In fact, those Americans who own health insurance policies from smaller insurers are already feeling the pinch from Obamacare. Smaller health insurers may face additional obstacles to stay in business in light of the new laws mandates, with some predicting Obamacare will drive them out of the insurance market altogether. Not only does this mean that Americans who are currently happy with their insurance coverage will see changes they dont like, but it signals even more choice restriction among health plans.

One of the contributing factors for this fallout is the new requirement that insurers meet federally determined medical loss ratios. The ratios require insurers to spend a certain percentage of income from premiums on medical expenditures, rather than administrative costs, taxes or profits.

In Texas, National Health Insurance Co. has decided to discontinue two of its health plans, citing Obamacare as the reason. The Dallas Morning News [2] chronicles the story of two Texans, Al and Jill Alcantara, both 63, who will lose their current policy because the insurance company says “it could no longer offer individual accident and health insurance policies. While experts say not enough smaller insurers have left the market yet to point to a trend, the Morning News article notes that several health economists expect smaller insurers to be unable to make it under the new law.

Other Americans will likely face the same ordeal as the Alcantaras. The real irony is that the couple has [2] “been pleased with their high-deductible policy, which is tailored to cover Als Type 2 diabetes [3] and gives them access to all the doctors they want,. Obamacare will be responsible for the couples loss of private coverage, causing them to instead end up in taxpayer-subsidized, high-risk pools intended for those with pre-existing conditions who couldnt get coverage on their own.

(Originally posted by Kathryn Nix at blog.heritage.org)

<snip>

http://www.johndeere.com/en_US/newsroom/2010/releases/corporate/25mar2010_corporaterelease.html

Three airports in the district of infamous fence-sitting and ultimately kowtowing Democrat Bart Stupak were awarded $726,409 in grants by the Obama Administration just two days before a vote on Obama and Pelosi’s government takeover of healthcare.

Did Stupak compromise his supposed principled stand against taxpayer funding of abortion in exchange for taxpayer dollars for pet projects?

Alpena County Regional Airport received a $85,500 grant, but had only 7,519 passenger boardings in 2008 (the most recent year for which there is information) according to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) data. Alpena County Regional Airport serves fewer passengers than even the late Rep. John Murtha’s famous “Airport for Nobody.”

Delta County Airport has even less customers than that, but still received a $179,209 grant.  

Chippewa County International Airport received a $461,700 grant,  but had only 13,733  passenger boardings in 2008.

Will Stupak come clean about this apparent backroom deal for his vote? 

Call Stupak’s district office at (989) 356 0690 and ask.

Learn more at http://gopcodered.com/

Thursday, December 17, 2009

‘And here’s the most outrageous part: at the end of this rush, they want us to vote on a bill that no one outside the Majority Leader’s conference room has even seen. That’s right. The final bill we’ll vote on isn’t even the one we’ve had on the floor. It’s the deal Democrat leaders have been trying to work out in private’

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor Thursday regarding the importance of getting it right on health care reform:

“Senators on both sides acknowledge that the health care bill we’re considering is among the most significant pieces of legislation any of us will ever consider.

“So it stands to reason that we’d devote significant time and attention to it.

“Indeed, some would argue that we should spend more time and attention on this bill than most — if not every — previous bill we’ve considered.

“The Majority disagrees.

“Why? Because this bill has become a political nightmare for them.

“They know Americans overwhelmingly oppose it, so they want to get it over with.

“Americans are already outraged at the fact that Democrat leaders took their eyes off the ball. Rushing the process on a partisan line makes the situation even worse.

“Americans were told the purpose of reform was to reduce the cost of health care.

“Instead, Democrat leaders produced a $2.5 trillion, 2,074-page monstrosity that vastly expands government, raises taxes, raises premiums, and wrecks Medicare.

“And they want to rush this bill through by Christmas — one of the most significant, far-reaching pieces of legislation in U.S. history. They want to rush it.

“And here’s the most outrageous part: at the end of this rush, they want us to vote on a bill that no one outside the Majority Leader’s conference room has even seen.

“That’s right. The final bill we’ll vote on isn’t even the one we’ve had on the floor. It’s the deal Democrat leaders have been trying to work out in private.

“That’s what they intend to bring to the floor and force a vote on before Christmas.

“So this entire process is essentially a charade.

“But let’s just compare the process so far with previous legislation for some perspective. Here’s a snapshot of what we’ve done and where we stand:

• The Majority Leader intends to bring this debate to a close as early as this weekend — four days from now, on this $2.5 trillion dollar mistake

• No American who hasn’t been invited into the Majority Leader’s conference room knows what will be in that bill

• This bill has been the pending business of the Senate since the last week of November — less than four weeks ago.

