TEA PARTY PATRIOTS:
The GOP quandary: How far right without falling over the edge?
“…Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who is at or near the top of most early polls among Republicans, likes to boast how he stuck to conservative principles to win statewide office three times in a centrist state. “To win the center, you don’t have to go to the center, you have to lead,” he said last week during a Tea Party Patriots telephone town hall. Tea party loyalists are still somewhat wary of Walker, though, because of past positions on immigration and government support for ethanol, a big issue in Iowa, site of the nation’s first caucus…”
http://www.macon.com/2015/03/25/3659775_the-gop-quandary-how-far-right.html?rh=1
HEALTHCARE:
Employees working fewer hours due to Obamacare: survey
“Some U.S. workers are ringing in the fifth anniversary of Obamacare by working fewer hours, according to a new survey. A new survey by the Society of Human Resource Management released Tuesday found about 14 percent of businesses have reduced part-time hours and another 6 percent plan to do so. Employers are reducing hours to avoid Obamacare’s employer mandate, which requires companies to provide health insurance to all workers that work 30 or more hours a week. In addition, 5 percent of companies already reduced or plan to reduce the total number of employees. The remainder of those surveyed chose not to reduce employee hours. The Society for Human Resource Management surveyed 743 human resources professionals from a variety of companies. This year the law’s employer mandate went into effect for organizations with 100 or more full-time employees, requiring those companies to provide health insurance for 70 percent of their employees. That figure goes up to 95 percent in 2016 and all employees beyond that date. The small business part of the mandate, which affects business with 50-99 full-time employees, goes into effect in 2016. A common criticism with the law is that companies will have to layoff workers or reduce full-time employees to part-time to avoid having to pay for health insurance. If any business violates the mandate, they must pay a fee calculated by the number of employees who don’t have insurance. The Internal Revenue Service has said that a company could pay an excise tax of $100 a day per applicable employee…”
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/employees-working-fewer-hours-due-to-obamacare-survey/article/2562012?custom_click=rss
Voters Still Strongly Oppose IRS’ Obamacare Duties
“The head of the Internal Revenue Service acknowledged recently that his agency has fielded less than half of taxpayer telephone calls this year because of its new responsibilities policing Obamacare. But voters still strongly believe the IRS should concentrate on tax collection instead. Just 20% of Likely U.S. Voters think policing public compliance with the new national health care law is a good use of IRS resources. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 68% disagree and believe the IRS should remain focused on collecting taxes. Thirteen percent (13%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.) These attitudes are unchanged from a year ago. In April 2013, 26% said policing compliance with the health care law was a good use of IRS resources, but 58% disagreed. Thirty percent (30%) of voters think the IRS does a good or excellent job collecting taxes in America, given the complexity of the tax code and the size of the country. That’s also unchanged from last year but down from 39% in 2013. Twenty-seven percent (27%) rate the agency’s performance as poor, up from 20% two years ago. Eighteen percent (18%) believe most Americans cheat on their taxes, but 49% disagree. A sizable 33%, however, are not sure. These findings have changed little over the past couple years…”
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/business/taxes/march_2015/voters_still_strongly_oppose_irs_obamacare_duties
Low-income people loved Obamacare, but the rest of us…
“The carrots worked pretty well for Obamacare this year. The stick? Not so much. People with higher incomes in 2015 were much less likely to enroll in Obamacare plans than lower-income earners—even when they were offered financial assistance to help pay for their health plans, according to an analysis released Wednesday. And the differences in uptake of Obamacare were dramatic between income groups, with a sharp falloff as people’s annual earnings increased and the amount of subsidies available decreased, the analysis by the Avalere Health consultancy found.Those pronounced drops were particularly striking because they occurred even between groups who are eligible for the most generous kind of Obamacare private plan assistance. A whopping 76 percent of Obamacare-eligible individuals who earned between $11,770 and $17,655 annually actually signed up for a plan this year on the federally run insurance exchange HealthCare.gov, which serves 37 states, Avalere found. That income group represents the low end for qualifying for Obamacare subsidies, and as a rule those people would receive the largest amount of financial aid. But there were steep declines in the next two income groups, even though those people receive not only help paying their monthly premiums, but as with the lower earners remain eligible for financial assistance to cover out-of-pocket medical expenses. Just 41 percent of eligible people earning between 151 and 200 percent of the federal poverty level bought HealthCare.gov plans. And just 30 percent of eligible people in the next income group, earning up to 250 percent of the poverty level, bought such a plan. Only 16 percent of eligible people who earned between $35,427 and $47,080—the high-end Obamacare subsidy recipients—bought a HealthCare.gov plan. And when the subsidies weren’t available, because a person earned more than $47,080, the participation was far lower. Just 2 percent of eligible people above that income enrolled in a HealthCare.gov plan, the Avalere analysis found…”
http://www.cnbc.com/id/102534125
Pataki: ObamaCare is ‘worst law’ of my lifetime
“Former Gov. George Pataki (R-N.Y.) marked ObamaCare’s fifth anniversary Wednesday by declaring it the “worst law” of his lifetime. “I can’t say ‘ever,’ but in my lifetime I don’t think there’s been as big a law that’s had as negative an impact,” Pataki, who is considering a run for the White House, said on Newsmax TV’s “MidPoint.” “It is wrong, it should be repealed, it’s unconstitutional,” he continued. “But most important, we have got to pass an alternative and get this out of the way.” Pataki argued that ObamaCare’s implementation in 2010 was an unconstitutional overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system that disturbed coverage for millions of Americans, all while driving up healthcare costs nationwide.
“The tragedy is that this didn’t have to be done,” Pataki told host Ed Berliner. “It has changed healthcare for every single American.”
