Good News: 8% claim #Obamacare has lowered their insurance rates...

On the other hand, 47% of Americans say their health insurance costs have gone up!

Via Breitbart:

Despite President Barack Obama and Democrat’s bold promise that Obamacare would lower the typical American family’s health insurance premiums by $2,500, a devastating new Washington Post/ABC News poll finds that just 8% of Americans report lower health care costs because of Obamacare.

Worse for Democrats, 47% of Americans say their health insurance costs have gone up because of the president’s signature legislative achievement.

Nervous Democrats have already blasted Obama for putting them in a weak position heading into the Nov. 4 midterm elections. Last month a Democratic member of Congress told the New York Times Obama is now “poisonous” to Democrats. And top Democratic pollster Celinda Lake said, “I’m worried this could be a disaster.”

Keep on reading…

Amusing: Walmart offers better insurance than Obamacare...

Liberal union heads explode in 3...2...1...

Via The Washington Examiner:

New Obamacare health insurance enrollees may feel a pang of envy when they eye the coverage plans offered by Walmart to its employees.
For many years, the giant discount retailer has been the target of unions and liberal activists who have harshly criticized the company's health care plans, calling them “notorious for failing to provide health benefits” and "substandard.”
But a Washington Examiner comparison of the two health insurance programs found that Walmart's plan is more affordable and provides significantly better access to high-quality medical care than Obamacare.
Independent insurance agents affiliated with the National Association of Health Underwriters and health policy experts compared the two at the request of the Examiner.
Walmart furnished employee benefit information to the Examiner. Neither Obamacare advocate Families USA nor the United Food and Commercial Workers, which backs anti-Walmart campaigns, responded to Examiner requests for comment.

Poll: 8 in 10 blame Obama and democrats for people losing their healthcare plans...

The other 20% are brain dead. 

Via Daily Caller:

One in four Americans have either lost their health insurance because of Obamacare or know someone who has, according to a new poll shared first with The Daily Caller.
The YG Network Congressional District Poll of 1,652 likely voters in 11 competitive U.S. House districts indicates Obamacare will be a powerful issue that motivates voters in important races in 2014.
Twenty-seven percent of respondents claimed knowing someone or personally receiving a health-insurance cancellation notice. Seventy-three percent said they didn’t have that experience.
In the same poll, 57 percent said these cancellation notices would be one of the most important issues in the 2014 election cycle. More than eight in 10 of those polled blamed both congressional Democrats and President Barack Obama for the cancellations.
Keep on reading…

Will private insurance numbers decline come January 1?

Chart via Jim Hoft

That is starting to look like a likely scenario. As many as 5 million have had their insurance canceled and less than 400 thousand signed up for Obamacare through the end of November. Of course, some of the canceled may have bought insurance outside the exchanges. It is also true many of those who signed up for Obamacare may never actually pay and get insured.

Via The Weekly Standard:

Insurers privately tell Bob Laszewski that they think more people will have lost insurance by January 1 than the number who have signed up for Obamacare by January 1.
“I was out making some client calls this week with a number of different carriers and they know exactly how many policies they canceled and how many who reupped. And they know how many people have come in through the exchange,” says Laszewski. “And I didn’t find one of them who thought they were going to be net ahead on January 1. They all think they’re going to net behind on January 1. That’s where it’s trending so far.”
So far, at least 4.8 million Americans have received insurance cancellations notices, but Laszewski predicts that the total Obamacare enrollment will be less than half that number on January 1.
“My guess is that we’ll have somewhere around a million and a half people signed up for Obamacare on January 1 in the states and in helathcare.gov,” he says. The big question then, he adds, is “why have we gone through this whole dislocation of the American health insurance system if only a million and a half to two million buy health insurance?”

The man who cost 5 million their health insurance says Christmas is no time for Republicans to cost 1 million their unemployment insurance...

Chutzpah...



As a bonus, Obama claims "government is us." I guess that doesn't leave him responsible for anything.

Hilarious Video: Hitler Finds Out his Health Policy has been cancelled (X-Angel Version)

Obama says he is sorry people are losing their healthcare plans, but they still can't keep them...

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

So Obama says he is sorry for being a big liar, but doesn't offer any solution. He will be doing everything he can to deal with it. Whatever that means.

