Is Obama Care Still An Election Issue?
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In any election there is always a need to make some topic the issue.
The question is, Is Obama Care a political button that needs to be pushed. Again?
I will agree this Health Care Bill is far from perfect. Nevertheless it is meeting the needs of many Americans. I also think it is noteworthy that it is helping Republicans & Democrats, rich and poor, and all races alike. The bill no doubt is saving lives. Not without making many waves.
So the next question to me becomes, at what price does it saves lives?
I really have not heard an argument that, when you boil it down. It all comes down to cost.
My prevailing question then becomes, How much is too much to save a life?
I want to share an article I read on yesterday. I also want to say, I believe that the points this article make are still an attempt in a very broad way to overturn Obama Care.
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However, I believe that this article make a very valid point. The point is what I have been saying all along.
Let the best and bright minds take an honest look at The Affordable Healthcare Act. The Old term is " Eat The Meat Spit Out The Bones". In other words,
1). Keep what is working well.
2). Fix what is broken that can be fixed.
3). Get rid of the non-working parts.
Let's make it work, without destroying the American People.
Here is the Article in it's entirety:
6 Reasons Obama care Can Win the Senate for the GOP
By Liz PeekAugust 20, 2014 5:45 AM
What ever happened to Obama care -- the unpopular health care bill that was to be the Republicans big weapon as they battled for control of the Senate this fall? For sure, the Affordable Care Act has been pushed to the sidelines by the chaos in Iraq, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the surge in Central American minors across our border, the Veterans Administration scandal, the pestilential virus rampaging across the computers of the federal government, and so much more…
Now, the GOP should circle back. There are nine Senate seats described as “toss-ups” by Real Clear Politics, and Obama care could move the needle in some of those races. The ACA is still a political stink bomb, with Kaiser Family Foundation polling showing only 37 percent of the country views the law favorably – one of its lowest ratings since it passed in 2010. Some 53 percent of Americans have an unfavorable opinion of the ACA - up a shocking 8 points since June.
Democrats understandably have neglected to highlight Obama care on their campaign sites. Instead, for example, North Carolina’s Kay Hagan implores visitors to “Take a Stand Against the Koch Brothers,” which must confuse the uninitiated. Bruce Braley, running in Iowa, focuses on veterans’ issues and the farm bill. Nary a word on Mr. Obama’s legacy issue.
Several GOP campaign sites go light on Obama care too. Thom Tillis in North Carolina broadcasts Kay Hagan’s close ties to President Obama, while David Perdue in Georgia emphasizes his business background. Joni Ernst, running neck in neck for the Iowa seat, brags on her front page, “I grew up castrating hogs on an Iowa farm, so in Washington I’ll know how to cut pork.” Some local color.
Other Republicans are following the expected playbook. Scott Brown, campaigning for the New Hampshire seat held by Jeanne Shaheen, goes all in against Obama care. Ditto Republican Cory Gardner, running an uphill battle against Mark Udall in Colorado , who notes that 335,000 Coloradans lost their policies because of the ACA.
Bill Cassidy, with a light lead against Mary Landrieu in Louisiana, charges that Obamacare is causing that state’s premiums to rise. But Cassidy lists it fifth of five issues, after amnesty, purportedly “illegal” travel expenditures and other missteps by the incumbent.
While local issues vary, Republicans should double down, and remind voters how much they dislike the ACA. Why?
1. Big premium hikes are slated for 2015. Because the country erupted in outrage over the millions of policies cancelled under Obama care, which made a lie of the president’s vow, “If you like your insurance you can keep it,” the White House reversed course and allowed people to maintain existing coverage. As a result, the Obamacare exchanges were starved of the healthier people needed to pay for the sick and poor previously without insurance. Insurers are now planning to raise premiums.
According to PwC Health Research Institute, the average premium increase request for 2105 in North Carolina is 10.8 percent; in Iowa the hike is 11.5 percent. Many in Louisiana are looking at almost a 20 percent increase, and in Arkansas nearly 12 percent. That’s big, unpleasant news for Democrats.
2. Critics claim the Obama administration is fudging the ACA enrollment numbers. The White House trumpeted that 8 million Americans had signed up for Obamacare, but that total has been shrinking. Aetna , one of the program’s biggest players, reports that of their 720,000 enrollees, only about 600,000 are paying for their coverage, a number they expect will drop to about 500,000 by year-end. Other insurers indicate fall-off as well.
3. People are angry about the narrower choices of doctors and hospitals available to them. In New Hampshire, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield was the sole insurer participating in the marketplace; it eliminated 10 of the state’s 26 hospitals from its network. According to Politico, such is the uproar about shrinking choices that “since the beginning of 2013, more than 70 bills have been introduced in 22 states to clarify the network rules, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.” In California , more than one group has sued Anthem Blue Cross, charging that the insurer misrepresented the scope of its doctor network.
4. The ACA was constructed incompetently. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit recently ruled illegal the federal subsidies paid to Obamacare enrollees in states that have not set up their own exchanges -- a stark reminder of how badly the healthcare bill was implemented. This and other unintended consequences are excellent arguments for significantly overhauling the ACA – an undertaking that might be possible under a Republican Senate but that has little or no hope otherwise.
5. Obamacare highlights the president’s imperial tendencies. Mr. Obama has single-handedly changed the ACA some 24 times, delaying important provisions such as the employer and individual mandates. The president has rigged the rollout of the ACA to political advantage, putting off the most painful aspects of the bill and front-loading the goodies. Republicans should remind voters we have yet to encounter, for instance, the 40 percent Cadillac tax, which has been pushed back until 2018, but which is expected to raise as much as $214 billion by 2023.
6. Obamacare undermines job creation. The ACA has been the most important of a number of White House policies that have discouraged job creation at a time when the country is struggling to put people back to work. At last tally, there were 92 million adult Americans who are not working (like stay-at-home moms), are unemployed, retired or disabled. The workforce participation rate is at a decades-long low. This is unsustainable, and Obamacare is not helping. Companies have limited their hiring and also the number of hours their employers work because of the bill and have faced increased uncertainty. Meanwhile, because of the ACA, Americans no longer need to work to get health benefits – maybe a good thing for individuals, but not for a country whose safety net must be funded by an ever-greater workforce.
In short, there’s still meat on the bones of the Obamacare carcass; Republicans running for office should get out their knives and forks.
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