Joe Stanley
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No Time to Waste
Unless legislators develop a detailed plan for setting up a state-run health benefits exchange in the next two months, the federal government likely will step in to design and run one to ensure that Virginians get access to comprehensive, affordable and secure health insurance choices, according to a new report released Wednesday by The Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis.The full report, No Time to Waste, is here.
Given the makeup of both chambers in Virginia at the moment, I think it is actually in our interest to continue stalling on this one.
(via tcifiscal)
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Ugh! Mitt Romney already going squishy on Obamacare
Dear Paul Ryan,
Would you please explain to Mitt Romney why he’s wrong about mandating coverage for pre-existing conditions. Please insist to him that he stay strong for a full repeal of Obamacare.
growing weary,
The American People
from TPM:
itt Romney said Sunday that he likes parts of ‘Obamacare’ and will keep key provisions involving pre-existing conditions and young people.
“I’m not getting rid of all of health care reform. Of course there are a number of things that I like in health care reform that I’m going to put in place,” he said on NBC’s “Meet The Press. “One is to make sure that those with pre-existing conditions can get coverage. Two is to assure that the marketplace allows for individuals to have policies that cover their family up to whatever age they might like.”
The remarks could have huge implications as they signal a marked shift from Romney’s strong, unequivocal support for full repeal of the Affordable Care Act, which he has consistently held since the Republican primaries.
Politically, the pivot risks drawing the ire of conservatives, who have been adamant that Republicans repeal the law in its entirety if elected. It’s a major gamble that could reflect Romney’s need to win over more independent voters, who support those provisions.
From a policy standpoint, however, the coverage guarantee for pre-existing conditions is economically untenable without other provisions of ‘Obamacare’ — most notably the individual mandate that requires Americans purchase insurance, which experts say is necessary to broaden the risk pool and prevent an upward spiral in costs.
The author here is right. The individual mandate is the only mechanism that makes guaranteed coverage work. The two are inseparable. You cannot mandate coverage for pre-existing conditions without also mandating that all Americans buy health insurance. To do so would with 100% certainly bankrupt the American healthcare system.
And why in the world would he continue the mandated freeloading of 26 year olds on their parents health insurance?
These things have already raised the cost of healthcare premiums. Premiums will not go down until they are repealed.
Hopefully Romney will come out and clarify his remarks by saying that health insurance companies are allowed to do so if they can negotiate it but not that they’re mandated.
Fellow conservatives, I would encourage you to contact Mitt Romney and make your voice heard.
I hate to break it to everyone against Obamacare, but these provisions are here to stay. Every year they stay in place public support for them grows, and Republicans are already having to adjust their positions as a reflection of this. The only possible stumbling year will be 2014, but after that the window of opportunity even for staggered dismantlement of the system closes. This was our Social Security fight, for better or worse (I say better), and it will become equally as entrenched.
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Obama: Don’t refight the battle when I’ve won it. Only when I’ve lost it….
Breaking News: Elected officials spend their finite resources and time on pursuing policy and political objectives they consider valuable.
Further Breaking News: Obama is an elected official. -
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“More than just about any other state, we will benefit from Medicaid expansion because our benefit levels are so low.” —John McInerney, health policy director at the Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis.
The Richmond Times Dispatch reports that with Medicaid expansion, up to 425,000 of the 1 million uninsured Virginians can be eligible for health coverage.
The Supreme Court will decide within the next two weeks on the Affordable Care Act, which includes a Medicaid provision. A decision to turn over just the individual mandate would leave the Medicaid expansion in place.
(via 2012swingstates)
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Supreme Court Arguments
““This was a train wreck for the Obama administration…This law looks like it’s going to be struck down. I’m telling you, all of the predictions including mine that the justices would not have a problem with this law were wrong… if I had to bet today I would bet that this court is going to strike down the individual mandate.””
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CNN’s Jeffrey Toobin on the way the wind seems to be blowing during the Supreme Court hearings.
I think this is a bit of hyperbole, but at least hearing the audio, it is clear that Obama’s team did not have their shit together.
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“Alas, to the surprise of no one, the justices announced last week that they would not permit the Care Act arguments to be broadcast live or on video. Instead, interested people will be able to hear the argument, but only in the afternoon, after the day’s argument has concluded. …It’s the sort of show that millions of Americans deserve to see live, as it unfolds, and not on tape delay. To me, no matter how the justices come down on the merits of the Affordable Care Act, they’ve already made a big mistake.” — Andrew Cohen, contributing editor at The Atlantic • Arguing against the Supreme Court’s refusal to broadcast the upcoming arguments over the Affordable Care Act. Cohen makes the case from something of a populist position, saying that to disallow or dissuade a broad swath of the American public from viewing the case, while Washington lobbyists and politicos fight for the right to pack the 400-seat room, represents an “unequal justice.” A worthwhile read on the access, and lack thereof, of common people to the functions of government. source (via • follow) -
“Medicaid providers in the 27 states suing the gov’t over Obama’s healthcare law will see $207B extra in Medicaid revenue if the law is upheld.” -
The Internal Contradictions of Mitt Romney “This week, President Obama will release a budget that won’t take any meaningful steps toward solving our entitlement crisis,” Romney said in a statement e-mailed to reporters. “The president has failed to offer a single serious idea to save Social Security and is the only president in modern history to cut Medicare benefits for seniors”.
It takes skill to say both of these lines back to back with a poker face.
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The health reform law’s biggest threat: 30,000 too few doctors If the law succeeds in extending health insurance to 32 million more Americans, there won’t be enough doctors to see them. In fact, the anticipated shortfall of primary-care providers, by 2015, is staggering: 29,800.
Either extend more visas and lower the regulations requiring foreign doctors to often re-do residencies in the U.S., or begin to curb federal aid for college based on market demands (ideally also having colleges charge different for the vastly different costs of each major+degree).