Via NBC News:

President Obama said Thursday that he is "sorry" that some Americans are losing their current health insurance plans as a result of the Affordable Care Act, despite his promise that no one would have to give up a health plan they liked.
"I am sorry that they are finding themselves in this situation based on assurances they got from me," he told NBC News in an exclusive interview at the White House.
"We've got to work hard to make sure that they know we hear them and we are going to do everything we can to deal with folks who find themselves in a tough position as a consequence of this."

Insurance companies very worried about delay of the individual mandate...

Without the individual mandate, the whole house of cards collapses. To be honest, it's hard to feel sorry for insurance companies. They supported Obamacare. Having said that, it would be a disaster if the individual market collapsed.

Via The National Journal:

That tone is changing, though, in the wake of HealthCare.gov’s woes. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., is working on a bipartisan bill to delay the individual mandate for a year, a move that has set off alarms inside the industry. “The individual mandate is inextricably linked to the insurance-market reforms included in the health care reform law,” said Robert Zirkelbach, a spokesman for America’s Health Insurance Plans, the industry’s leading trade organization.
The health care law essentially strikes a deal with insurance companies: They are required to cover people with preexisting conditions, and they can’t charge people more based on those conditions. Both of those policies will cost insurers money—potentially, a lot of it. So the law also includes three tools to minimize their financial risks: the individual mandate; subsidies to help people afford insurance; and a defined window to buy coverage.

If lawmakers start fiddling with those incentives, the equation gets worse for insurers. There are minor changes that the industry could probably weather, maybe easily. But just the idea of weakening those safeguards is enough to make insurers nervous. A handful of states tried in the 1990s to enforce guaranteed coverage, but without the safeguards that Obamacare includes for insurers. Premiums in those states skyrocketed, growing by double digits each year until they were so expensive that the reforms ended up increasing the number of uninsured people.
Democrats protective of the Affordable Care Act have held the line so far on changes to its important provisions. The individual mandate might not be politically popular, but Obamacare won’t work without it, so the party was stuck with it. That put Democrats and insurers on the same team.

Change: Obamacare will cause a 32 percent increase in the individual plan in 2014...

Some areas of the country will face an increase as high as 80 percent. So much for bending the cost curve down...

THURSDAY, April 18, 2013 (Kaiser Health News) — Few aspects of the Affordable Care Act are more critical to its success than affordability, but in recent weeks experts have predicted costs for some health plans could soar next year.

Now health law supporters are pushing back, noting close ties between the actuaries making the forecasts and an insurance industry that has been complaining about taxes and other factors it says will lead to rate shock for consumers.

“Most actuaries in this country — what percentage are employed by insurance companies?” Sen. Al Franken, a Minnesota Democrat, asked an actuary last week at a hearing of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

The committee was discussing a study published last month by the Society of Actuaries (SOA) predicting that, thanks to sicker patients joining the coverage pool, medical claims per member will rise 32 percent in the individual plans expected to dominate the ACA exchanges next year. In some states costs will rise as much as 80 percent, the report said.

9% fewer businesses now offer medical coverage since Obamacare passes, HHS Sec. Sebelius: "The private market is in a death spiral."

But..but...Obama promised we could keep our health insurance if we like our health insurance...

The truth is Democrats planned to destroy the private health insurance market all along. The set a bomb in Obamacare.

That would be the provision of the law, called the medical loss ratio, that requires health insurance companies to spend 80% of the consumers’ premium dollars they collect—85% for large group insurers—on actual medical care rather than overhead, marketing expenses and profit. Failure on the part of insurers to meet this requirement will result in the insurers having to send their customers a rebate check representing the amount in which they underspend on actual medical care.

This is the true ‘bomb’ contained in Obamacare and the one item that will have more impact on the future of how medical care is paid for in this country than anything we’ve seen in quite some time. Indeed, it is this aspect of the law that represents the true ‘death panel’ found in Obamacare—but not one that is going to lead to the death of American consumers. Rather, the medical loss ratio will, ultimately, lead to the death of large parts of the private, for-profit health insurance industry.

REP. PETER ROSKAM: How about when the president said you can keep your health care coverage if you like it? And yet, the reality is, according to Bloomberg at least, 9 percent fewer businesses are offering medical coverage than in 2010. There, the rhetoric didn’t meet the reality, did it?

SEC. KATHLEEN SEBELIUS: Well again, Congressman, what you’re seeing – it wouldn’t have mattered if we had passed the Affordable Care Act or not. The private market is in a death spiral.

