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KOMO Reporter in Seattle asks Pelosi directly about jail time for not buying Health Insurance, Pelosi dodges, because she knows he's right..(2 Videos)

Dark secrets of AARP finally exposed to light Executives, employees backed Obama, Dems by 14-to-1 ratio Posted: November 10, 2009 By Chelsea Schilling © 2009 WorldNetDaily When the American Association of Retired Persons – one of the wealthiest advocacy groups in the U.S. – began backing the $1.2 trillion House health bill despite concerns about Medicare cuts, death panels and assisted suicide, many members shredded their membership cards, saying the organization no longer represents their interests – but AARP's history of left-leaning activism on a host of issues may surprise its constituents. AARP's Nov. 5 health bill endorsement left many...

As health care legislation moves toward a crucial airing in the Senate, the White House is facing a growing revolt from some Democrats and analysts who say the bills Congress is considering do not fulfill President Obama’s promise to slow the runaway rise in health care spending. Mr. Obama has made cost containment a centerpiece of his health reform agenda, and in May he stood up at the White House with industry groups who pledged voluntary efforts to trim the growth of health care spending by 1.5 percent, or $2 trillion, over the next decade. But health economists say it...

... Maine is the Charlie Brown of health care. The state’s legislators have tried for decades to fix its system, but their efforts have always fallen short: health insurance premiums are still among the least affordable in the nation, health care spending per person is among the highest and hospital emergency rooms are among the most crowded. Indeed, many overhauls to the system have done little more than squeeze a balloon — solving one problem while worsening another. ... Maine’s history is a cautionary tale for national health reform. The state could never figure out how to slow the spiraling...

By MIKE LEE mikelee@star-telegram.com FORT WORTH — The City Council voted 6-3 late Tuesday to expand its anti-discrimination ordinance to include transgender people, capping a marathon debate over a series of gay-rights proposals that were forwarded after a controversial inspection of a gay bar. A majority of council members spoke in favor of the proposal when it was introduced last week. The inspection at the Rainbow Lounge in June left a man injured and sparked protests in the city. Fort Worth officials appointed a task force to recommend ways to mend fences with the gay community shortly afterward. The vote...

This really takes the cake: “What I think is appropriate is that in the same way that everybody has to get auto insurance and if you don't, you're subject to some penalty, that in this situation, if you have the ability to buy insurance, it's affordable and you choose not to do so, forcing you and me and everybody else to subsidize you, you know, there's a thousand dollar hidden tax that families all across America are -- are burdened by because of the fact that people don't have health insurance, you know, there's nothing wrong with a penalty.” -...

Health Care Reform: Failure to buy health insurance in the just-passed health care bill could get you five years in jail with a $250,000 fine. How can violating a law that's unconstitutional be a felony? The passage last Saturday night of the House health care measure by a fragile 220-215 margin may well prove to be a Pyrrhic victory. In polls, townhall meetings and tea parties, Americans have shown they don't want a "reform" that costs a staggering $1.2 trillion yet fails to meet the left's desire of insuring all the uninsured. And they certainly don't want a bill that...

In the 2008 presidential election, young adults voted overwhelmingly for Barack Obama. This voting pattern has generated much discussion and no small amount of head scratching, principally because the main consequence of these young adults’ electoral choice appears to be a huge tax on them. Ultimately, the question becomes: Were they duped or were they stupid? In late 1999, I went to Washington, DC, for a political forum that included all the Republican presidential contenders. Each candidate made a presentation followed by questions and answers. My question was for Senator John McCain. A significant element of Mr. McCain’s political platform...

The House tries to pass Obamacare in a big hurry, breaking how many Constitutional rules/regulations?? FOX news coverage can be seen online at http://www.blinkotv.com/ (select "HD Test")

Today, Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee Dave Camp (R-MI) released a letter from the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) confirming that the failure to comply with the individual mandate to buy health insurance contained in the Pelosi health care bill (H.R. 3962, as amended) could land people in jail. The JCT letter makes clear that Americans who do not maintain “acceptable health insurance coverage” and who choose not to pay the bill’s new individual mandate tax (generally 2.5% of income), are subject to numerous civil and criminal penalties, including criminal fines of up to $250,000...

WASHINGTON - If Democratic leaders manage to push a massive health care overhaul through the House of Representatives this weekend, they'll have to do it without one of Maryland's Democratic congressmen. Freshman Rep. Frank Kratovil, facing one of the toughest re-election fights in the country next year, announced Friday that he opposes the measure. His stance could complicate efforts by Democratic leaders to secure approval of the legislation this weekend.