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/236978-pataki-obamacare-worst-law-of-my-lifetime
Marking ObamaCare milestone, Obama to launch alternative-payment push
“President Obama will announce the start of a new initiative Wednesday to promote a major ObamaCare goal in conjunction with the fifth anniversary of the law. The administration is launching the Healthcare Payment Learning and Action Network, an information-sharing forum to urge more healthcare providers to use alternative payments models instead of a traditional fee-for-service payment under Medicare. Last month, the Department of Health and Human Services set a goal to tie half of Medicare payments to alternative systems by 2018, a move the White House says will provide better care at a cheaper cost. Obama will kick off the first meeting of the network during a speech at the White House on Wednesday to mark the fifth anniversary of the Affordable Care Act. The network will hold meetings for state governments, healthcare providers and consumer groups to share “best practices” in working toward that goal, a White House official said. More than 2,800 participants have already registered, according to the administration. Groups participating are asked to set “organization-specific goals for alternative payment models” and report on progress toward achieving those benchmarks, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said in a statement. The network will be overseen by an outside contractor, and organizations will not receive funding from the administration for participating in meetings.”
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/236872-marking-obamacare-milestone-obama-to-launch-alternative-payment-push
Obama: Obamacare was Republicans’ plan
“President Obama slammed Republicans Wednesday for continuing to war against his signature healthcare law five years in. “It’s working, despite countless attempts to repeal, undermine, defund and defame this law,” Obama said in a speech commemorating the Affordable Care Act’s anniversary of passage. “We’ve made our share of mistakes since we passed this law, but we also know beyond a shred of doubt the law has worked,” he said. “Deficits have been slashed, lives have been saved.” It’s been half a decade since Democrats in Congress passed the healthcare law and it remains arguably the most controversial piece of legislation passed during Obama’s tenure. Democrats spent this week touting its provisions extending coverage to millions of Americans, while Republicans aired their many ongoing complaints about the law. There’s one thing members of both parties agree on: Major reforms are still needed in how healthcare is delivered and paid for. Obama focused on that common ground in the first part of his speech, announcing a network of healthcare providers, payers, advocates and localities his administration is trying to bring together to share ideas on how to improve the quality and cost of care. More than 2,800 organizations — including seven of the country’s 10 biggest insurers — have signed on to the network so far, officials said. But he also addressed the continuing disputes over the law that Republicans have focused on for years. He reminded Republicans that some of the ideas behind the Affordable Care Act — most notably its individual mandate to buy coverage — were once supported by some conservatives, although its Medicaid expansion and some other big parts of the law stem more from liberal thought. “The Affordable Care Act pretty much was their plan before I adopted it,” he said…”
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/obama-obamacare-was-republicans-plan/article/2562016?custom_click=rss
Obama to announce next steps after Obamacare
“President Obama will mark his healthcare law’s fifth birthday partly by talking about what it hasn’t accomplished. In a speech Wednesday commemorating his signature domestic achievement, the president will also talk about what he’d like to see happen next with health reform, White House officials said. That involves improving quality in the U.S. healthcare system so that doctors are encouraged to spend more time with their patients, focus on preventing diseases in the first place, coordinate with their patients’ other caregivers and cut down on unnecessary tests and procedures. Towards that end, Obama will announce a network of consumer groups, hospitals, doctors, employers and insurers the administration is dubbing the Health Care Payment Learning and Action Network. Officials said Tuesday that more than 2,800 groups are “interested” in joining the network, which will involve the groups making specific commitments that promote healthcare quality, like incentivizing doctors to spend more time with patients or improving communication between specialists and primary care doctors. Those healthcare goals are broadly supported by Republicans, too, although they say the first step toward improving U.S. healthcare would be repealing the Affordable Care Act and starting over. Democrats passed the healthcare law in 2010 without gaining any GOP votes. The network is intended to be the administration’s next step in moving toward improving care quality, after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced in January it intends to award 30 percent of Medicare payments through new, innovative ways by the end of next year. “There’s more work to do to ensure every American receives the highest quality of care when they need it,” said White House deputy chief of staff Kristie Canegallo. The American Cancer Society, the American Hospital Association and the AARP are some groups that have already signed on, officials said. So has the National Partnership for Women and Families, the group said Wednesday. “During this week when we celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Affordable Care Act … it is fitting that we also focus on the ways we are changing our healthcare system to ensure that it delivers value-based, quality care to patients and families,” said the group’s president Debra Ness.”
