Free Republic

Health Reform: Democrats are no doubt gleeful that the Congressional Budget Office says the Republican health plan would leave 24 million more people uninsured by 2026. But there's no reason to rely on the CBO, since they were wildly off the mark in predicting how well ObamaCare would work. Shortly before President Obama signed ObamaCare into law, the CBO announced its findings that the health reform would cut the deficit in the first decade by a modest $119 billion, and possibly slash them by a trillion dollars in the second decade. The CBO also predicted that 23 million people would...

As health insurers head for the exits, Americans who have been whipsawed by ObamaCare may get whacked again this fall:  First, they were thrown off private plans that were declared illegal, then they were forced into the ObamaCare exchanges, and now they could face the prospect of being shut out of coverage through their exchanges entirely for 2017.  In Arizona’s Pinal County, for example, no insurers are offering coverage through the exchange. While decisions won’t be final until next month, people in other counties could face a similar fate.Elsewhere, millions of Americans will have a “choice” of just one carrier,...

Presidential candidate Ben Carson unveiled his health care plan. Although the details are still sketchy, his proposal would rely heavily on "Health Empower Accounts" (HSAs by another name) that begin at birth. These accounts -- as is typical of actual Health Savings Accounts -- would be coupled with high-deductible health care plans. Medicaid would be turned into a block grant, from which states would be expected to set up private accounts (HRAs, HSAs or FSAs) and couple with private health plans for low-income beneficiaries. Medicare would be converted into a tax credit, allowing seniors to buy private health plans. Presumably,...

In his weekly radio address, President Obama preposterously pouted that "it's well past the time for folks to stop rooting for [ObamaCare's] failure," with the obvious implication that conservative Republicans are in fact cheering for the pain of the un-insured. No, Mr. President, we are not. We are, however, having a delicious moment of schaden-fraud. This is the magnificent validation we are experiencing as all elected Democrats and members of the Jurassic media are fast discovering that the man and the plan they have so arrogantly shoved down our throats - and so naively placed their hopes in -- are...

Within minutes of the announcement that Paul Ryan would be Mitt Romney's running mate, the Democratic attack machine shifted into high gear. "Paul Ryan will destroy Medicare as we know it," claimed the ads. "So will Mitt Romney." Be afraid. Be very afraid. But isn't ObamaCare what seniors should really be scared of? Yes, indeed. And to hide that fact, the Obama forces are telling five big lies. Lie Number One: Health Reform Is Good For Seniors. Millions of taxpayer dollars (that's our dollars) have been spent on Andy Griffith television ads and other advertisements trying to convince seniors that...

I just read the latest screed by Anthony Stevens-Arroyo, in the “On Faith” section of The Washington Post. The left-wing Catholic presumes to question the faith of those who oppose Obamacare. “The question of health care insurance is an example of how persons professing to be the most religious among us can nonetheless violate basic teachings of Jesus,” writes Stevens-Arroyo, whose brand of Catholicism would be alien to Pope Benedict XVI. “It goes against Christian discipleship,” he asserts, “to repeal the Affordable Care Act without offering a substitute that will provide for 40 million uninsured, most of them children.” That...

"The Health Care Innovation Challenge will award up $1 billion in grants to applicants who will implement the most compelling new ideas to deliver better health, improved care and lower costs to people enrolled in Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP, particularly those with the highest health care needs." "Awards will range from approximately $1 million to $30 million for a three-year period. Applications are open to providers, payers, local government, public-private partnerships and multi-payer collaboratives."

As you may know, Republican Presidential candidate Rick Perry is unveiling his proposal for an optional flat tax. ...Of equal importance, Perry is for the first time unveiling his thoughts on Medicare reform. ___ Perry reforms could significantly expand the individual health insurance market. As I’ve written many times, the employer tax exclusion for health insurance is American health care’s original sin: a $300 billion-a-year tax subsidy that is arguably the largest driver of runaway health spending in America. People who get insurance through their employers are that much further removed from shopping for less wasteful, more value-oriented health plans....

Health Reform: A date's been set for the attempted repeal of the greatest federal control of our lives, and even our deaths, perhaps ever. Senate Democrats say over their dead political bodies. Game on. You could call this GOP Congress a death panel for Obama-Care itself. The decision to pull the political plug has been made and the date is set. The text of the repeal bill is already online, at rules-republicans.house.gov. Putting key bills online before they were voted on is something President Obama and the Democrats promised but never did. The attempt may be futile — the Democrats...