Your Obamacare Health Insurance Hike is on the Way

President Obama promised his health care reform bill would lower health insurance premiums by 3000% $3000. Apparently, he failed to inform insurers of this great news. They are hiking health insurance premiums as much as 9% to cover the additional mandates required by Obamacare.

The WSJ reported:

Health insurers say they plan to raise premiums for some Americans as a direct result of the health overhaul in coming weeks, complicating Democrats' efforts to trumpet their signature achievement before the midterm elections.

Aetna Inc., some BlueCross BlueShield plans and other smaller carriers have asked for premium increases of between 1% and 9% to pay for extra benefits required under the law, according to filings with state regulators.

These and other insurers say Congress's landmark refashioning of U.S. health coverage, which passed in March after a brutal fight, is causing them to pass on more costs to consumers than Democrats predicted.

The rate increases largely apply to policies for individuals and small businesses and don't include people covered by a big employer or Medicare.

Avoid the New Heath Care Coverage Tax. Join the Amish.

Under the Democrats health care reform bills, it is mandatory for Americans to purchase coverage. If they don't, penalties of several hundred to thousands of dollars will apply. The Amish have received an exemption from the requirement to purchase insurance. If the Amish can get an exemption, we have to wonder why our worthless congressmen didn't get one for ordinary Americans. Communities like the Amish may be the only places left with any liberty when the Obama administration ends. Anyone feeling nostalgic for a horse-drawn buggy ride?

Pricewaterhouse Coopers: Private Insurance Premiums Will Skyrocket Under Baucus Bill

Health Insurance companies engaged PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to examine the impact of the Baucus Health Care reform bill on private insurance premiums. The results are startling. The audit examined the impact of four key changes in the health care reform legislation and found private health insurance premiums will rise by 111% over the next 10 years if these provisions are enacted.

Here is what this means in dollar values.

This analysis shows that the cost of the average family coverage is approximately $12,300 today and could be expected to increase to approximately:

# $15,500 in 2013 under current law and to $17,200 if these provisions are implemented.

# $18,400 in 2016 under current law and to $21,300 if these provisions are implemented.

# $21,900 in 2019 under current law and to $25,900 if these provisions are implemented.

This analysis shows that the cost of the average single coverage is $4,600 today and could be expected to increase to:

# $5,800 in 2013 under current law and to $6,400 if these provisions are implemented.

# $6,900 in 2016 under current law and to $7,900 if these provisions are implemented.

# $8,200 in 2019 under current law and to $9,700 if these provisions are implemented.

Democrats and the White House claim this analysis is unfair because it does not consider subsidies to the poor and lower middle class. Of course, not everyone will receive these subsidies. The insurance industry responds that subsidies don't change the fact prices will increase.

Who runs the most heartless health care plan? Medicare does.

Democrats criticize and vilify health insurance companies as heartless capitalists. In July, Nancy Pelosi said of insurance companies, "They are the villains in this. They have been part of the problem in a major way." President Obama has criticized insurance companies by using a false story about a man who died after being denied cancer treatments from his insurer. So, what insurance plan has the highest medical claim rejection rate? Medicare does.

Click image for a larger view. Image found here.

Isn't Medicare the public option for seniors?

Senate Democrats refuse to vote to support Obama's pledge you can keep your current insurance

President Barack Obama has pledged you can keep your current health insurance under his health care reform plan.

From Organizing for America:


Senator Orrin Hatch, Utah (R), introduced an amendment to back up Obama's pledge.


Of course, the amendment failed. Here are the Democrats that voted against it.

ROCKEFELLER: No.

CONRAD: No.

BINGAMAN: No.

KERRY: No by proxy.

LINCOLN: No.

WYDEN: No.

SCHUMER : No by proxy.

STABENOW: No.

CANTWELL: No.

NELSON: No.

MENENDEZ: No.

CARPER: No by proxy.

Pelosi goes nuts over ObamaCare

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi makes outrageous accusations against health insurance companies.