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/obama-to-announce-next-steps-after-obamacare/article/2562002
Obama to mark health law’s anniversary with new initiative on patient care
GOP plots budget moves to scrap law
“President Obama on Wednesday will mark his signature health law’s fifth-anniversary week by launching a doctor-patient network tasked with finding ways to put the quality — and not quantity — of care first, all while reducing costs. Mr. Obama, alongside Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell, is slated to extol the Affordable Care Act’s progress so far while tasking the Health Care Payment Learning and Action Network with doing more. The White House says its patient-care reforms averted 150,000 re-admissions in 2012-2013 and prevented 50,000 patients deaths while saving about $12 billion in 2010-2013. The administration also wants to tie 30 percent of Medicare payments to the quality of care by 2016 and 50 percent by 2018, mainly through models such as Accountable Care Organizations, which see financial bonuses or penalties based on their performance. While the administration marches on, lawmakers on Capitol Hill will debate budget plans that call for Obamacare’s repeal. Republican-led budget resolutions in both chambers would scrap the 2010 law entirely, although they appear to retain its tax revenue…”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/mar/25/obama-mark-health-laws-anniversary-new-initiative-/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS
Obama touts, GOP attacks 5-year-old health care law
“President Obama’s health care law is 5 years old, and so is the political debate surrounding it. Obama again praised the law Wednesday for insuring more people, reducing costs and saving lives, while Republicans continued to cite rising insurance prices and canceled policies for many. “In a lot of ways, it’s working better than many of us, including me, anticipated,” Obama said during an event at the White House. The president unveiled a new initiative called the Health Care Payment Learning and Action Network, a group of public and private organizations that will look to “share best practices” on how to reduce costs by eliminating unnecessary treatments, tests, paperwork and hospital visits. The White House said that more than 2,800 health care providers and consumer groups have agreed to participate. Since signing the Affordable Care Act in 2010, Obama said that more than 16 million previously uninsured people have been able to get coverage. He said the law has slowed the rate of growth in health care costs and ended discrimination against women and people with pre-existing conditions. “Coverage is up,” Obama said. “Cost growth is at a historic low. Deficits have been slashed. Lives have been saved.” The actual fifth-year anniversary of the law was Monday. Congressional Republicans and other critics say Obamacare has increased costs for many and created an array of bureaucratic problems. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Obama is misleading people about the law. He cited rising premiums and deductibles and said that employers are cutting wages and hours to avoid falling under the requirements of the law. “Every week, new stories pour in from Ohio families, seniors and small businesses struggling to deal with canceled plans and losing access to doctors,” Boehner said. Health care has been at the center of the last two national elections, with mixed results. Obama won re-election in 2012, despite criticism of the Affordable Care Act by opponent Mitt Romney and other Republicans….”
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/03/25/obama-affordable-care-act-john-boehner/70423238/
Democrats take aim at GOP repeal Obamacare ‘gimmick’
“Republicans are determined to pass budgets this week that are balanced and repeal Obamacare. Democrats are just as eager to undermine the GOP’s claims that their budgets balance by calling them “gimmicks.” The biggest gimmick, according to Democrats, is that Republicans would repeal Obamacare but maintain the roughly $1 trillion in revenue that comes from Affordable Care Act taxes. “While claiming to ‘repeal Obamacare’ and stripping away health coverage from millions, the Republican budgets retain the ACA’s savings, claiming they will replace the revenues through unspecified tax reforms,” the White House said in a report on the GOP House and Senate budgets Tuesday. Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, the number-three Democrat in the Senate, pointed out in an email to reporters that the Republican budgets rely on revenue generated by the law. “Fuzzy math, sleight of hand, and arithmetic acrobatics can disguise but not change the fact that the Republican budgets would devastate programs that the middle class relies upon,” Schumer said. The Obamacare repeal provision is not the only feature of the GOP budgets that Democrats have criticized as an accounting trick, but it is the most consequential one. The health care law included a litany of tax increases, including a 3.8 percent surtax on investment income for high earners, a payroll tax hike for high earners, taxes on people who do not buy health insurance, an excise tax on medical devices, and taxes on indoor tanning. Although Republicans have endlessly criticized those individual taxes as job-killers, they maintain that it is legitimate to raise the same amount of revenue through tax reform. “Our budget repeals every bit of Obamacare including the job-destroying tax hikes. At the same time we call for fundamental tax reform that would raise the same level of revenue as the current tax code but in a fairer, simpler fashion,” said William Allison, a spokesman for House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price of Georgia. It’s a criticism the GOP has heard in previous budget battles and one that Price anticipated during the roll-out of the budget, and the Democrats have kept up their attacks on the Obamacare “gimmick” in both the Price budget and the Senate version introduced by Sen. Mike Enzi of Wyoming last week…”
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/democrats-take-aim-at-gop-repeal-obamacare-gimmick/article/2561996?custom_click=rss
Obama mocks GOP on fifth anniversary of Affordable Care Act