• We started the amendment process two weeks ago.

• We’ve had 21 amendments and motions — less than two a day.

“Now let’s look at how the Senate has dealt with previous legislation.

“No Child Left Behind (2001):

• 21 session days or 7 weeks.

• Roll Call votes: 44

• Number of Amendments offered: 157

“9/11 Commission/Homeland Security Act (2002):

• 19 session days over 7 weeks.

• Roll Call votes: 20

• Number of Amendments offered: 30

“Energy Bill (2002):

• 21 session days over 8 weeks

• Number of Roll Call votes: 36

• Number of Amendments offered: 158

“This isn’t an energy bill. This is an attempt by a majority to take over one sixth of the U.S. economy — to vastly expand the reach and the role of government into the health care decisions of every single American — and they want to be done after one substantive amendment. This is absolutely inexcusable.

“I think Senator Snowe put it best on Tuesday:

‘Given the enormity and complexity,’ she said, ‘I don’t see anything magical about the Christmas deadline if this bill is going to become law in 2014.’

“And I think Senator Snowe’s comments on a lack of bipartisanship at the outset of this debate are also right on point.

“Here’s what she said in late November:

‘I am truly disappointed we are commencing our historic debate on one of the most significant and pressing domestic issues of our time with a process that has forestalled our ability to arrive at broader agreement on some of the most crucial elements of health care reform. The bottom line is, the most consequential health care legislation in the history of our country and the reordering of $33 trillion in health care spending over the coming decade shouldn’t be determined by one vote-margin strategies – surely we can and must do better.’

“The only conceivable justification for rushing this bill is the overwhelming opposition of the American people. Democrats know that the longer Americans see this bill the less they like it. Here’s the latest from Pew. It came out just yesterday.

“A majority (58 percent) of those who have heard a lot about the bills oppose them while only 32 percent favor them.”

“There is no justification for this blind rush — except a political one, and that’s not good enough for the American people.

“And there’s no justification for forcing the Senate to vote on a bill none of us has seen.

“Americans already oppose this bill. The process is just as bad.

“It’s completely reckless, completely irresponsible.”

###

By contrast, the GOP alternative will lower costs for families and small businesses, expand coverage, and promote healthy lifestyles.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) says our bill will lower premiums by up to 10 percent and reduce the deficit by $68 billion – without raising taxes or adding to the debt. Here’s how:

> ENDING JUNK LAWSUITS: The GOP alternative rein in the junk lawsuits and limit the defensive medicine that drives up costs on everyone.

> COVERING AMERICANS WITH PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS. Under the GOP bill, all Americans, regardless of pre-existing conditions or past illness, will have access to affordable health care. By contrast with the Pelosi plan, the GOP bill achieves this goal in a ways that lowers health care premiums for American families rather than raising them.

> ALLOWING SMALL BUSINESSES TO POOL TOGETHER: The Republican bill will allow small businesses to band together and buy insurance at a lower cost, the same way large corporations and labor unions do.

> ENCOURAGING STATE INNOVATION: The Republican bill gives states the tools they need to lower health care costs and the number of residents without insurance.

> ALLOW AMERICANS TO BUY INSURANCE ACROSS STATE LINES: The GOP alternative let’s Americans buy health insurance across state lines and shop around for the coverage that best suits them.

>> READ ALL ABOUT THE GOP ALTERNATIVE BY CLICKING HERE < <

I know you’re as opposed to Speaker Pelosi’s health care takeover as I am, and that’s why I also want to invite you to a special, online webcast today starting at 1:00 p.m. to expose the costs and consequences of the Democrats’ reckless bill and discuss the GOP alternative.

>> CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE AND WATCH THE WEBCAST < <

The webcast will run for 12 hours so feel free to jump in at any time. Throughout the day, Republican lawmakers – including myself – will examine Pelosi’s bill, highlight the GOP alternative, and take questions from Americans via email, Twitter, and Facebook. I hope you can join us for this special event!

Sincerely,

John Boehner

Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) received a handwritten note Thursday from Joint Committee on Taxation Chief of Staff Tom Barthold confirming the penalty for failing to pay the up to $1,900 fee for not buying health insurance.

Violators could be charged with a misdemeanor and could face up to a year in jail or a $25,000 penalty, Barthold wrote on JCT letterhead. He signed it “Sincerely, Thomas A. Barthold.”

