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On Defining "Junk" Health Insurance: |
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"When Obama claims your old plan was 'junk,' he's not leveling with you. Your health plan wasn't canceled out of some kind of concern that you are insufficiently insured. Rather, you simply must pay more – and get less – to make ObamaCare's finances work.
"Rather than prioritize federal or state government budgets to subsidize those with pre-existing conditions – treating them as the rare special cases they are – Obama chose to finance their care by making you pay more into the system and get less out of it whenever you eventually become sick. Someone out there is benefiting from ObamaCare. It just isn't you.
"Middle-income cancellation victims are the Affordable Care Act's first cash cow. Their insurance will now be less affordable and of lower quality - or to use the common phrase, 'junk.'" |
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— David Freddoso, Washington Examiner
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— David Freddoso, Washington Examiner
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Posted November 05, 2013 • 07:50 AM
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On Millions Losing Private Health Insurance Under ObamaCare: |
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"If ObamaCare is fully implemented, 68 percent of Americans with private health insurance will not be able to keep their plan, according to health care economist Christopher Conover.
"Conover is a research scholar in the Center for Health Policy & Inequalities Research at Duke University and an adjunct scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. In an interview with The Daily Caller, he laid out what he estimates the consequences of ObamaCare’s implementation will ultimately be.
"'Bottom line: of the 189 million Americans with private health insurance coverage, I estimate that if ObamaCare is fully implemented, at least 129 million (68 percent) will not be able to keep their previous health care plan either because they already have lost or will lose that coverage by the end of 2014,' he said in an email. 'But of these, "only" the 18 to 50 million will literally lose coverage, i.e., have their plans entirely taken away. This includes 9.2-15.4 million in the non-group market and 9-35 million in the employer-based market. The rest will retain their old plans but have to pay higher rates for ObamaCare-mandated bells and whistles.'" |
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— Jamie Weinstein, The Daily Caller Senior Editor
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— Jamie Weinstein, The Daily Caller Senior Editor
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Posted November 04, 2013 • 08:20 AM
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On ObamaCare and Modern Liberalism: |
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"ObamaCare is the largest transfer of wealth in recent American history. But you can’t say that openly lest you lose elections. So you do it by subterfuge: hidden taxes, penalties, mandates and coverage requirements that yield a surplus of overpayments.
"So that your president can promise to cover 30 million uninsured without costing the government a dime. Which from the beginning was the biggest falsehood of them all. And yet the free lunch is the essence of modern liberalism. Free mammograms, free preventative care, free contraceptives for Sandra Fluke. Come and get it.
"And then when you find your policy canceled, your premium raised and your deductible outrageously increased, you’ve learned the real meaning of 'free' in the liberal lexicon: something paid for by your neighbor — best, by subterfuge." |
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— Charles Krauthammer, Syndicated Columnist
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— Charles Krauthammer, Syndicated Columnist
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Posted November 01, 2013 • 07:55 AM
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On the President's Credibility Gap: |
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"Obama understandably came into office with a sense of immunity. His personal story and nontraditional background made him an emblematic figure. An enthralled media had unfortunately redefined its role as an appendage to, rather than an auditor of, the presidency. After the unpopular Bush administration, even Obama’s empty 'hope and change' platitudes were considered deep.
"Yet after nearly five years of scandals, untruths, and hard economic times, a now-ignored Barack Obama has finally learned that even an iconic president can tell one too many untruths." |
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— Victor Davis Hanson, Hoover Institution Senior Fellow and Nationally Syndicated Columnist
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— Victor Davis Hanson, Hoover Institution Senior Fellow and Nationally Syndicated Columnist
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Posted October 31, 2013 • 08:10 AM
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On Lessons Learned from the ObamaCare Roll-Out: |
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"So here’s what Obamacare’s first month has shown: You may not be able to keep your current insurance plan; you may not be able to keep your current doctor; you are probably going to have to pay more; and the entire program could come crashing down in an adverse-selection death spiral.
"It may not be long before Obamacare supporters look back longingly to the days when the health-care law was just a bad joke." |
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— Michael Tanner, Cato Institute
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— Michael Tanner, Cato Institute
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Posted October 30, 2013 • 08:06 AM
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On Developing Cracks in the Obama Administration: |
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"No less with his employees than with members of Congress, Obama demands, expects, and rewards loyalty, and values it over competence, success, or even popularity.