“President Obama delivered a staunch defense of the Affordable Care Act on the week of its fifth anniversary Wednesday as he continues his bid to frame the health care law as a success in the face of legal and political challenges from Republicans. “It’s working despite countless attempts to repeal, undermine, defame and defund it,” Obama said during an event at the White House announcing a new network to help implement the law. “We’ve been promised a lot the past five years that didn’t turn out to bet the case: death panels, doom, a serious alternative from Republicans in Congress.” Obama also appeared to endorse a budding bipartisan agreement between House leaders that would permanently change a funding formula for payments to physicians who treat Medicare patients, replacing a system that was created in the 1990s but was regularly “fixed” because Congress did not want to cut payments to doctors with elderly patients. Some Senate Democrats have expressed concerns with elements of the plan. “As we speak, Congress is working to fix the Medicare physician payment system,” Obama said. “I’ve got my pen ready to sign a good, bipartisan bill, which would be really exciting. I love it when Congress passes bipartisan bills I can sign. It’s always very encouraging.” More than 16 million people who were previously uninsured now have medical coverage under the law, which is generally viewed as the president’s signature legislative achievement. But the law, passed by Congress in 2010, is facing a Supreme Court ruling this spring that could wipe out subsidies for millions of them. The administration has not announced a backup if the court rules portions of the law unconstitutional. “Kicking millions off insurance will somehow make us more free?” Obama asked incredulously. Republicans, meanwhile, have continued their political assault, including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), who has been one of the loudest critics and announced this week he will run for the GOP nomination for the White House in 2016. Cruz said this week that although he remains committed to repealing the law, he and his family would sign up for coverage on the federal exchanges because his wife will take a leave from her job at Goldman Sachs when she helps his campaign….”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/03/25/obama-to-tout-health-care-law-on-fifth-anniversary/?wprss=rss_politics
Obama pokes fun at GOP critics of healthcare reform
http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/obama-pokes-fun-at-gop-critics-of-healthcare-reform/
Five years in, Obama taunts GOP over Obamacare’s success
“President Obama declared victory on the five-year anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, saying the law has lived up to its promises, and he poked at Republicans for the doom and gloom predictions he says have failed to live up to the hype. “The bottom line is this for the American people: the Affordable Care Act, this law, is saving money for families and for businesses. This law is also saving lives,” the president said. “It’s working, despite countless attempts to repeal, undermine, defund and defame this law…it’s not the fiscal disaster critics warned about for five years.” Mr. Obama spoke at the kickoff meeting of the Health Care Payment Learning and Action Network, a group that brings the public and private sector together to continue making improvements to the health care system that build upon the law. The president ticked off a list of statistics he says prove the law’s success: a reduction in hospital admission rates and preventable patient deaths, insurance for 16 million Americans who did not have it before and a slowdown in the growth of healthcare spending. But for the president, one of the biggest successes has been Republicans’ failure to undo the law despite dozens of attempts to challenge it in both Congress and the courts. He did not let those challenges go unnoticed. “We have been promised a lot of things these last five years that didn’t turn out to be the case: death panels, doom, a serious alternative from Republicans in Congress,” he said. Mr. Obama says there are two reasons they can’t find an alternative. First, “The Affordable Care Act pretty much was their plan before I adopted it – based on conservative market based principles developed by the Heritage Foundation and supported by Republicans in congress and deployed by a guy named Mitt Romney in Massachusetts to great effect,” he said. And, if they want to take credit for the law, he added, “[T]hey can. I’m happy to share credit.” The second reason, Mr. Obama said, is because health reform is so challenging…”
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/five-years-in-obama-taunts-gop-obamcare-success/
Obama On Obamacare Anniversary: ‘We’ve Made Our Share Of Mistakes’ [VIDEO]
“During a speech marking the fifth anniversary of the passage of the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama noted that “we’ve made our share of mistakes” when it came to the law. “[H]ealth reform is really hard,” Obama said, “and the people here who are in the trenches know that. Good people from both parties have tried and failed to get it done for 100 years, because every public policy has some trade-offs, especially when it affects one-sixth of the American economy and applies to the very personal needs of every individual American.” “And we’ve made our share of mistakes since we passed this law,” he admitted. “But we also know beyond a shred of a doubt that the policy has worked. Coverage is up. Cost growth is at a historic low. Deficits have been slashed. Lives have been saved.”
http://dailycaller.com/2015/03/25/obama-on-obamacare-anniversary-weve-made-our-share-of-mistakes-video/
Obama rebukes GOP for lack of healthcare plan
“Five years after the passage of his signature healthcare law, President Obama took a jab at the Republican Party for still lacking its own plan to replace it. “We have been promised a lot of things these past five years that didn’t turn out to be the case,” Obama said at a White House event marking the healthcare law’s progress. “Death panels. Doom. A serious alternative from Republicans in Congress.” Obama’s scolding of the GOP’s healthcare politics came just minutes after he endorsed a Medicare deal that has been led by Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) — who is also a sworn foe of ObamaCare. He also joked that ObamaCare could not have happened without the help of Republicans. He said his law was influenced by healthcare reform plans from “a guy named Mitt Romney” and the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation. “The Affordable Care Act was their plan before I adopted it,” Obama said. “If they want to take credit for this law, they can. I’m happy to share it.” Obama has consistently chided congressional Republicans for voting more than 50 times to repeal pieces of his healthcare law without offering a full replacement plan. Republicans argue that they have introduced several frameworks for healthcare reform. The GOP push for an ObamaCare “plan B” has intensified in the wake of a Supreme Court case that threatens to gut the healthcare law this spring. A half-dozen plans are now underway from senior Republicans including House Ways and Means Committee Chairmen Paul Ryan (R-Wis.). At the White House gathering to mark the law’s fifth anniversary, Obama said it is working “without a shred of a doubt.” “It’s working despite countless attempts to repeal, undermine, defund and defame this law,” Obama said, rattling off numbers that show the country’s declining uninsured rate and the declining costs of the country’s healthcare overall. He also warned the “folks who are basing their entire political agenda on repealing the law” to get a new strategy — an unstated reference to the Tea Party and 2016 candidates like Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). “You’ve got to explain why kicking millions of people off their insurance is somehow going to make us more free,” he said. “Or why forcing millions of families to pay millions of dollars more is somehow going to make us more secure.”
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/236910-obama-rebukes-gop-over-lack-of-healthcare-alternative
Obamacare: Not as Bad as It Could Have Been, But Still Awful
Health care is worse off, and Americans are less free.