The note was a follow-up to Ensign’s questioning at the markup.

By Carrie Budoff Brown 11:40 AM

The national deficit stands at an unprecedented $1.845 trillion. President Barack Obama’s proposed budget would increase spending by an additional $1 trillion over the next 10 years. And that doesn’t take into account Congress’ proposed $1 trillion takeover of the health care system.

With all this spending, millions of Americans are left wondering who’s going to pay for it all.

The answer: Taxpayers, big and small.

The President has repeatedly reiterated his campaign promise that he can rein in the deficit without levying any new taxes on the middle class. Instead, he proposes to saddle the wealthy with the bulk of the burden of increased spending by hiking taxes to where they were before the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts. This would bring the top federal tax rate to almost 40 percent, not counting the proposed surtax on high-income earners to fund the health care plan.

Despite the President’s insistence that he remains “clearly committed” to his campaign promise, Heritage tax policy expert Curtis Dubay points out how the middle class could end up paying anyway:

We’ve heard taxes proposed on sugary drinks and alcoholic drinks. Of course, middle-class people purchase those items. Let’s not forget that the cap-and-trade program pushed heavily by President Obama falls on anyone who uses electricity, so that obviously hits the middle-class as well. And one of the first actions that President Obama took as President was to increase the cigarette tax by a dollar a pack. And of course, middle- and low-income people are hit heavily by that tax as well.

In another analysis, Dubay argues that the Left’s soak-the-rich approach will only dig the economy deeper into recession by discouraging investors and entrepreneurs from entering the market. This will “negatively affect long-term economic growth because businesses that otherwise would have been created and added jobs to the economy will never get off the starting blocks.”

Furthermore, these taxes alone would not generate enough to account for the massive spending increases. And the middle class could pay the price.

“You just can’t borrow a trillion dollars for an economic stimulus, enact a new trillion dollar health care entitlement, and increase discretionary spending by 12% through 2019 (including doubling federal education spending), and then expect to pay for it all by taxing the most productive Americans,” writes Heritage’s Conn Carroll in the Morning Bell.

There are lots of mythical benefits from tax increases, yet the Left seems determined to learn their lesson the hard way—during a recession, no less.

There is an alternative. Dubay outlines ways in which the President and Congress could cut spending and taxes, foster individual enterprise and ultimately spur significant economic growth. Otherwise, he says, we’re just “hurting the economy at a time when the U.S. can least afford further damage.”

Five questions to ask your Congressmen on health care

As members of Congress break for their August recess, many have planned to host town hall discussions on health care. “This country deserves a respectful, honest debate about health care,” Conn Carroll writes in The Heritage Foundation’s Morning Bell. “And the hundreds of town halls members of Congress will be hosting across the country this August are just the place for these conversations to happen.”

» FreedomWorks has compiled a list of town hall meetings. Find a meeting near you.

To help concerned citizens prepare for the town hall discussions, The Heritage Foundation has constructed a list of five important questions that the proposal’s proponents need to answer.

1. Can you promise me that I will not lose my current plan and doctor?

1. Will members of Congress enroll in the public plan?

1. Can you guarantee that Obamacare will not lead to higher deficits in the long term?

1. Will there be rationing of health care for patients on the public plan?

1. Can you promise that my tax dollars will not fund abortions?

» Get talking points, in-depth analysis and more on Heritage’s rapid response page

The heated town hall meetings of the past week have already demonstrated the broad public opposition to big-government health care. As one University of Pennsylvania professor tells Politico, this movement could present a political problem for the Left. “If this comes down to vocal individuals, the Obama campaign ought to be able to always outnumber their opponent. And if they’re not, then that’s a problem.”

Host a 33 Minutes screening

You can host a screening of Heritage’s feature-length documentary on missile defense, 33 Minutes: Protecting America in the New Missile Age.

The threat to America hasn’t changed, nor has the need to defend the American people. Yet the Obama Administration plans to significantly cut and roll back a missile defense plan that has been in place for years to protect us–without having a serious national discussion on this issue. The Heritage Foundation is working get this discussion back on the table and you can help by hosting a screening of our film. We’ll supply you with all the materials you need to host an effective, informative and enjoyable event.

   » Watch the 33 Minutes trailer and apply to host a screening

> Other Heritage work of note

• The Heritage Foundation has been a strong presence in the health care debates. In July alone, our experts conducted over 130 television and radio interviews on health care, while our FixHealthCarePolicy.com Web site has become a go-to resource for lawmakers and the media.

