By now you have heard all the reviews of President Obama’s State of the Union address. There was the sameness of his message, his failure to mention Al Qaeda, his frequent threats to use the veto, and his concocted story of Rebecca, the Democrat plant who, joined by her husband, sat in the gallery with the first lady.… read more
Health Care
Piecing together the costly health insurance website; IG finds CMS work rushed, sloppy and lacking oversight
Most of us have at one time or another dumped pieces of a jigsaw puzzle out on a card table to pass the time; usually when the weather outside is miserable.
If you have a good eye you could usually find the pieces that form the outside border or a clearly defined section of the puzzle. Returning to it we often see pieces we didn’t see before and the picture on the box cover gets clearer.
I have been trying to piece together a similar puzzle regarding the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare). No, not one depicting the accompanying organizational chart. My interest was in the puzzling billion dollar cost for the healthcare.gov website.
After a contentious five-year stint as HHS secretary, culminating in the botched rollout, Kathleen Sebelius resigned in April last year. Of course, she was not forced out. While she defended the website during Congressional hearings, embarrassingly, the system went down.
Her departure left a number of unanswered questions, while new questions arose. What about the outrageous cost of the website, and how has Marilyn Tavenner, administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services escaped scrutiny? Continue reading
Obamacare: Looking past the heartbreak and a little bit of humor to a pending Court decision
With the U. S. Supreme Court scheduling of oral arguments in the case of King V. Burwell on March 4, 2015, I thought I would again touch on the controversial ObamaCare. At issue is the questioning of how people in states with federally-run exchanges can lawfully get tax credit subsidies under the so-called Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare). The law clearly states they cannot. Recently, two health insurance related stories came to my attention, providing the impetus for this blog post.
While many doctors are retiring, others are forming Concierge practices in order to better serve its members. (dailycaller.com)
I’ve been reading numerous stories about the misfortunes taxpayers are experiencing with increased premiums and deductibles, and those IRS penalties soon to hit many of them. Bringing it a bit closer to home, a friend sent me a copy of a letter he received from his doctor outlining the challenges faced in his daily practice of medicine brought about by ObamaCare.
Faced with a decision on how to provide the kind of care he believed he wanted to provide his patients, like many physicians, he decided to transition to the Concierge model of care. Beginning this month, he is limiting his practice to 500 patients agreeing to pay an annual membership fee. As a result, 2,500 patients will be forced to find a new doctor. This is happening across the nation. Continue reading
A look ahead to the Republican majority
Republicans are just days away from halting candidate Barack Obama’s 2008 plan to fundamentally transform the United States of America.
Republicans now hold the majority in the Senate 54-44-2 and have increased its hold in the House to 246-188.
Even though the president continues to arrogantly flaunt the possession of the veto pen, the euphoria over the GOP’s decisive mid-term win is still high.
Yes, there are those who are concerned with the split within the party between the more conservative Tea Party and traditionalists. More importantly, however, is the concern many of us have over the ease in which Republicans compromised in the passage of the so-called “Cromnibus” spending bill.
Despite the rhetoric of Speaker John Boehner that he would vigorously oppose the president’s executive actions, the big spending bill sailed through the House and Senate, frustrating conservatives looking to the GOP majority in 2015. (aattp.org)
“We are going to fight the president tooth and nail if he continues down this path,” said Speaker John Boehner, referring to illegal amnesty, “this is the wrong way to govern. This is exactly what the American people said on Election Day they didn’t want”
We also heard Boehner talk about how the Democrats crafted ObamaCare behind closed doors, his references to the “broken institution,” and “what our constituents want.”
“If, in fact, the president’s actions on immigration are against the Constitution and the rule-of-law,” asked the Washington Times’ Joseph Curl, “then why would the GOP cave in on the budget negotiations and actually allow them to be funded?”
Although the funding only continues through February 2015, support for the bill, in my view, validates the president’s executive action. Continue reading
You got us into this mess, Mr. President, with your 2008 grand plan to fundamentally transform the United States of America.
Now, if you are as smart as your people say you are, you’ll drop the “I’ve got a veto pen arrogance” and allow Republicans to help you salvage your last two years.
… read moreNBC’s Williams, O’Donnell continue to carry Obama’s water as Crowley leaves CNN and Compton rips Obama’s profanity
As I have written in previous posts, NBC and its cable network MSNBC continue to pretend that certain news event simply didn’t happen if they are likely to make the Obama administration look bad. Such has been the case with Benghazi, the IRS scandal and most recently the surfacing of embarrassing tapes showing the egotistic ObamaCare architect Jonathan Gruber revealing how the public was seen as stupid.… read more
Tape reveals Michigan’s Dingell saw ObamaCare as a means to “control the people”
The president’s promise that we could keep our doctor and our health insurance, and that premiums would be lower proved to be lies. He illegally approved changes and granted waivers to the legislation. And we learned that a billion dollars had been spent on the website, where personal security is still in question.
In a 2010 interview, Michigan’s Rep. John Dingell, cited ObamaCare as a means for controlling the people. (patdollard.com)
As if we didn’t have enough early evidence that ObamaCare was destined to be a failure. The revelations of recent weeks are even more damnable.
Most recently, a 2010 tape surfaced of Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) speaking of ObamaCare on WJR’s Paul W. Smith Show in Detroit, during which he tells Smith that it takes a lot of hard work and preparation to create a system that will “control the people.” A big government socialist statement if I ever heard one.
Last month, Jonathan Gruber, one of the architects of the health insurance plan, referred to taxpayers as being stupid and praised the lack of transparency in the current administration. And it’s all on tape. Continue reading
2013 Ohio State graduates now know tyranny is no longer just around the corner
“Unfortunately, you’ve grown up hearing voices that incessantly warn of government as nothing more than some separate, sinister entity that’s at the root of all our problems. They’ll warn that tyranny is just around the corner. You should reject these voices.”
Speaking to the 2013 graduating class of The Ohio State University, President Obama joked about those who warned that tyranny was just around the corner. (msnbc.com)
Those were the words of President Obama, speaking to the 2013 graduation class of The Ohio State University on May 5, 2013.
I was incredulous when I first heard the president give this speech. First, because it wasn’t the uplifting message to leave with graduates, but more so because he used the venue as an opportunity to answer his critics who have challenged his go-it-alone presidency.
In my long career in public affairs, I have learned that every word in a speech given by a president is carefully woven into the message the administration wants to impart on the public. This speech was devoid of the lofty plans and hopes facing students as he sought to reject those who dislike his policies. Continue reading
Was the president just confused?
When the media asked the president about Jonathan Gruber’s role in the design of ObamaCare during his press conference in Brisbane, Australia, he insisted that he is well-briefed before each meeting with the press, and that Gruber was not on his staff. Gruber, who has referred to the “stupidity” of the American people, has indicated that he met with the president in the Oval Office and the record shows he visited the White House 19 times.… read more
Melissa Francis reveals CNBC as Obama image protector
Regular readers of this blog will recall past posts in which I have alerted you to the president’s media lap dogs; NBC’s Brian Williams and Tom Brokaw most recently.
I’ve also told you how Sharyl Attkisson was forced out at ABC because they didn’t like her investigative reports on Benghazi and the IRS because she was too critical of the Obama administration. … read more