CNN Smacks Republicans for Creating 'Uncertainty' About ObamaCare

NewsBusters.org ^ | July 9, 2012 | Matt Hadro

[Kaslin]

CNN's Christine Romans played Obama spokesperson on Monday's Starting Point and accused Republicans of creating "uncertainty" about ObamaCare in trying to repeal it. That fits what has seemingly become a CNN line to Republicans of "stop fighting this law and get in line."

"I'm wondering, should Congresspeople be spending more time helping their constituents comply with the law rather than continuing all this uncertainty about it?" Romans challenged Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.). Ironically, CNN's own poll shows a majority in favor of Congress repealing the law. [Video coming soon.]

CNN has scoffed at Republican attempts the repeal the law before. Hours after the Supreme Court upheld the law, anchor Brooke Baldwin asked Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) if he wasn't being a "sore loser" for continuing to fight ObamaCare.

Romans continued to grill Blackburn about helping her constituents comply with ObamaCare. "I mean, I hear more from Republicans saying 'we're going to make this not come true,' not 'here's how we're going to help you get your business to comply'," she lamented.

Romans also revealed she counsels small business owners with less than 50 employees that the law won't crush them, but Blackburn fought back, insisting health care costs for businesses are going up because of ObamaCare. "[W]hen they talk to their insurance provider, the insurance provider says because of the new regulations that are going to be contained in Obamacare, this is what is happening to your insurance cost," she told Romans.

A transcript of the segment, which aired on July 9 on Starting Point at 7:48 a.m. EDT, is as follows:

CHRISTINE ROMANS: All right, Congress is back to work this morning after a Fourth of July recess. And in just two days, House Republicans plan to call a vote to repeal the President's health care overhaul law. But it's mostly symbolic, a symbolic vote, because any repeal effort would likely die in the Democratic-controlled Senate. And of course, the Supreme Court has ruled on this, it is the law of the land, health care reform.

Yet Republicans want to fight it to the bitter end, and I'm wondering, should Congress people be spending more time helping constituents comply with the law rather than continuing all of this uncertainty about it?

Rep. MARSHA BLACKBURN 9R-Tenn.): Well, when you have 2,300 new regulations and 158 new federal bureaucracies that are created by this law, then there's a lot of uncertainty and a lot of "we don't know exactly how it's going to be.

ROMANS: Do you have people in the back office who are answering the phone calls and saying if you have fewer than 50 workers, small businesses, don't worry, it doesn't apply to small businesses who have fewer than 50 workers –

BLACKBURN: We have got all sorts of information on our web site, Facebook.

ROMANS: So you're going to help people comply?

BLACKBURN: Yes. Yes. It's the law of the land.

(...)

ROMANS: When I talk to small business people they think this is going to crush them and then I say, wait a minute, you have fewer than 50 employees, this does not ref – but they're hearing –

BLACKBURN: But it does affect them.

ROMANS: – they're hearing their Republicans representatives saying – give me an example.

BLACKBURN: I will. A constituent last week, they have six employees in their company. Their health insurance went up 54 percent this current year. Next year, it is going to go up another 56 percent. They had to let one employee go.

ROMANS: But it's been going up for everyone. Health care costs and premiums have already been going up.

BLACKBURN: And it is going up even more –

ROMANS: With or without health care reform.

BLACKBURN: – and when they talk to their insurance provider, the insurance provider says because of the new regulations that are going to be contained in ObamaCare, this is what is happening to your insurance cost.

ROMANS: So how did you counsel them? Did you counsel them that they should move – they should take the –

BLACKBURN: I do not counsel them. That is not – when they contact us to get provisions or information, we give that to them. But there are five things the American people want to us do, to get rid of this and to put in its place

[MrChips]

Well, I stand to lose about $4,000 a year because of Obamacare, and I still won’t have any health insurance, so these twits can go jump in a lake.

[Venturer]

This woman would have a job far more appropriate to her intelligence is she was working at the Chicken ranch.

[AmonAmarth]

CNN will tow the liberal line to the bitter end...they can go to hell

[molson209]

If people would stop posting things said on CNN no one would ever know LOL

[SpaceBar]

CNN’s biggest audience are people waiting at departure gates.

[Rodm]

Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings.
For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation.

[Ken H]

When are these news people going to wake up and realize how badly they've been snookered by Genius John Roberts? His plan was SO clever, he managed to trick Ginsburg, Kagan et al into voting with him. I'm just surprised that Thomas, Scalia et al failed to grasp its BRILLIANCE.

/dripping sarcasm

[SuziQ]

I would say unbelievable, but sadly, considering the MSM, it's all TOO believable.

There has been uncertainty about Obamacare since BEFORE it was passed, since no one was able to SEE it before that time. What we've learned about it since hasn't given Republicans in general, and conservatives in particular, any better feeling about it.

[Graybeard58]

BLACKBURN: – and when they talk to their insurance provider, the insurance provider says because of the new regulations that are going to be contained in ObamaCare, this is what is happening to your insurance cost.

I got my letter from my insurer in October 2010, stating exactly that and getting even more specific as to why they were rasing my premiums. Effective in Jan 2011, children to age 26 will be covered plus no more maximum life time pay out, previously it had been $5,000,000. They raised my premiums 30% at that time.

Another letter in October 2011, same thing, another 30% increase, stating specifically because of the "Affordable Care Act".

I cannot afford any more of this "free" health care.

[BigSkyFreeper]

Another reason why CNN is completely unwatchable. They’re nothing more than cheerleaders for the left. They continue to pull this sort of crap on a daily basis and wonder why in the hell they keep bleeding viewers.

[Lancey Howard]

Is it any wonder why CNN is dying?

[pepsionice]

You have a bunch of dimwits meet up and mandate folks have health insurance, or pay $1k a year in fee (which progressively will go up year after year, if you read the fineprint)....you will still have people without health insurance. A humble guess is at least five million will still go without health insurance.

So around 2015, another group of Congressmen and Senators will meet (Democrat of course), and go for version two of the health insurance law, which mandates the mandate, with a higher tax fee.

Around 2017, another group of Congressmen and Senators will meet (Democrat of course), and for version three of the health insurance law, which mandates the mandate for the mandate, with a higher tax fee.

Eventually, health insurance will be so high and of such a low and inferior quality, that a significant number of Americans will realize you are better off without health insurance, and pay the tax. Then Republicans will hand out a tax credit of such proportion....that there is no longer any tax existing over the whole mess.

[MrChips]

I doubt that it will take that long. When people realize that they can pay a far cheaper penalty than the insurance will costs them, I think there will be a HUGE number of people who just pay the penalty. Millions of people now with inexpensive catastrophic insurance will go without (like me) and the total number of people without insurance will actually increase!

[IamConservative]

I cannot afford any more of this "free" health care.

The system is already redistributive in nature. I have health insurance and "pay" $650 for a lipid profile. My mother, on Medicare + supplement, pays $150 for the same test. All Obamacare has done is make the redistribution more pronounced and moved health policies even further away from true insurance models.

IMO, the solution would be to: 1) Do away with employer pay plans. 2) Let insurance compete nationally for our business with true insurance products we can choose from that meet our needs. We see evidence this model will work with elective procedures like Lasik, plastic surgery, etc.