Last week, Bill O’Reilly had me on The Factor to talk about the health care bills. He correctly pointed out that a public plan might obliterate private alternatives. But I was puzzled by the reason he gave: " A taxpayer funded company would have a huge advantage because profit motive is nonexistent." I understand the logic. Last quarter, insurance companies averaged a 2% profit... In theory, a non-profit government insurance company would be able sell insurance for 2% less... But that’s not how the economics work out in real life. The quest for profit actually lowers costs. In categories where...

Current Democratic health-care proposals will have unintended consequences—bad ones. ___ ... even if you accept the idea of mandating health insurance for everyone—an idea open to plenty of objections, both philosophical and practical—there’s a major problem with the Senate Finance Committee’s bill. In order to work, a government-imposed penalty would have to be severe enough to encourage most of the uninsured to buy insurance. The Senate bill, however, includes only modest penalties, with fines that increase gradually to $750 per year by 2017. That’s far less than the thousands of dollars that healthy people would have to pay for coverage....

Young adults are the nation’s largest group of uninsured — there were 13.2 million of them nationally in 2007, or 29%, according to the latest figures from the Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit research group in New York. They borrow leftover prescription drugs from friends, attempt to self-diagnose ailments online, stretch their diabetes and asthma medicines for as long as possible and set their own broken bones. When emergencies strike, they rarely can afford the bills that follow.

Washington is captivated by the Senate melodrama over the so-called public option, salivating at the ring of Harry Reid's political bell (see below). But the most important health-care questions continue to be about the policy substance—particularly those that Democrats don't want asked. Foremost among them is: How will ObamaCare affect insurance premiums in the private health-care markets? Despite indignant Democratic denials, the near-certainty is that their plan will cause costs to rise across the board. The latest data on this score come from a series of state-level studies from the insurance company WellPoint Inc. At the request of Congressional delegations...

Uncertainty over health care costs is preventing small businesses from adding jobs, part of the reason for the so-called jobless recovery, said by some to be underway. Gary Fields paints a compelling picture of the worries and doubts faced by small businesses, in the Wall Street Journal. One employer: "... cut overtime for many of his 150 employees in anticipation of facing fresh health-care costs. He's worried about getting hit by higher taxes next year, which would cut into income to pay for expansion, raises, bonuses, new product lines and delivery trucks." It is always safer to postpone spending, in...

WASHINGTON – In the health care debate, Democrats and their allies have gone after insurance companies as rapacious profiteers making "immoral" and "obscene" returns while "the bodies pile up." But in pillorying insurers over profits, the critics are on shaky ground. Ledgers tell a different reality. Health insurance profit margins typically run about 6 percent, give or take a point or two. That's anemic compared with other forms of insurance and a broad array of industries, even some beleaguered ones. Profits barely exceeded 2 percent of revenues in the latest annual measure. This partly explains why the credit ratings of...

While Democrats in Congress have spent months demonizing insurers as greedy villainous monsters, from Barack Obama to Nancy Pelosi to Alan Grayson, the American media stood mute rather than report on the extent of this supposed greed. Why? It’s not as if these companies don’t have annual reports, or that business media haven’t tracked their performance. The publicly-traded companies have their bottom lines exposed for all to see, and yet the media has steadfastly whistled and looked askance rather than inform people about the extent of their demonic, villainous, greedy, filthy lucre. The AP finally got around to it today...

AMERICANS seem to like the idea of broadening health insurance coverage, but they may not want to be forced to buy it. With health care costs high and rising, such government mandates would make many people worse off. The proposals now before Congress would require just about everyone to buy health insurance or to get it through their employers — which would generally result in lower wages. In other words, millions of people would be compelled to spend lots of money on something they previously did not want, at least not at prevailing prices. Estimates of this burden vary, but...

Health Reform: House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer says it's constitutional to mandate insurance coverage. Congress, he insists, has "broad authority" to make us buy things to provide for the "general welfare." Democrats' Alice In Wonderland interpretation of what they consider to be a "living Constitution," where words mean what they say they mean based on political considerations, gets more bizarre by the minute. (snip) We've been down this road before. In 1994, Hillary Clinton's secretive health care task force was trying to nationalize health care. "A mandate requiring all individuals to purchase health insurance would be an unprecedented form of...

