Free Republic

Reid: More funding needed to prevent ObamaCare from becoming 'train wreck' By Alexander Bolton - 05/01/13 05:45 PM ET Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) says he shares colleagues’ concerns that the Affordable Care Act could become a “train wreck” if it’s not implemented properly. Reid warned that people will not be able to choose health insurance plans on government health exchanges if federal authorities lack the resources to set them up and educate the public. “Max said unless we implement this properly it’s going to be a train wreck and I agree with him,” Reid said, echoing a warning...

The biggest political problem faced by so-called “liberals” and so-called “progressives” in President Obama’s second term is how to prevent voters from holding them politically responsible as the public comes to realize how badly they were lied to during the first Obama term to win passage of Obamacare. Most supporters of Obamacare embraced it because of a principled belief that everyone should have access to essential healthcare. But even the establishment, still Democrat dominated, CBO admits that after 10 years of implementation, Obamacare will still leave 30 million uninsured. We will see below why that is a woeful underestimate. [Snip]...

Jobless claims stopped their record-breaking, fearsome, FOUR-WEEK job-creation rampage today as the BLS reported that initial claim rose- again- by more than economists expected. “First-time jobless claims rose by 16,000 to 357,000 in the week ended March 23,” reports Reuters, “the highest level in more than a month, Labor Department data showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 48 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for an increase to 340,000. The four-week average climbed from the lowest level in five years.” Economists, says Reuters, were expecting claims to come in between 330,000 at the low end and 355,000 at the...

Medicare and Medicaid do not pay for sex-change surgery, but that may change. In response to a formal request from a transsexual woman, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced on March 28 that it has launched a formal “reconsideration” of its current refusal to cover surgical treatment for “gender identity disorder.” …

A watershed moment in the ongoing disaster of ObamaCare, as Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius finally admits that health insurance premiums are rising because of the President’s health insurance takeover, per the Wall Street Journal: Ms. Sebelius’s remarks come weeks before insurers are expected to begin releasing rates for plans that start on Jan. 1, 2014, when key provisions of the health law kick in. Premiums have been a sensitive subject for the Obama administration, which is counting on elements in the health law designed to increase competition among insurers to keep rates in check. The administration has...

The nation’s leading group of financial risk analysts says medical claims costs—the biggest driver of insurance premiums—will jump an average 32 percent for individual policies under President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul. … By 2017, the estimated increase is about 80 percent for Ohio, 62 percent for California and more than 20 percent for Florida. …

A new study finds that insurance companies will have to pay out an average of 32 percent more for medical claims under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. What does that mean for you? It could increase premiums for at least some Americans. If you are uninsured, or you buy your policy directly from an insurance company, you should pay attention. But if you have an employer plan, like most workers and their families, odds are you don't have much to worry about. The estimates from the Society of Actuaries could turn into a political headache for the Obama administration...