Free Republic

For folks increasingly leery of President Obama’s plan to radically overhaul America’s health-care system, or 17 percent of the nation’s economy, all this could hardly have come at a better time — that is, fiscal troubles aplenty within Repubican Mitt Romney’s brainchild, Massachusetts’ “grand experiment” in “universal” health care. Initiated on Mr. Romney’s gubernatorial watch in 2006, this “experiment” has fallen on hard times, and predictably so. Even though the Bay State commenced its program with a far smaller percentage of uninsured residents than exists nationwide, “RomneyCare” is threatening to bankrupt the state. Budgeted for Fiscal Year 2010 at $880...

Former GOP Governor Helped Make 2006 Reform Reality. BOSTON -- Three years after the inception of Massachusetts’ landmark health reform legislation, which required every citizen to buy insurance, NewsCenter 5’s Ed Harding wondered what former Gov. Mitt Romney, a key political architect of the plan, thought of its progress. Call it protecting his legacy, well-earned pride, or seeing the glass as half-full, but Romney says Massachusetts deserves an ‘A.’ “It’s working like we had hoped it would work,” the one-time republic presidential candidate said. “We got nearly everybody in Massachusetts health insurance, which really, something people didn't think was possible.”...

This was the week that was for Barack Obama's efforts at health care reform (although many more will follow). The following five developments made clear that America is not prepared for what it must do, although the outlines of what this is are emerging. (1) Liberal Americans ask the question, "How can a civilized nation fail to provide health care coverage for so many of its citizens?" Their answer is a government sponsored health care system like those in European countries. But while HuffPo readers say "aye" to a single payer, universal coverage system, they say "What, me worry?" to...

Pages 317-325: ‘‘(C) PROHIBITION ON EXPANSION OF FA22 CILITY CAPACITY.—Except as provided in para23 graph (2), the number of operating rooms, pro24 cedure rooms, or beds of the hospital at any 25 time on or after the date of the enactment of VerDate Nov 24 2008 12:51 Jul 14, 2009 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00317 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 C:\TEMP\AAHCA0~1.XML HOLCPC July 14, 2009 (12:51 p.m.) F:\P11\NHI\TRICOMM\AAHCA09_001.XML f:\VHLC\071409\071409.140.xml (444390|2) 318 1 this subsection are no greater than the number 2 of operating rooms, procedure rooms, or beds, 3 respectively, as of such date. 4 ‘‘(D) ENSURING BONA FIDE OWNERSHIP...

The unlawful federal government's takeover of the financial, banking and insurance industries was just a prelude to the planned complete unconstitutional Marxist takeover of all of America. Your nearly trillion dollar per month spending habits have bankrupted our country. You're running up our taxes and the national debt, saddling future generations with enslaving burdens of taxes and debt that they can never repay. You've taken over car manufacturing companies, illegally wiping out the stockholders, bondholders and distributors and awarding the remaining assets to the labor unions or other political cronies of your choice. You are wasting trillions of our hard...

(This version is much more easily searched, as the index (snip below) is hotlinked SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF DIVISIONS, TITLES, AND SUBTITLES. DIVISION A--AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE CHOICES Sec. 100. Purpose; table of contents of division; general definitions. TITLE I--PROTECTIONS AND STANDARDS FOR QUALIFIED HEALTH BENEFITS PLANS Subtitle A--General Standards SEC. 101. REQUIREMENTS REFORMING HEALTH INSURANCE MARKETPLACE. SEC. 102. PROTECTING THE CHOICE TO KEEP CURRENT COVERAGE. Subtitle B--Standards Guaranteeing Access to Affordable Coverage SEC. 111. PROHIBITING PRE-EXISTING CONDITION EXCLUSIONS. SEC. 112. GUARANTEED ISSUE AND RENEWAL FOR INSURED PLANS. SEC. 113. INSURANCE RATING RULES. SEC. 114. NONDISCRIMINATION IN BENEFITS; PARITY...

Local Tea Party patriots held an anti-Obama Care protest at Senator Claire "ACORN" McCaskill’s district offices on Delmar Boulevard today. The protest was organized by Americans for Prosperity and the St. Louis Tea Party Coalition. McCaskill's office manager locked the doors, pull down the blinds, called the cops and forced the protesters across the street.

President Obama will hold a primetime presidential news conference from the White House on Wednesday at 9pm EDT.