"Nobody has been fired for Fast and Furious, for allowing the murders in Benghazi, or for the IRS abuse of conservative groups. Loyalty to Don Obama is repaid with job security in the Cosa Nostra that is the Obama administration.
"But regarding Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’ career and Obamacare’s individual mandate, we are seeing the first cracks in the Democratic wall of solidarity.
"Sebelius is under fire, directly or indirectly, from at least a few Democrats in Congress, as well as from important voices in the liberal media." |
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— Ross Kaminsky, Radio Host and Heartland Institute Senior Fellow
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— Ross Kaminsky, Radio Host and Heartland Institute Senior Fellow
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Posted October 29, 2013 • 08:14 AM
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On Being Able to Keep Your Own Insurance Under ObamaCare: |
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"The woes of Healthcare.gov mean that the people with cancelled policies who are supposed to go find new insurance on the exchange can’t for now, and may not be able to by December 15, when they’d need to sign up to stay insured on January 1. When and if the website is finally functioning, many of these people won’t like what they see. In contradiction of another famous Obama promise, they will be charged more for their insurance to subsidize the costs of other people on the exchanges. For millions of Americans, Obamacare will be an experience in plumbing the depths of the dishonesty of President Obama’s case for his signature domestic accomplishment." |
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— The Editors, National Review
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— The Editors, National Review
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Posted October 28, 2013 • 08:11 AM
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On ObamaCare's Individual Mandate: |
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"[I]nsurance companies cannot survive Obamacare without the individual mandate. Under the law, they must offer insurance to anyone who needs it — often at an artificially low price at that. The only way they can make a profit is if the government upholds its promise to get millions of young, healthy people to sign up for more expensive insurance than they need. Take away the mandate — i.e., the penalty — and you make that virtually impossible. If the government tells insurance companies they still have to provide insurance to bad risks, it will be like the government telling Apple it has to sell iPhones at a loss. The insurance companies will sue. And as Dan McLaughlin of The Federalist notes, their lawyers will invoke the Obama administration’s arguments before the Supreme Court that the mandate was inseparable from the 'must-issue' requirements under the law." |
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— Jonah Goldberg, National Review Online Editor-at-Large
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— Jonah Goldberg, National Review Online Editor-at-Large
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Posted October 25, 2013 • 08:21 AM
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On Uncovering the Bugs in ObamaCare: |
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"The problems with Obamacare go much deeper than a few million lines of faulty code and a sign-up system that swallows enrollee applications in a single electronic gulp.
"The bugs aren't just in the software. They're in the law itself.
"Consumers are finally seeing insurance rates and plans. In many cases, insurance premiums, deductibles and co-pays are rising. Illinois officials said premiums here would be lower than expected. But a Tribune analysis of 22 of the lowest-priced plans showed that those plans required huge annual deductibles of more than $4,000 for an individual — and $8,000 for family coverage.
"Lower premiums also come with a troubling tradeoff: access to a narrower networks of hospitals and doctors. If people aren't careful in choosing coverage, they may be shocked to find they have to pay much more for out-of-network care to go to their preferred doctor or hospital." |
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— The Editors, Chicago Tribune
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— The Editors, Chicago Tribune
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Posted October 24, 2013 • 07:57 AM
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On Converting the ObamaCare Crash into Democratic Cash: |
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"President Barack Obama is using the disastrous crash of his Obamacare website to extract cash and volunteer hours from his supporters.
"'By now, you’ve probably heard that the website has not worked as smoothly as it was supposed to,' Obama told his supporters in an email sent out late Tuesday.
"'That’s why I need your help,' he said, in a video pitch that links to an online fundraiser. ...
"The video illustrates Obama’s eagerness and ability to convert even the most awkward policy setbacks into high-profile political campaigns that can help his progressive coalition. The money may be used to support Obamacare, but it likely will also be used to help Obama wage his next election campaign — the 2014 midterm election." |
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— Neil Munro, The Daily Caller White House Correspondent
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— Neil Munro, The Daily Caller White House Correspondent
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Posted October 23, 2013 • 07:58 AM
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