“The Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, celebrates its fifth anniversary this week hanging by the slender thread of a Supreme Court decision, due sometime in June. The anniversary passed with surprisingly little fanfare for such a controversial law. There were few celebrations by supporters or protests by opponents. This may well reflect simple weariness with the issue. The law remains remarkably unpopular. The latest Real Clear Politics average of polls shows 52.5 percent opposed and 42 percent in favor. But much of the public appears to have settled for resigned grumpiness. After all, the worst news — canceled policies, the botched rollout of HealthCare.gov — is mostly in the past. Other expected problems have not come to pass just yet. On the other hand, supporters can point to little evidence of success beyond a modest increase in coverage and the fact that things haven’t been as bad as they might have been. Clearly there has been some increase in insurance coverage as a result of the ACA. If you give something away, essentially for free, some people will take you up on the offer. The most recent Gallup survey shows the uninsured rate fell from 17.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013 to 12.9 percent in the same quarter of 2014. Some of that is likely due to the economic recovery. If people are able to go back to work, they can get coverage through their jobs. The ACA did help, however. The most recent estimates suggest that roughly 11.7 million people have selected plans through the exchanges, and roughly 10 million will eventually have paid enrollment if attrition levels are similar to last year. Surveys suggest that more than half of exchange enrollees were not previously insured, but others were. These people clearly benefited from the availability of subsidized insurance. Through February, 9.25 million more people enrolled in Medicaid in expansion states compared with prior average enrollment. Since studies show that Medicaid provides few if any benefits over being uninsured, it remains an open question whether these people are really better off. Still, if expanded coverage is the sole standard by which Obamacare is to be judged, there have been some gains. Of course, there are also signs that future gains will be harder to come by. States running their own exchanges had slower enrollment growth in the second year than those with federal exchanges, in part because federal states had catch-up growth after the HealthCare.gov fiasco. The slower growth could make it close to impossible to meet the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projection for 2016, when exchange enrollment would have to more than double to meet the 21 million target. That would take something of a minor miracle. Of course there is another side of the coin. Millions of Americans lost coverage that they were perfectly happy with. According to a survey by the Associated Press, at least 4.7 million people lost coverage during the ACA’s first year. This did not encapsulate every state because some states did not keep track, so it is likely the actual number exceeded 5 million. And, it continues. Another 1 million to 2 million lost their plans in the second year. Most did eventually find other coverage, but often with different physician networks or at higher cost. The disruption they suffered should not be minimized. In the “things could be worse” category, premiums do not appear to have risen as fast as ACA opponents predicted. On the other hand, they are still a far cry from the $2,500 in annual premium savings that President Obama promised us. A working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research shows that enrollment-weighted premiums in the individual health-insurance market increased by 24.4 percent more on average across all states than they would have had they simply followed state-level seasonally adjusted trends. That was probably a one-time hit, but premiums are expected to continue to rise, albeit more slowly. In the exchanges’ second year, premiums were estimated to average a 2 to 5 percent increase….”
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/415933/obamacare-not-bad-it-could-have-been-still-awful-michael-tanner
Obama endorses Medicare deal
“President Obama signaled Wednesday he’s prepared to sign a bipartisan deal on Medicare that is emerging in Congress. “I’ve got my pen ready to sign a good bipartisan bill,” the president said during a speech at the White House. “I love when Congress passes bipartisan bills that I can sign, it’s very encouraging,” he joked to applause. The emerging “doc fix” deal would repeal a Medicare rule known as the sustainable growth rate, which triggers automatic cuts in payments to doctors. The package would also extend for two years federal funding under ObamaCare for community health centers and a children’s healthcare program. The House is expected to vote Thursday on the package, which is likely to gain broad bipartisan support. The deal has been in the works for months, with Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) taking a leading role. While House leaders have praised the package, their counterparts in the Senate have yet to endorse it. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) was non-committal Tuesday when asked about the legislation. “I personally am going to wait until we see it having passed the House before we start speculating what we need to do with it, if anything,” Reid told reporters….”
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/236902-obama-endorses-doc-fix-deal
Obama says he’s ready to sign Medicare doctor payment fix
“President Barack Obama said Wednesday that he’s ready to sign good bipartisan legislation to fix Medicare’s doctor payment problem, without endorsing any specific legislation. Without a fix, doctors face a 21 percent cut in Medicare fees, the consequence of a 1990s budget law that Congress has repeatedly waived. The House is expected to vote Thursday on a bill with rare support from both top leaders in the House that would permanently fix the problem. Obama backed the idea of a fix at a White House event marking this week’s five-year anniversary of his signing the Affordable Care Act, while stopping short of backing the House compromise. “As we speak, Congress is working to fix the Medicare physician payment system. I have my pen ready to sign a good bipartisan bill,” he said. The House bills calls for a period of basically stable reimbursements, followed by gradually shifting a larger share of doctors’ pay so that it’s keyed to quality, rather than quantity, of service. The Medicare fix is packaged with an extension of children’s health insurance, funding for community health centers and dozens of other provisions. The outlook in the Senate is unclear…”
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/obama-says-hes-ready-sign-medicare-doctor-payment-fix
Obama says he’s ready to sign Medicare doctor payment fix