Hoyer Says Constitution’s ‘General Welfare’ Clause Empowers Congress to Order Americans to Buy Health Insurance Wednesday, October 21, 2009 By Matt Cover (CNSNews.com) – House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said that the individual health insurance mandates included in every health reform bill, which require Americans to have insurance, were “like paying taxes.” He added that Congress has “broad authority” to force Americans to purchase other things as well, so long as it was trying to promote “the general welfare.” The Congressional Budget Office, however, has stated in the past that a mandate forcing Americans to buy health insurance would...

If a government-run health insurance plan winds up in the trash bin when all the debate in Congress is over, it won't be due to any lack of effort on Nancy Pelosi's part.The House Speaker is standing her ground on demands for a government-run plan, even as President Obama's advisers signaled over the weekend that the "public option" is just that -- desirable, but not mandatory in the massive health care overhaul being debated in Congress.The inclusion or disappearance of a government plan to compete with private insurers will leave one of the Democratic power-brokers basking in the credit --...

Not later than February 1, 2014, the Comptroller General shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on . . . (ii) the availability of affordable health benefits plans, and (iii) the ability of individuals to maintain essential health benefits coverage . . . Not later than April 1, 2014, the appropriate committees of Congress shall report legislation implementing the recommendations contained in the report . . . [or] any member of the House of Representatives or the Senate, respectively, may introduce legislation implementing the recommendations contained in the proposal and such legislation shall be placed on the...

Without any idea what it is doing, Congress is about to pulverize the American medical system, put the health insurance companies out of business, and set the federal budget on a runaway course that may end up wrecking the entire economy. So if you'd like to know why all this is happening, here's a brief review: The "crisis" in health insurance exists because the government is already mismanaging the system. The problem began in 1945 when Congress passed the McCarran-Ferguson Act. Even though insurance had long been sold across state lines, the states were allowed to regulate, with the benign...

From Section 6002 on page 1435: INCLUSION OF COST OF EMPLOYER-SPONSORED HEALTH COVERAGE ON W–2The definition of taxable income is revised to include "the aggregate cost of applicable employer-sponsored coverage". . . "The amendments made by this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2009."

Obama Threatens Insurers’ Anti-Trust Exemption By PETER BAKER Published: October 17, 2009 WASHINGTON — President Obama mounted a frontal assault on the insurance industry on Saturday, accusing it of using “deceptive and dishonest ads” to derail his health care legislation and threatening to strip the industry of its longstanding exemption from federal antitrust laws. In unusually harsh terms, Mr. Obama cast insurance companies as obstacles to change interested only in preserving their own “profits and bonuses” and willing to “bend the truth or break it” to stop his drive to remake the nation’s health care system. The president used his...

The long-simmering tension between insurers and congressional Democrats is erupting into open warfare, with lawmakers stepping up their push to revoke a key federal protection for the insurance industry. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday called for an amendment to the health care reform bill that would remove the long-standing antitrust exemption for insurers, echoing a push by other Democrats to crack down on the industry. “The health insurance’s antitrust exemption is one of the worst accidents of American history," Schumer said. "It deserves a lot of the blame for the huge rise in premiums that has made health insurance...

Americans are used to seeing some products and services getting better and cheaper all the time. But some services don’t, and they’re important ones: health care and education are the best examples. The market for health-care services is a lot like the market for cellular phones: It is driven by technology and innovation and, because the capital costs of building a cellular network or a hospital MRI clinic are substantial, the markets tend to be more efficient when there are larger numbers of participants. If you could take an iPhone back to 1982, it would seem like something out of...

<p>This link takes you to an article concerning health insurers' opposition to the dems health bill as well as a video of America's Health Insurance Plans' Robert Zirkelbach on FOX Business discussing insurance companies turning against Dem. health-care bill.</p> <p>Insurance companies aren't playing nice any more. Their dire message that health care legislation will drive up premiums for people who already have coverage comes as a warning shot at a crucial point in the debate, and threatens President Barack Obama's top domestic priority.</p>

What if you, and every member of your family, had the chance to save $4,000 each?. Would you be interested? Under the terms of what's being called "the Baucus bill" -- Washington-speak for the bill the Senate Finance Committee will vote on tomorrow -- that is how much you could save by dropping your health insurance. People might have thought that health care reform would lead to an increase in the number of people getting health insurance coverage. Indeed, the Congressional Budget Office claims the Senate Finance Committee's health care bill will reduce the number of uninsured in 2019 by...

The latest installment of "change we can believe in" is sweeping reform of the financial services industry. Central to proposed Democrat reforms is the establishment of a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency. This agency would have broad authority to oversee and regulate financial service products like mortgages and credit cards and will be responsible to protect consumers from "unfair" and "abusive" products.

