Free Republic

Eight years ago, Sen. Orrin Hatch argued in a Senate Finance Committee then controlled by Democrats that Congress does not have the constitutional power to order people to buy things. The committee was discussing the incipient Obamacare bill. It's most outrageous element: The so-called "individual mandate," which would force Americans to purchase health insurance. Hatch did not believe the Constitution's Commerce Clause -- which gives Congress the power to "regulate Commerce with foreign nations, and among the states" -- could be stretched to give the federal government the power to compel individuals to do this. "Rather than regulate what people...

Senate Republican leaders are adding a provision to their tax bill that would repeal the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate, a major change as they now try to accomplish two of their top domestic priorities in a single piece of legislation. “We’re optimistic that inserting the individual mandate repeal would be helpful” to the tax effort, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Tuesday after meeting with party members during a closed-door lunch. President Trump and many GOP lawmakers have supported using the tax bill to repeal the mandate, a part of the health care law that creates penalties for...

With all due respect to Senator Jeff Flake’s recent surrender to prevailing populist political winds, and the reasonable assumption that Senator John McCain would face stiff headwinds if he was up for reelection this year, Republican Governor Doug Ducey also has big problems on the horizon as he seeks reelection in 2018. Sure, conventional wisdom could lead one to believe a Koch Brothers’ favorite with all the trappings and advantages of power (including millions of dollars in expected fundraising and independent expenditures) could not be defeated in the historically red state of Arizona. However, like the 2016 election, the 2018...

WASHINGTON — Barack Obama may not be running for anything these days, but his signature health care law was a big winner in Tuesday’s elections, as voters rebelled against Republican lawmakers who have blocked Obamacare's Medicaid expansion. Democrats are hopeful their victories are a harbinger of further gains as they look to capitalize on the law's rising popularity in polls — and repeal legislation's deep unpopularity — with more ballot initiatives, legislative efforts and campaign messages. In Maine, voters passed a ballot initiative that would expand Medicaid to an estimated 70,000 residents by a margin of 18 points, 59-to-41, doing...

Mitt Romney told wealthy donors gathered at a high-dollar campaign fundraiser that there’s a group of voters he believes he can never win over: people who pay no taxes. "There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what," Romney said. "All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that's an entitlement. And the...

NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens has warned five million people will be left waiting for treatment if the Government does not increase health service funding in the Budget. Mr Stevens said failure to increase funding would add one million people to the waiting list by 2021. Speaking at the NHS Providers conference in Birmingham, Mr Stevens said: "NHS England's assessment of the funding position is that the Budget for next year falls well short of what is needed to look after patients and their families at their time of greatest need. Mr Stevens said the NHS would not be...

According to a report from the Washington Examiner, President Donald Trump will prepare an executive order that will unravel Obamacare’s individual mandate. A Republican senator told the Examiner that the executive order resides at the Office of Management and Budget waiting for final approval. President Trump reportedly delayed the executive order after Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) pushed to include a repeal of the individual mandate in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. A White House official pushed back on the Senators’ claims, saying that the Trump administration’s position remains that Congress should resolve the issue of repealing Obamacare. The White...

It’s not easy being an advocate for the Affordable Care Act right now. Health care advocacy groups are making an against-all-odds effort to sign people up despite confusion and hostility fostered by Republicans opposed to President Barack Obama’s signature domestic policy achievement. The Trump administration has taken numerous steps to undermine the law, and many states are doing little to promote coverage as health insurance open enrollment begins this week. Health care advocates are particularly concerned about people in Republican-led states with hundreds of thousands of uninsured residents, like Florida, Texas and Georgia. Many of these groups are scrambling to...

I am very positive, and if Trump were not president, I'd be livid...I should not be surprised, but still I am. I have an Anthem $11,500 deductible policy for my family of 4. It is going up Jan 1 from $514 to $605, or roughly 20%. I am pissed, of course. I hope this thread drives good discussion. I believe under Trump in 2018 we'll see some improvement and competition...am I correct that the increases are due to profit shortfalls the obama-partnering healthcare execs are hedging and covering their losses? Ant thoughts out there from those more plugged in this...

'3 years of litigation' unneeded had former president acknowledged 1st Amendment! The Trump administration has resolved a dispute over Obamacare’s abortion mandate that the previous administration refused to address even though U.S. courts ordered it to be fixed. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the Hobby Lobby case that the federal government could not force a for-profit business to subsidize abortion in health-care insurance plans in violation of the owners’ religious beliefs. Later, the court ruled in the Little Sisters of the Poor case that faith-based nonprofit ministries are exempt. The Supreme Court, pointed out First Liberty Institute, ordered the...