“President Barack Obama said Wednesday that he’s ready to sign good bipartisan legislation to fix Medicare’s doctor payment problem, without endorsing any specific legislation. Without a fix, doctors face a 21 percent cut in Medicare fees, the consequence of a 1990s budget law that Congress has repeatedly waived. The House is expected to vote Thursday on a bill with rare support from both top leaders in the House that would permanently fix the problem. Obama backed the idea of a fix at a White House event marking this week’s five-year anniversary of his signing the Affordable Care Act, while stopping short of backing the House compromise. “As we speak, Congress is working to fix the Medicare physician payment system. I have my pen ready to sign a good bipartisan bill,” he said. Asked later if that means Obama would sign the House bill, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the administration doesn’t have a position on it. But Earnest said the White House puts “a lot of stock” into Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi’s position in support of the legislation. Republican House Speaker John Boehner also is behind the bill, in an unusual show of bipartisanship on health care amid the battles over President Barack Obama’s overhaul. “If something bipartisan emerges from the House, that would be good news,” Earnest said…”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/mar/25/obama-base-health-care-payments-on-quality-not-qua/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS
Obama ‘Ready to Sign’ Bipartisan Doc Fix (Updated)
http://blogs.rollcall.com/white-house/obama-ready-to-sign-bipartisan-doc-fix/?dcz=
Congressional Budget Office: Medicare doc bill cost $214B
“The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says the bipartisan House deal protecting doctors from steep cuts in Medicare fees would cost $214 billion over the coming decade. In a letter to House Speaker John Boehner, the budget office says $141 billion of those costs would come from increasing federal deficits. The rest would be paid for with added costs for Medicare beneficiaries, mostly higher premiums for the highest-earning recipients, and payment cuts to nursing homes and other providers. Republicans have been saying some of the agreement’s provisions would produce large savings beginning a decade from now. The budget office says it is hard to make such a projection. It says the measure could yield savings or added costs in the second decade after enactment, with the middle ground being small savings….”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/mar/25/congressional-budget-office-medicare-doc-bill-cost/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS
AARP opposes Medicare bill which reduces its profits
“A major player in health insurance is resisting a bipartisan Medicare bill that would hurt the company’s bottom line. That’s to be expected. Here’s the odd part: The insurance giant is AARP. AARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, is most famous for its $16-a-year membership card that gets you discounts everywhere from the movie theater to the pharmacy. In Washington, AARP is known as the powerful seniors lobby — the organization has reported just under $200 million in lobbying expenses over the past 10 years. But as AARP flexes its muscle on the current Medicare bill, it’s worth recounting AARP’s less public but more lucrative side: its insurance business. AARP officials insist that their lobbying agenda is solely in the interest of seniors, and not at all tied to its insurance business. Indeed, they point to past legislative fights where AARP opposed policies that could have helped its insurance business…”
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/aarp-opposes-medicare-bill-which-reduces-its-profits/article/2561985
Obama’s backing gives Medicare deal a boost
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/overnights/236981-overnight-healthcare-obamas-endorsement-gives-medicare-deal-a
Obama backs Medicare deal, pressuring Senate
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/237021-obama-backs-medicare-deal-pressuring-senate
OBAMA FAILS TO SHOW AFTER BEING INTRODUCED AT OBAMACARE EVENT
The president finally arrived eight minutes after being introduced, but did not offer an explanation or apology to the crowd
“Today at 10:30 AM ET, President Obama was scheduled to speak at the White House’s “Health Care Payment Learning and Action Network Kickoff Meeting.” His introducer, seemingly sensing the president was tardy, gamely tried stretching out his remarks. Then, at around 10:35, apparently receiving word the president was ready to go, the audience was encouraged to applaud for the next speaker, “the president of the United States!” Then an awkward silence fell over the crowd as the president failed to show. Spectators could be seen putting down their cameras, losing hope. Finally, nine minutes later, the president arrived. No explanation or apology was offered…”
https://grabien.com/story.php?id=24975
Off ramp for Obamacare is what the doctor ordered
“Earlier this week, the Affordable Care Act turned 5, and it has not been an easy road. Americans have been saddled with countless delays of key portions of the law, skyrocketing health care costs, complicated tax procedures, and don’t get me started on the Website. In half a decade, one of the only successes Obamacare ever had was uniting the country against it. According to recent polls, approval for the law is as low as 37 percent. It’s no surprise that most Democrats that voted for the law stayed away from talking about the ACA on its birthday. As the country turns away from President Obama’s signature legislation, the U.S. Supreme Court may be doing the same. Oral arguments were heard in early March in the case of King v. Burwell. This case will determine if the president’s administration overstepped its authority in providing taxpayer-funded subsidies to individuals that signed up for health insurance using the federal exchange. A grand total of 37 states could be in jeopardy of losing the Obamacare subsidies they shouldn’t have had in the first place. A clear reading of the law shows states that didn’t setup their own exchange never should have qualified for the subsidies. The ACA plainly states that individuals can qualify for subsidies if they purchase insurance through an exchange “established by the state.” Individuals in states like Georgia, Kansas, Maine, Utah, Wisconsin and many others could face some dramatic hikes in health care costs – estimated at 256 percent – if the Supreme Court strikes down the subsidies in states with the federal exchange….”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/mar/25/nick-novak-ramp-obamacare-what-doctor-ordered/
Obamacare Exemptions: How To Avoid A Penalty
http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikepatton/2015/03/25/obamacare-exemptions-how-to-avoid-a-penalty/
House Officials Not Impressed With Vitter’s Obamacare Probe