"Nearly 1,000 additional employers and unions will receive help providing health coverage to early retirees and their families A total of nearly 3,000 employers and unions has been approved to participate in the Affordable Care Act’s Early Retiree Reinsurance Program to date; applications still being accepted The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced additional employers and unions accepted into the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program. Nearly 1,000 large and small businesses, State and local governments, educational institutions, non-profit organizations, and unions have been accepted into the program and will begin to receive reimbursements for their early retirees’...

Small Business Tax Credit: The new Obamacare legislation will provide a tax credit to small businesses with no more than 25 employees. The tax credit will be equal to a percentage (50% or less) of the employers contributions to it’s employees health insurance premiums. Sounds Good Right? Not quite, there’s a caveat to the Obamacare small business tax credit. Businesses that pay their employees a smaller amount get a larger tax credit, and businesses that pay higher wages get a smaller tax credit. The amount of the tax credit is phased out by a ratio of the employers average annual...

...Wilson was arrested early Tuesday by federal authorities who say he left a string of obscenity-laced phone threats at Murray’s Seattle office over nearly two weeks ending Sunday.Wilson is accused of leaving multiple threatening voice- mail messages between March 22 and Sunday, apparently motivated by his anger over the health-care reform bill recently passed by Congress.“I hope you realize, there’s a target on your back now. There are many people who want you dead.... It only takes one piece of lead. Kill the (expletive) senator. Kill the (expletive) senator. I’ll donate the lead.” In the most recent message, the caller...

Rep. Phil Hare (D) on the Constitution: “I believe that it says we have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Restrictions on health insurance providers cancelling insurance policies: Insurance companies are prohibited from cancelling insurance policies for any reason except in cases of fraud or other misrepresentation of information. The health insurance provider must give prior notice to the policy holder before cancelling a policy. Insurance providers must cover government recommended preventative health services: Health insurance providers are required to cover, and may not impose cost sharing for government recommended preventative care, Center for Disease Control recommended immunizations, and Health Resources and Services Administration recommended preventative child care. Extensions of Dependent Coverage: Any health insurance provider that provides dependent coverage...

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AFP) – US President Barack Obama Thursday launched a sales blitz for his historic health care reforms, as Democrats battled deep Republican anger to finish a set of fixes to the law. Obama returned on Air Force One to Iowa, the cradle of his 2008 campaign, to proclaim he had made good on the political change he promised, by enacting reforms dreamed of by Democrats for generations, but never realized until now. The president was also expected to take on Republicans as they seek to define the historic bill as a costly, big government power grab, in...

Believe It Or Not Malcolm A. Kline, March 25, 2010 The health care bill signed by President Obama on Tuesday actually includes funding for abstinence education. “Bipartisan efforts by the National Abstinence Education Association (NAEA) to secure funding for abstinence education were successfully included in the new Healthcare Bill signed today by President Obama. 250 million dollars from 2010-through 2014 will be available to all states through the Title V funding stream,” the NAEA reported on March 23, 2010. Nevertheless, the NAEA admits that “The Healthcare Bill provides considerably more for Comprehensive Sex Education programs.” “The dual approach to sex...

It’s rumored that President Obama will follow up his health care success with a push for immigration reform. It’s a bad idea – not least because of the negative impact the latter will have on the former. Predicting the cost of healthcare reform is hugely complex, but the core equation is reasonably straightforward. Every American will be required to buy insurance. Those who cannot afford insurance will be subsidized up to 400 percent above the poverty line, or $88,200 in annual income for a family of four. Subsidies will of course be concentrated most intensely among the poorest. Logical enough...

I was following the health reform stories very closely on Free Republican as well as FNC, MSNBC and CNN and noticed some coincidences in timing that look suspicious. These Tea party slur accusations (link below) on Saturday were very close in time to the immigration reform march on Sunday. I was also following the deal that the Hispanic Caucus demanded from the White House to secure their votes on Health reform which they talked about on FNC amazingly. HereÂ’s a sequence of stories (below) and ping me if you see a possible connection as I do. Members of the Congressional...

I see only one of two options to stop this hideous, onerous, and unconstitutional bill masquerading as healthcare reform. Know this, there is nothing, and I mean nothing in this bill that will reform, improve, or expand healthcare. If you’re naïve enough to think otherwise, then you’re beyond help and do not have the ability to think rationally nor do you understand the Constitution. Not only is the mandate in this bill unconstitutional to force FREE citizens (for now) to buy healthcare, so is the process they’re trying to use to ram this up our butt. What they are planning...

Rep. John Boccieri, Ohio-16 Rep. Jason Altmire, PA-4 Rep. Barty Gordon, Tenn-6 Rep. Brian Baird, WA-3