Here is video showing protesters in St. Louis, Missouri who showed up outside Democrat Sen. Claire McCaskill's office there to protest President Obama's Government Health Care Plan. When they showed up, the office blinds were up. But after they arrived, the blinds were closed, no one would come to the door, and the protesters said they were "flipped off by a young man with both hands" inside the office. The natives are getting more restless around the country. But it appears the Democrats just don't want to listen. . . . . . (Watch Video)

BARACK OBAMA has been pushing leaders in both chambers of Congress to produce health-care bills before the August recess, with an eye to enacting reform before the end of the year. After weeks of wrangling among the three different House committees with partial jurisdiction over the matter, the House has pipped the Senate to the post. On Tuesday July 14th Nancy Pelosi, the speaker, unveiled a grand strategy for health reform that is so far to the left of American political discourse that even moderate Democrats in the Senate (never mind the incensed and irrelevant House Republicans) held their noses....

In case you forgot, or in case you haven't been persuaded yet to be in opposition to Obamacare, just realize that around 1/3 of those that will be covered by Obamacare will be illegal aliens. Nice long lines for you and the elderly... In his book "Fleeced," Dick Morris talked about this and documents it. Just thought you would like to know...

On Page 425 of Obama’s health care bill, the Federal Government will require EVERYONE who is on Social Security to undergo a counseling session every 5 years with the objective being that they will explain to them just how to end their own life earlier. Yes...They are going to push SUICIDE to cut medicare spending!!! And no, I am NOT SH—ing YOU! So those of you who voted for Obama have now put your own parents in dire straights...Congratulations! Also, planned denial of medical care for seniors. Click the source for audio.

Barack Obama’s sales pitch on health care reform claims that authorizing $1 trillion of new spending will somehow allow the country to save money on medical costs later. It was always a logical bridge to nowhere, and now the Democrats’ own Congressional Budget Office has called the bluff. In a hearing yesterday, Democratic Senator Kent Conrad practically pleaded with CBO director Douglas Elmendorf to agree that the reform bill would “bend the cost curve” (i.e. create savings) in the future. The CBO chief minced no words: “The curve is being raised.” The Democratic health plan would only make the long-term...

"Biggest budget buster ever!" --Arthur Laffer Thank you, Mitt Romney. You're RomneyCare big government socialist boondoggle fuels the fires of the Marxist takeover of America! I nominate you biggest damned socialist fool ever to wear the RINO label!! I'm Jim Thompson and I approve this message.

This lying communist bastard needs to be run out of Dodge on a rail! This IS America!! Land of Freedom!! You don't like it move to Russia. No wait, they're going Capitalist. Move to China... oops. Try Cuba or Venezuela!

A state commission recommended yesterday that Massachusetts dramatically change how doctors and hospitals are paid, essentially putting providers on a budget as a way to control exploding healthcare costs and improve the quality of care. The 10-member commission, which includes key legislators and members of Governor Deval Patrick’s administration, voted unanimously to largely scrap the current system, in which insurers typically pay doctors and hospitals a negotiated fee for each individual procedure or visit. That arrangement is widely seen as leading to unneeded tests and procedures. Massachusetts would be the first state to adopt such a broad “global payment’’ system,...

Don't trust him. He's a RINO. Worse than a RINO. He's the enemy within. You never know where he honestly stands on any issue. What he promises today, he flips on tomorrow. It all depends on which way the political winds are blowing and which office he's running for. He's a liar. He's a big government socialist. His RomneyCare state run health care system is a big government boondoggle. It's tyranny. Government provided, er, forced health care is tyranny not freedom or free markets. Do not believe the socialist propaganda supporting such nonsense. Socialized medicine is simply another step to...

We have just been informed that a crucial vote on socialized health care could take place in a key House committee in the next 24 hours or at the latest by next Tuesday. And the breaking news is that one Democratic Congressman on this committee -- Rep. Mike Ross -- thinks he has the votes to "stop" Obama's plan to socialize our healthcare system! That's why I have just directed our team to focus our Fax Fireon the key members of the House Energy and Commerce committee where this battle is taking place. Again, this key vote that could "stop"...

Given that Medicare is already on track to bankrupt the United States, you'd think the government would be looking to reduce its health care responsibilities, not increase them. However, the government being the government, is looking to take over the rest of our health care system in a move that would spike costs, ruin the quality of care, and involve the government even more deeply in the daily lives of Americans. However, let's take a look at how the state government in Massachusetts, where they have Romneycare -- which incidentally, is looking less and less appealing -- to see how...