“As part of his ongoing investigation into congressional enrollment in Obamacare, Sen. David Vitter is taking on the House of Representatives, asking Speaker John A. Boehner to push House officials to comply with his inquiry. But neither the speaker’s office nor other House officers seem likely to do so. “I am writing to advise you of my efforts and also to request any assistance that you or your office can offer in obtaining the cooperation of the House of Representatives in this important investigation,” the Louisiana Republican wrote in a letter sent Tuesday to Boehner. On Wednesday, the Speaker’s office indicated it will defer to House Chief Administrative Officer Ed Cassidy on this matter — and Cassidy has already argued the House does not have to provide information to the Senate committee. Vitter’s office did not return multiple requests for comment Wednesday. In February, Vitter used his position as chairman of the Senate Small Business Committee to launch an investigation into congressional health care enrollment in the District of Columbia’s small-business exchange. Vitter argued that Congress should not be allowed to enroll in the exchange because it is not a small business. He requested information from House and Senate officials regarding Congress’ small-business exchange applications. A recent taxpayer lawsuit led by the watchdog group Judicial Watch obtained the congressional applications through the Freedom of Information Act. In the applications, the House and Senate claimed to have fewer than 50 employees and were also classified as “state/local government.” Vitter sought to uncover which congressional employees filled out the applications and whether offices were directed to “falsify” them. In response to Vitter’s request, Cassidy wrote in a letter to Vitter on Feb. 19 that the Senate committee does not have jurisdiction over House internal operations. But that did not satisfy Vitter, who sent an email and another letter to Cassidy requesting the House cooperate with his investigation. When he did not receive the information, he decided to take the issue straight to Boehner. “Despite three separate requests, as of yet officials of the House of Representatives have not cooperated at all in this investigation,” Vitter explained to Boehner. “Their refusal gives the impression that they may be attempting to hide information from the American public about how the House of Representatives successfully bypassed the law to qualify for taxpayer funded benefits.” However, since the speaker’s office indicated Wednesday it is deferring to the CAO, it is unlikely the House will provide Vitter with any information, given that Cassidy previously argued the House is not under Vitter’s jurisdiction…”
http://blogs.rollcall.com/hill-blotter/house-officials-not-impressed-with-vitters-obamacare-probe/?dcz=
Jindal health care budget has gaps, cuts, unsure financing
“Gov. Bobby Jindal’s hospital privatization deals that provide care for uninsured patients are precariously balanced in next year’s budget recommendations, with one-third of their financing reliant on tax changes uncertain to win passage from state lawmakers. The House Appropriations Committee was told Wednesday that the governor’s $9.5 billion health care spending plan for the fiscal year that begins July 1 relies on $407 million from Jindal’s proposal to shrink spending on certain tax breaks. Most of that uncertain money, $332 million, is plugged into payments for Jindal’s contracts that turned over the LSU-run hospitals and clinics to private managers. If those dollars don’t show up, hospital payments would be cut from more than $1.1 billion to $815 million under the governor’s budget. “If that (money) is not seen, do you foresee a possibility of any of these partnerships coming back to the table, backing out, being revised?” Rep. Patricia Smith, D-Baton Rouge, asked Health and Hospitals Secretary Kathy Kliebert. Kliebert replied: “Certainly, I would see the possibility of the partners coming back and some requesting to be out of the contract, out of their agreement, or they would have to significantly reduce services.” Already, the private operators of the state-owned hospitals and clinics say they need $142 million more than Jindal’s budget provides – even with the money from the tax break scale-backs. Nearly $88 million of that request would pay for the hospital in New Orleans, which will shift services from an interim facility to a larger, new hospital this summer…”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/mar/25/jindal-health-care-budget-has-gaps-cuts-unsure-fin/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS
Cruz eyes insurance via Obamacare, a law he vows to scrap
“GOP presidential candidate Ted Cruz could soon be buying his family’s health care coverage through the Affordable Care Act he has vowed to dismantle. Cruz, whose Senate filibuster against the law he derides as “Obamacare” led to a partial government shutdown in 2013, is looking for health insurance because his wife, Heidi Cruz, took an unpaid leave from her job in the Houston office of Goldman Sachs as Cruz announced his presidential bid. That meant the family would soon lose access to health insurance through Mrs. Cruz’s job, triggering a need for the Cruz family to find a new policy. The first-term senator from Texas said he is looking at options available on a health insurance exchange, or a clearinghouse of policies available to Americans who don’t receive coverage through their employers. Obama’s health care law created the exchange system. Under an amendment to the law crafted by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the government can only offer members of Congress and their staff health care insurance that’s sold through an exchange. “We will presumably go on the exchange and sign up for health care, and we’re in the process of transitioning over to do that,” Cruz said in an interview with The Des Moines Register…”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/mar/25/cruz-eyes-insurance-via-obamacare-a-law-he-vows-to/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS
Ha Ha, Ted Cruz Has To Comply With A Law He Wants To Repeal, Ha Ha Ha
““Surely Senate Democrats can provide better evidence that a law #works than the fact that people with large public profiles comply with it.” So says Jim Antle. Check out his must-read piece about the long-term thinkers who are crowing about Ted Cruz complying with Obamacare, “even though” he wants to repeal it. I don’t have anything to add to Antle’s take, except for the barrage of tweets I’ve already fired off at these geniuses. So here you go:…”
http://dailycaller.com/2015/03/25/ha-ha-ted-cruz-has-to-comply-with-a-law-he-wants-to-repeal-ha-ha-ha/
Media freakout over Ted Cruz buying ObamaCare insurance reaches day two
http://hotair.com/archives/2015/03/25/media-freakout-over-ted-cruz-buying-obamacare-insurance-reaches-day-two/
Ted Cruz’s spokesman: Obamacare decision still in the works
“Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, the first major Republican candidate to jump into the 2016 presidential race, raised some eyebrows by telling news outlets in recent days that he had plans to sign up for health insurance through Obamacare — a law he’s repeatedly vowed to scrap. “We’ll be getting new health insurance and we’ll presumably do it through my job with the Senate, and so we’ll be on the federal exchange with millions of others on the federal exchange,” he said Tuesday on CNN. Mr. Cruz’s wife, Heidi, is taking unpaid leave from her job at Goldman Sachs, leaving the family without health care coverage. A Cruz spokesman told The Associated Press on Tuesday, however, that Mr. Cruz and his family had not yet settled on an option or the financial implications of the choice. “Let’s let them make a decision on what coverage they’ll get before we start speculating on every variable,” spokesman Rick Tyler said…”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/mar/25/ted-cruzs-spokesman-obamacare-decision-still-works/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS
Now Ted Cruz says he’s probably signing up for Obamacare, and he’s definitely still trying to kill it.
“Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) will continue to make repealing Obamacare a central part of his presidential campaign, he said Wednesday — even though he’s still likely going to enroll in the program. Cruz and his family have been on his wife Heidi’s health insurance plan for the past few years. Heidi Cruz took a unpaid leave of absence from Goldman Sachs to help her husband run for president — a leave that doesn’t include benefits. “As a consequence, we’re like a lot of other people who are transitioning between jobs looking for health care and we are transitioning over. We will in all likelihood get health care through my employer,” Cruz said on the Mike Gallagher Show Wednesday morning. As a member of Congress, that means the Affordable Care Act. Cruz said he and his family will likely go on the exchange, but that he will not accept a 75 percent employer contribution to his health care costs that is he is eligible for as a member of Congress. Cruz slammed the administration’s decision to continue the congressional employer contribution, saying that Obama “illegally ignored the law and granted an exemption for Congress.” Cruz said he will buy insurance for himself and his family with his own money. “I’m going to purchase health insurance with my own funds for my family like millions of Americans, and one of the real challenges is Obamacare has so decimated the individual market there are very few options for someone looking for health insurance,” he said. And despite having to get coverage for his family through the law, Cruz said he still plans to repeal it if he is elected president. “It is my intention to campaign every day on repealing Obamacare, and in 2017 if we win this race I hope and expect to sign legislation repealing every word of Obamacare,” he said…”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/03/25/now-ted-cruz-says-hes-probably-signing-up-for-obamacare-and-hes-definitely-still-trying-to-kill-it/?wprss=rss_politics
Media make fun of Ted Cruz Obamacare experience
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/media-make-fun-of-ted-cruz-obamacare-experience/article/2562055?custom_click=rss
Cruz: Media Playing “Gotcha Games” With My Possible Obamacare Enrollment
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2015/03/25/cruz_media_playing_gotcha_games_with_my_possible_obamacare_enrollment.html
Fournier: Cruz Signing Up For Obamacare “Not A Big Story;” Supporters Are Spinning This Into His Favor
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2015/03/25/fournier_cruz_signing_up_for_obamacare_not_a_big_story_supporters_are_spinning_this_into_his_favor.html
White House welcomes Ted Cruz to Obamacare
“The White House said Wednesday that Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, a big opponent of Obamacare, will learn to enjoy the benefits of the program. “If those reports are true, then what he will find is the same thing that millions of Americans across the country have found, which is that there are good, quality, affordable health care plans that are available because of the Affordable Care Act,” said White House press secretary Josh Earnest. Mr. Cruz, who announced his bid for the Republican presidential nomination this week, said he will probably shop for health insurance on an exchange because his wife, Heidi, is taking a leave of absence from her job while he campaigns for 2016. Members of Congress without insurance are required to sign up through health care exchanges created by Obamacare. Asked by a reporter to comment on the irony, Mr. Earnest didn’t take the bait. “I have noticed that a number of other people have pointed out the irony,” he said. “I’m seeking to merely point out the common experience that it seems that the Cruz family may be sharing in.”…”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/mar/25/white-house-welcomes-ted-cruz-obamacare/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS
IMMIGRATION:
Appeals court sets April 17 date for hearing on Obama immigration action
“A court hearing has been set for April 17 on whether a temporary hold on President Barack Obama’s immigration executive action should be lifted, a federal appeals court announced Tuesday. Obama’s executive actions, which would permit as many as 5 million people who are in the U.S. illegally to remain here, were put on hold by a preliminary injunction issued last month by U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen in Brownsville, Texas. The injunction was issued at the request of a coalition of 26 states, led by Texas that filed a lawsuit to overturn Obama’s immigration plan. The states argue Obama’s action was unconstitutional. The Justice Department earlier this month filed an emergency motion with the 5th Circuit, asking it to lift Hanen’s preliminary injunction, arguing the order interferes with the Homeland Security Department’s ability to protect the country and “secure our borders.” The states say they will suffer irreversible economic harm if the injunction is lifted. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans said each side will have an hour to make their arguments about the injunction during the April hearing. The scheduling of the hearing was part of a court order that granted a request by the Justice Department to expedite its appeal of Hanen’s Feb. 16 ruling. The Justice Department had asked Hanen to lift the injunction while the case was appealed to the 5th Circuit. But Hanen put that request on hold until he heard from federal prosecutors about allegations that the U.S. government had misled him about the implementation of part of the immigration plan. During a court hearing last week, a Justice Department attorney apologized to Hanen for any confusion about how more than 108,000 people received three-year reprieves from deportation before the judge made a decision on the injunction. Hanen has yet to decide if he will issue sanctions against the Justice Department if he decides that the U.S. government had begun implementing an expansion of a program that protects young immigrants from deportation if they were brought to the U.S. illegally as children…”
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/03/25/appeals-court-sets-april-17-date-for-hearing-on-obama-immigration-action/
Immigration Reform 2015: Federal Appeals Court To Hold Oral Arguments On Injunction Blocking Obama Executive Orders
“The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit said Tuesday it will hold a two-hour oral argument session in New Orleans next month to determine if it should place a stay on U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen’s injunction against President Obama’s executive orders on immigration. Hanen approved the injunction request last month by the 26 states that allege Obama’s actions were unconstitutional. The oral arguments, which will take place in New Orleans on April 17, will determine if the injunction will be temporarily blocked while the federal government appeals Hanen’s decision, according to Politico. In addition, the Court of Appeals approved the federal government’s request to expedite a merits appeal process related to the states’ lawsuit against the Obama administration and set a schedule through May. “The rule of law is at the very heart of our case against President Obama’s lawless immigration action,” said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a statement. “We are a nation of laws, and we are proud to lead a bipartisan coalition of 26 states fighting this administration’s unilateral and unconstitutional use of executive power. We will vigorously oppose the president’s illegal amnesty plan in court.” The 5th Circuit stressed its order was not an attempt to weigh in on Hanen’s current dispute with Justice Department attorneys who may have misled him on when the federal government would enact certain aspects of Obama’s plan to shield some 5 million illegal immigrants from deportation. “Nothing in this order is intended to affect or constitute a comment on any ongoing proceedings in the district court,” the order said. Hanen presided over a federal hearing last week in Brownsville, Texas, during which he said he would consider sanctions against the Justice Department if he finds sufficient evidence that officials lied to him about Obama’s program. Justice Department attorney Kathleen Hartnett allegedly told Hanen that the expansion of a program to provide more than 100,000 illegal immigrants with protection from deportation and a three-year window of deferred actio