The electorate isn’t buying the “Trump broke it” propaganda.For a year, the Democrats and the legacy media have waged a relentless propaganda campaign calculated to convince the public that Obamacare’s myriad failures — from skyrocketing premiums to stagnant enrollment — are the result of sabotage by President Trump and congressional Republicans. This headline from the Hill is typical: “Many states blame Trump, GOP for Obamacare premium increases.” It seems, however, that “the stupidity of the American voter” has been greatly exaggerated. A new survey shows that more than two-thirds of registered voters believe former President Obama and the Democrats are...

President Donald Trump’s decision earlier this month to end federal subsidies to insurance companies on the Obamacare exchanges will, ironically, allow many more individuals to qualify for free health insurance. The Wall Street Journal noted Friday: ” When sales of plans on the law’s exchanges begin Nov. 1, a growing number of consumers around the country will be able to get coverage for 2018 without paying any monthly premium … because they qualify for larger federal premium subsidies that cover the full cost of a plan, according to the new analysis.” Obamacare provides subsidies to individuals making up to about...

Ohio governor John Kasich, the most vocal Republican critic of Obamacare-repeal efforts this year, is pleading with Congress to pass the health-care bill proposed by Senator Lamar Alexander (R., Tenn.) and Senator Patty Murray (D., Wash.). The Alexander–Murray bill follows a template that Kasich and Colorado governor John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, began promoting in August: Obamacare’s mandates, regulations, and Medicaid expansion would all remain in place, and Congress would authorize spending to “stabilize” the exchanges. In particular, Alexander–Murray would reimburse insurers for “cost-sharing reductions” Obamacare requires them to provide to certain low-income enrollees. Congress has thus far refused to appropriate...

I remember when my patients used to pay me up front for my service, and then apply to their insurance company for reimbursement. Health insurance policies came in all shapes and sizes back then, some more comprehensive than others, depending on a patient’s needs. Patients understood that health insurance was not the same thing as health care, and that it was at best a promise that sometimes went unfulfilled. Over the years insurers gained more control of the health-care system, until I had to appeal to the insurance company to be reimbursed for a service I had already provided. Since...

.....OMB later cited internal data to the Washington Examiner that said the top 20 percent of people to pay income taxes account for 94.8 percent of those taxes in 2016. That appears to be a jump from just a few years ago. In 2015, the Wall Street Journal reported that the top 20 percent of income earners paid 84 percent of income taxes.

U.S. District Court Judge Vince Chhabria denied a demand by California and 17 other states for a temporary restraining order to continue $600 million per month of Obamacare insurance company subsidies on Wednesday.

A federal judge in California on Wednesday denied a request from 19 attorneys general across the country to force the Trump administration to resume funding of cost-sharing payments under the Affordable Care Act. The ruling leaves intact President Trump’s decision earlier this month to immediately end the payments that reimburse insurers for discounts the law requires them to give lower-income customers with health plans through ACA marketplaces. The attorneys general, from 18 states and the District, were seeking a judicial order that would have maintained the funding. In his decision, Judge Vince Chhabria of the U.S. District Court for the...

A federal judge on Wednesday denied an attempt by the state of California to force the Trump administration to pay billions of dollars to insurance companies to subsidize health plans for low-income Americans. California and 17 other states sued the Trump administration, arguing that its decision to end the payments was unlawful. As part of the lawsuit, the states sought an emergency temporary restraining order from the U.S. District Court. Attorneys for the states failed to convince U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria that there would be immediate harm to consumers if the payments are not reinstated. “It appears that because...

FOX Business @FoxBusiness #BreakingNews: @SpeakerRyan: Repeal & replace of Obamacare is off the table for 2017

The IRS says it will not accept electronic tax returns that do not disclose whether the filer had health insurance coverage during the year. It also says it will suspend paper returns that do not have the disclosure. The IRS' move, which will bolster compliance with Affordable Care Act rules, comes as the Trump administration takes other steps to undercut the law. The IRS is warning tax professionals that it will block or suspend processing of 2017 income tax returns that do not comply with Obamacare rules requiring filers to disclose their health insurance status. The new move to tighten...