Health Bill Would Make it Harder to Deduct Medical Expenses, but that Won’t Affect Middle Class, Democrat Claims By Karen Schuberg and Adam Brinkley (CNSNews.com) – A Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee claims that a provision of the Senate health care reform bill will not make it more difficult for middle-class Americans to deduct medical expenses from their annual income taxes. But Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) says that is because “most Americans” don’t itemize their income tax deductions – and the provision would affect primarily “upper income people.” “I believe it’s 60 percent of Americans don’t itemize their taxes,...

In a blistering new attack, the health insurance industry said Sunday that health care legislation drafted by Senate Democrats would drive up premiums, rather than making coverage more affordable, as the White House contends. A lobby for the industry, America’s Health Insurance Plans, focused its criticism on a bill likely to be approved Tuesday by the Senate Finance Committee. “The overall impact will be to increase the cost of private insurance coverage for individuals, families and businesses above what these costs would be in the absence of reform,” said Karen M. Ignagni, president of the trade association. Democratic aides on...

After working for months behind the scenes to help shape health care reform, the insurance industry is now sharply attacking the emerging plan with a report that maintains Senate legislation would increase the cost of a typical policy by hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars a year. ... Late Sunday, the industry trade group America's Health Insurance Plans sent its member companies a new accounting firm study that projects the legislation would add $1,700 a year to the cost of family coverage in 2013, when most of the major provisions in the bill would be in effect. Premiums for a...

The White House fired back Monday at the health insurance industry for issuing a study that claims the health care reform bill working its way toward a key vote Tuesday will raise the cost of individual coverage by hundreds of dollars a year. Linda Douglass, spokeswoman with the Office of Health Reform, said in a statement that the timing of the study, released just hours before the Senate Finance Committee is set to vote on its bill, raises questions about its legitimacy. She joined other Democratic officials in trying to keep the analysis from gaining traction. "This is a self-serving...

As the “public option” sinks slowly beneath the waves of public opposition, the “individual mandate” — a federal requirement that every American adult purchase health insurance, or pay a heavy “excise tax” (in the language of the Senate Finance Committee bill) for failing to do so — has become the linchpin of President Obama’s latest health care “plan.” Although this mandate has been heavily criticized on economic, political, and even moral grounds (in 1994 the Congressional Budget Office found it “an unprecedented form of federal action,” comparable only to the military draft, when proposed as a part of HillaryCare), the...

Like Jim Vicevich, I like Shep Smith, but has he "sold out"on the healthcare issue? It’s classic Shep … he gets pretty hot. Senator Barrasso from Wyoming must have been scratching his head and wondering if he had suddenly been transported to MSNBC. I like Shep Smith very much. I think he is honest and sincere, and this certainly will not change my opinion of him, but this is just classic “wrong”.

More than half of all House Democrats will ask House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to reject proposals to tax expensive health insurance policies, as part of health legislation aimed at covering the uninsured and reining in health-care costs. The letter to Pelosi was signed by 154 House Democrats, led by Rep. Joe Courtney of Connecticut and senior members of the House Ways and Means Committee. The lawmakers plan to discuss their opposition to the tax at a press conference Wednesday, after delivering the letter to Pelosi. The tax on so-called Cadillac plans is a central feature of the health-care bill...

Health Reform Subsidy Calculator -- Premium Assistance for Coverage in Exchanges This tool illustrates premiums and government assistance under the types of reform proposals being considered in Congress for people under age 65 who purchase coverage on their own in an Exchange or Gateway and are not covered through their employer, Medicare or Medicaid. While the proposals considered would not take effect until 2013, the results are presented in terms of 2009 premium and income levels to enable better comparisons to current circumstances. The tool allows the user to start with the provisions from one of several proposals and examine...

Defense health officials didn't do the Obama administration any favor Wednesday when they announced a "small" increase in the daily fee that military retirees under 65, their families and covered survivors must pay for inpatient care in civilian hospitals under TRICARE Standard starting Oct. 1. $110 a day 'extremely disappointing' The jump, in fact, for working age retirees and their families is $110 per day, a 20.6 percent increase. TRICARE Standard is the military's fee-for-service insurance option. The inpatient cost share for retirees under age 65 and their family members was increased to $645 a day from $535. The actual...