From HotAir:

“They are the villains in this,” Pelosi said of private insurers. “They have been part of the problem in a major way. They are doing everything in their power to stop a public option from happening. And the public has to know that. They can disguise their arguments any way they want, but the fact is that they don’t want the competition.”…

“It’s almost immoral what they are doing,” added Pelosi, who stood outside her office long after her press conference ended to continue speaking to reporters, even as aides tried in vain to usher her inside. “Of course they’ve been immoral all along in how they have treated the people that they insure with pre-existing conditions, you know, the litany of it all.” (accent is mine)

Many Uninsured Don't Want Health Insurance

Democrats would lead us to believe 47 million people are uninsured because they can't afford or get health insurance. The numbers don't support this idea. Of the alleged 47 million uninsured, 9.1 million make $75,000 per year and another 11 million declined coverage from their employers. What is the real goal of this program? Perhaps President Obama and the Democrats want us to pay health insurance for the estimated 10 million foreigners who are included the 47 million number.

From St. Petersburg Times:

Many people assume that the 47 million Americans who don't have health insurance simply can't afford it.

But the fact is, some don't want it.

Among the 47 million are 9.1 million who earn $75,000 or more a year and 11 million who declined coverage from their employers, according to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Employment Policies Institute. That also includes many who are young, single and healthy, plus a growing number who rely on alternative and faith-based therapies usually not covered by traditional insurance plans.

These are the voluntarily uninsured, people who may not welcome Washington's efforts to make sure that all Americans have some kind of coverage.

Talk of mandatory health insurance coverage is getting louder. On Thursday, Senate leaders announced that their legislation would require people to carry health insurance or face fines of more than $1,000.

"One thing for everybody doesn't make sense," said June O'Neill, a professor of economics at City University of New York and co-author of "Who are the Uninsured?'' The report, issued last week by the Employment Policies Institute, calls the 47 million figure a "relatively coarse measurement" that doesn't help craft effective policy.

O'Neill divides the uninsured population by:

• Income: 43 percent make more than 21/2 times the poverty level, or $55,125 for a family of four.

• Age: half are under 35.

• Marital status: half are single.

Concludes O'Neill: "There are other things they would rather do with their money" than buy insurance. (accent is mine)

Why Would Wal-Mart Support Mandatory Employer Provided Health Insurance?

Why would Wal-Mart embrace President Barack Obama's call to require all large employers to offer health insurance? This is the stance Wal-Mart has taken.

From The Hill:

With Wal-Mart’s endorsement of a legal requirement that employers provide health benefits to their workers, the nation’s largest employer has broken from the business community.

The so-called employer mandate is adamantly opposed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Federation of Independent Business and virtually every major business trade association in Washington. But the backing of Wal-Mart, which employs about 2 million people, could give a big boost to President Obama and Congress’s effort to levy such a requirement on companies.

Moreover, Wal-Mart declared its support for the employer mandate in a joint letter to Obama with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the liberal Center for American Progress, which is run by John Podesta, a close associate of the White House.

The reason turns out to be it would hurt their competitors more than them.

From Wizbang:

Why would they want a mandate? Read on to find out:

Wal-Mart recently said that 94 percent of its employees now have insurance, either through the company or a family member.

The law would not affect them, so endorsing it is a cost free decision. But all those other retailers who don't offer health insurance will find their costs going up. Grocery store chains like SuperValu, Kroger, and Safeway, department stores like Target, big box stores like Home Depot and Lowes, electronic retailers like Best Buy will all find themselves with higher costs if the health insurance mandate becomes written into law. Wal-Mart is just begging the government to impose a mandate on them that will cost them nothing, but saddle their competitors with a huge new expense. I can't wait until Obama says it's for the children.

Left Wing Democrats Plan to Put Private Health Insurance Out of Business

Liberal Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) has admitted that Obama's health care plan will put private health insurance out of business. This video went viral on YouTube and was allegedly removed at the request of Democrats. The video is back up for now. Here is the video:

Dem Rep: Obama Goal to Destroy Health Care System(video via YouTube)

From the video:

"And next to me was a guy from an insurance company who then argued against the public health insurance option saying it wouldn't let private insurance compete; that a public option would put the private insurance industry out of business (cheers)... My single payer friends, he was right. The man was right. Here's what I told him. I said excuse me sir the goal of health care reform is not to protect the private health insurance industry. And, I am so confident in the supiority of a public health care option that I think he has every reason to be frightened."

Yesterday, Rep. Jan Schakowsky was on Fox News trying to back peddle and mislead about her statement. Watch the above video before this one.

Rep. Schakowsky (D-IL) Responds to Video Posted by Verum Serum(video via YouTube)