarrass the president.”“Let’s stop these really juvenile political games,” Reid said. “The one dealing with healthcare for Senators and House members...

Young and healthy Coloradans will see a considerable spike in health care insurance costs just to buy basic coverage when President Barack Obama’s signature law goes into effect. A no-frills plan for a 27-year-old would cost $135 a month through the state’s new insurance exchange, a 140 percent increase over what they would pay for the least expensive plan on the current market at $56, The Hill reports. Colorado was singled out by the Washington newspaper as an example of the higher costs healthy non-smokers will pay and is based a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report detailing state-by-state costs. Colorado...

If you thought that it was frightening enough that the federal government was spying on you and had access to your personal information, get ready: Planned Parenthood is about to obtain access to your Social Security number, tax form, bank account, and medical records.With the advent of ObamaCare, consumers buying health insurance through health care exchanges will be required to speak to “navigators.” “Navigators” are supposed to help consumers find the best coverage and ascertain whether they are eligible for a federal subsidy. Any “navigator” will have access to the federal data hub, which holds information from the Department of...

I remember that Obama promised we could keep our plans, keep our doctors and that our premiums would drop 3000% but I don't remember Obama promising that he'd create a special and separate police force to make sure we obey. Obama is creating a new police force to hunt you down and make sure you are complying with the dictator's orders: More than 1,600 new employees hired by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources in the aftermath of Obamacare's passage include just two described as 'consumer safety' officers, but 86 tasked with 'criminal investigating' – indicating that the...

Citing ObamaCare as a reason, the the University of Virginia has announced that spouses of University employees who have access to health insurance through their own jobs will no longer be eligible for health insurance coverage. In its announcement, President Obama's healthcare plan is specifically mentioned by UVa as a reason for the rising costs that forced the university to drop working spouses. ObamaCare is expected to add $7 million to the university's health care costs. UVa was also a public supporter of ObamaCare: Working spouse provision: Starting Jan. 1, spouses who have access to coverage through their own employer...

Like the car salesman in National Lampoon’s Vacation (played by Eugene Levy) said: “You think you hate it now, but wait ’til you drive it!” The same applies to the Affordable Healthcare Act (aka, Obamacare). levycar Now UPS has announced that it is cutting 15,000 spouses from healthcare coverage. This is effectively another way that Obamacare raises the cost of healthcare. This, of course, is outrageous, the government telling companies what they can and cannot do for healthcare coverage. Why will you hate Obamacare once you drive it? 1. Forced forced home inspections by gov’t agents: Under Obamacare, government agents...

Barack Obama wanted to fundamentally change America. He is. The Obamacare law is already destroying full-time jobs in America. Democrats rammed through a law that will destroy at least 2 percent of all full-time jobs in America. We are already seeing jobs disappear. Even Reuters can’t hide the truth any longer: U.S. businesses are hiring at a robust rate. The only problem is that three out of four of the nearly 1 million hires this year are part-time and many of the jobs are low-paid. Faltering economic growth at home and abroad and concern that President Barack Obama’s signature health...

The latest casualty of Obamacare may be a low-cost New Jersey health-care policy. Though President Obama promised “if you like your health care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health care plan, period,” that will not be the case for approximately 106,000 New Jersey residents whose plans will disappear under the law.Known as the “basic and essential,” or B&E, health-care plans, the policy costs as little as a couple hundred dollars per month and is the choice of 71 percent of New Jersey residents on the individual insurance market. It provides minimum coverage for things such as doctor’s visits...

Employers around the country, from fast-food franchises to colleges, have told NBC News that they will be cutting workers’ hours below 30 a week because they can’t afford to offer the health insurance mandated by the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. The White House dismisses such examples as "anecdotal." Jason Furman, chairman of the president’s Council of Economic Advisors, said, “We are seeing no systematic evidence that the Affordable Care Act is having an adverse impact on job growth or the number of hours employees are working. … [S]ince the ACA became law, nearly 90 percent of the...