"As soon as I sign this bill," President Obama promised in his prime-time address to Congress, "it will be against the law for insurance companies to drop your coverage when you get sick." Thunderous applause followed. It's easy to understand why - no one wants to lose their insurance coverage when they need it most. But here's a news flash: It's already illegal for insurance companies to drop patients once they become ill. It has been for over a decade. The American people should take note, as President Obama is using this non-existent crisis to justify massive federal intervention in...

Public support for universal health insurance is declining, according the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll. About half, 51 percent, say the federal government should guarantee health insurance for all Americans, down slightly from 55 percent in July and 64 percent in June. Support for universal health insurance drops to 38 percent if it is suggested that the cost of health insurance would increase, and to 36 percent if taxes went up. And only 33 percent said the United States should guarantee health insurance for all its citizens, if the federal budget deficit would increase as a result. (See related...

I haven't paid much attention to the upcoming 2010 Census, until the recent death of part-time Census worker Bill Sparkman, whose death under unclear circumstances is being shamelessly exploited by left-wing blogs. I went to the Census website, and took a look at the questions which will be asked, to see whether the questions were as intrusive as some claim. Yes, the Census questions are highly intrusive, asking about household plumbing, how many people live in the house, etcetera. On a personal level, my natural inclination would be to say "none of your damn business" as to many of the...

Over four days and three late nights of meetings, Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee have largely stood up to Republicans’ attacks on a proposal to overhaul the health care system. But behind the scenes and away from the C-Span cameras, their united front has given way to intraparty tensions, not just in the committee but in Congress generally. ... Senate Democrats have a filibuster-proof majority of 60 lawmakers. But a number of them are centrists, and the party cannot afford many defections, given Republicans’ nearly unanimous opposition. Further, seeking a semblance of bipartisanship, the White House still wants Ms....

The Wyden-Bennett plan seeks to achieve universal coverage by creating a new private insurance system for the United States. It would establish state-based purchasing pools, with nearly all Americans (except those in Medicare and the military) required to enroll in a private insurance plan made available through their state’s pool. Employer-based coverage would likely be reduced substantially over time (few, if any, small employers likely would continue to offer coverage although a number of large employers probably would do so, at least initially), and Medicaid and SCHIP would be converted into supplemental insurance programs that “wrap around” the private insurance...

House Democrats are considering an insurance tax to help pay for their health care overhaul plan, even though such a funding scheme is bitterly opposed by labor unions that are among the party's most loyal constituencies. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Friday a tax on high-cost health insurance plans is "under consideration" as Democrats search for consensus within their ranks before taking a bill to the House floor later this fall. "We just have to see how much money we need for what," Pelosi said. "And if we're taking the bill down in cost, there are other provisions in...

Free Speech: The Senate votes against transparency as the administration silences a private insurer for exposing the president's health care proposal. Meanwhile, AARP is allowed to tout reform as it awaits payday. We weren't surprised when the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday voted 12 to 11 against allowing two weeks for the Congressional Budget Office to complete its cost analysis of the health care bill pushed by Montana Democrat Max Baucus and to put the bill online in its original wording. Instead, the Senate panel passed another amendment to require the committee to post the full bill online in "conceptual"...

I was impressed with the CEO of this company on TV today. He was on CNBC with Erin Burnett and Mark Haines. He built a website to help people sort through and get quotes from different health insurance companies. You can even search for plans that have your doctor. http://www.ehealthinsurance.com This is EXACTLY the kind of Free-market thinking that more people in Washington need to support!! If your insurance company ticks you off then you can shop around for another insurance company. But if we have government care, if they tick you off you can't shop around for another government.

Revised: The Health Insurance Black Hole Tweet @CoachChic to @larrymwalkerjr Tell me: If Obama wants us to buy-into a healthcare package, why not just give us what congressmen get? I'm serious here. Facts With more than 1.8 million civilian employees (1), the Federal Government, excluding the Postal Service is the Nation’s largest employer. The U.S. Postal Service employs an additional 636,000 (2) full-time employees. Politicians receive the country’s best care - at taxpayers' expense. While over 46 million Americans (disputed) remain uninsured and millions more underinsured, members of Congress receive health-related services that many in the U.S. will never...

Really? Really?? OK, I totally get the whole IS-OUGHT distinction thing. The Constitution IS what the Supreme Court says it is. The Constitution OUGHT TO BE what the text says. Although a little jurisprudentially sophisticated for my taste, I think I grasp this. But let me ask what has to be a simple question for my more "realist" compadres. Do they see no difference between using the power over interstate commerce to prohibit the growing of an intoxicating plant and mandating that every man, woman and child buy a service from a private company or face a hefty fine? Not...