Government and Legislative “Intentions”

Posted on 6 December 2013 by eehines

Halbig v Sebelius is a case that opened last Tuesday in the DC District Court that challenges the legality of Obamacare subsidies, and through that the applicability of the Employer and Individual Mandates, in states that have ObamaMart—Federal health insurance exchanges—rather than state-run exchanges.

The case hinges on what the Obamacare law says vs what Government says it says and what Congress’ “intentions” were. Leave aside for now then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s remark that it was necessary to pass the law to know what was in it along with the admissions of most Representatives and Senators that they had not even read the 900-page law before they voted on it; following is the argument:

This is a preview of Government and Legislative “Intentions”. Read the full post (481 words, estimated 1:55 mins reading time)

What I Can See Now With ObamaMart

Posted on 5 December 2013 by eehines

President Barack Obama’s ObamaMart—that HealthCare.gov contraption—is up and running, or so Obama and his chief shill, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, claim (even though some very serious—dangerous—warts remain). I decided to try it out and see what the Obamacare law itself would offer me in terms of plans that are cheaper and better than the ones I have through my wife’s employer (which, knock wood, still are legal…so far).

This is a preview of What I Can See Now With ObamaMart. Read the full post (503 words, estimated 2:01 mins reading time)

The Government’s Health Care Site

Posted on 3 December 2013 by eehines

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is busily shilling HealthCare.gov as up and running smoothly—but please,

you may want to visit HealthCare.gov in off-peak hours when there is less traffic—mornings, evenings, or on weekends.

And,

Have your information ready when you log on, and comparison shop to get the best deal.

This is a preview of The Government’s Health Care Site. Read the full post (405 words, estimated 1:37 mins reading time)

A Cost of Obamacare

Posted on 30 November 2013 by eehines

Anecdotal, certainly, but anecdotes are data, and they can accumulate into trends. This one comes from Fox News‘ “Kelly File.”

One late-middle-aged family with two college-age children were paying $500/mo for a health insurance plan that suited their needs. President Barack Obama’s Obamacare, though, termed that plan inadequate and so illegal: the family got one of those ubiquitous cancelation letters. The new health “insurance” plan they got runs them $1,250/mo.

With that explosion in their pocketbook, this family did what any American family does and what the Obama administration refuses to do seriously: they budgeted.

This is a preview of A Cost of Obamacare. Read the full post (238 words, estimated 57 secs reading time)

There Are Worse Names to be Called

Posted on 29 November 2013 by eehines

Recall the Bowie State University Obamacare kerfuffle [emphasis in the original].

Bowie State University has suspended offering health insurance for domestic students for the 2013-2014 academic year. Due to new requirements of the Affordable Care Act which will go into effect on January 1, 2014, the cost of insurance for domestic students will increase to approximately $1800 per year [from $54/semester]. If you were covered by the university health insurance last Spring 2013, your policy will expire on August 29, 2013.

Earlier this month, BSU student Eugene Craig objected via the BSU newspaper, The Bulldog Collegian; his article had this closer:

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Another Implication

Posted on 29 November 2013 by eehines

…of Obamacare.

Unlike drug addicts, alcoholics, or the obese—all of whom represent higher-than-average medical costs—smokers are the only such group with a pre-existing condition that ObamaCare penalizes. It allows insurance companies to charge smokers up to 50 percent more than non-smokers for an identical policy….

There are a couple of things about this. One is singling out a particular group for special treatment. This is what the Obama administration does routinely, though. Equality under law simply is inconceivable to President Barack Obama and his cronies.

This is a preview of Another Implication. Read the full post (267 words, estimated 1:04 mins reading time)

How Does This Work?

Posted on 27 November 2013 by eehines

The CMS has a Request for Proposal out [emphasis added]:

Solicitation Number: RFP-CMS-RMADA-2014
Notice Type: Modification/Amendment
Synopsis: Added: Nov 20, 2013 1:17 pm

The purpose is to develop a Research, Measurement, Assessment, Design, and Analysis (RMADA) IDIQ [Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity contracting/procurement type] to respond to expanded needs of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care ACT (ACA) and Health Care reform ACT (HCERA). The work awarded under the RMADA will involve the design, implementation and evaluation of a broad range of research and/or payment and service delivery models to test their potential for reducing expenditures for Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, and uninsured beneficiaries while maintaining or improving quality of care.

This is a preview of How Does This Work?. Read the full post (481 words, estimated 1:55 mins reading time)

Obamacare: Year Two

Posted on 26 November 2013 by eehines

President Barack Obama, through his HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, has decided to delay the open enrollment period for the second year of his Obamacare by a month. Obama has said, through his Press Secretary Jay Carney, that the delay will give insurance companies more time to evaluate the results of this year’s enrollments and so to adjust their premiums for that second year.

A carefully anonymous “HHS spokesman” also claims

This change is good news for consumers, who will have more time to learn about plans before enrolling and an open enrollment period that’s a week longer[.]

This is a preview of Obamacare: Year Two. Read the full post (303 words, estimated 1:13 mins reading time)

America’s Health Insurance Plans

Posted on 26 November 2013 by eehines

AHIP is “the national trade association representing the health insurance industry” according to their Web site. As a leader in the health insurance industry I thought they might be able to shed some light on the widely posited difficulties of implementing President Barack Obama’s latest Obamacare “fix” of “encouraging” health insurance companies to stop canceling non-Obamacare compliant policies, as the law requires, and reinstate already canceled policies. Accordingly, last week I sent an email to AHIP asking a couple of simple questions:

This is a preview of America’s Health Insurance Plans. Read the full post (494 words, estimated 1:59 mins reading time)

An Implication of Obamacare

Posted on 24 November 2013 by eehines

…that’s little talked about. It follows, though, Obamacare’s segmentation of “insurance” coverage into high-payers—the young, who are poor—and the low-payers—the elderly, who are well established—and into metal groups differentiated solely by what per centage of costs will be covered after deductibles have been consumed for the year.

The implication is this, a buried one-liner in a Wall Street Journal article:

…the health law bars insurers from taking medical history into account when setting prices.

Imagine that. Underwriters, when designing an “insurance” policy intended to transfer health-related risk, aren’t allowed to incorporate questions of health into their risk assessments.

This is a preview of An Implication of Obamacare. Read the full post (101 words, estimated 24 secs reading time)

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