• Unlike so much of the rest of the world, America “inherited a framework for resolving our differences according to shared principles and practices of constitutional government,” writes Heritage’s Jennifer Marshall. Unfortunately, these principles are often misused and disregarded, endangering our nation’s ability to address these differences, explains Marshall, who oversees Heritage’s DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society. These “cultural minefields” manifest themselves today in debates over school choice and public health care, where progressive proposals threaten an individual’s freedom to support only those causes they believe in.

• During his presidential campaign, then-Senator Barack Obama promised a better foreign policy in Latin America. However, Heritage foreign policy expert Peter Brookes condemns the administration’s “‘Have a Coke and Smile’ brand of foreign policy.” This policy has led to increasingly strained relations south of the border, while the likes of Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez continue to build anti-American coalitions.

• “[Secretary of Defense Robert] Gates’ approach to the defense authorization bill recently pushed through Congress is riddled with ‘old think,’” writes Heritage homeland security expert James Carafano in an article for the Washington Examiner. The defense plan reflects the Cold War philosophy that America’s enemies are “predictable” and therefore easily written into the defense budget. But this doesn’t account for unexpected and potentially more sophisticated attacks. “Enemies who really want to kill you prepare for the kinds of battles that you don’t want to [or aren't prepared to] fight,” Carafano warns

> In other news

• The Senate has confirmed Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s Supreme Court nomination, 68-31, making her the first Hispanic on the high court.

• The House of Representatives has endorsed, and the Senate is expected to pass, a $2 billion extension of the “cash for clunkers” spending program. Under the program, Americans who buy certain government-approved cars are given up to $4,500 to destroy their used cars.

• The courts are again getting involved in policies properly left to lawmakers, in this case public safety and spending. Citing the need to improve prisoner health, “a panel of federal judges ordered the California prison system on Tuesday to reduce its inmate population.”

• Russian nuclear submarines have recently been spotted off the American coast for the first time in more than a decade.

• The abortion battle may again be decisive politically as more information comes to light about the President’s public health care plan. Many socially-conservative liberal lawmakers would hesitate to support the legislation if the final version expands public support for abortions.

> Coming up at Heritage

To attend these or any other events at Heritage please RSVP at Heritage’s website. Or you can view these events live online. All times are Eastern.

• On Monday, August 10 at noon, Heritage will screen the new documentary Policy Peril: Why Global Warming Policies Are More Dangerous than Global Warming Itself.

Amanda Reinecker is a writer for MyHeritage.org—a website for members and supporters of The Heritage Foundation. Nathaniel Ward, the Editor of MyHeritage.org, contributed to this report.

Pasted below is more information about the August 8^th Code Blue Tea Party protests for health care freedom at Gabby Giffords’ offices in Tucson and Sierra Vista. 

1)  What, When and Where

2)  This Just In–Gabby Giffords Town Hall on Thursday Night, August 6

3)  How to Sign Up—And Info on Other AZ Rallies

4)  Ideas for Signs

5)  Why this Protest is Important 

1)  WHAT, WHEN AND WHERE 

Members of the Arizona chapter of Americans for Prosperity are joining allied organizations this Saturday, August 8th, at 9 am, for protests at the offices of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.  Her Tucson office is at 1661 N. Swan Road (SW corner of Swan and Pima), Tucson, 85712.  Her Sierra Vista office is at 77 Calle Portal, Sierra Vista, 85635. 

Our message to Congress, Washington bureaucrats, and special interests: 

     HANDS OFF OUR HEALTH CARE! 

AFP Arizona activists will join Arizona Tea Party, 912 Project Arizona, Smart Girl Politics, Tea Party Patriots, and hundreds of citizen activists in these Code Blue protests for health care freedom at Gabrielle Giffords’ offices. 

Congresswoman Giffords has serious reservations about the initial versions of the Obama-Pelosi-Kennedy “reform” plans.  She knows that the current plans would result in massive new taxes, fail to control costs, and take America a long way toward a single-payer, Canadian-style system of government-directed health care (under which Washington bureaucrats would decide which doctors you can go to, and which medical procedures you can and can’t have).  

Giffords is under intense pressure from President Obama, from her hard-left colleagues in Congress, and from radical activist groups that want to destroy what remains of America’s private health insurance system.  We need to make sure that Giffords hears loud and clear from grassroots supporters of health care freedom! 

Location for Giffords’ offices:  Saturday, August 8, 9:00 am.  Tucson–1661 N. Swan Road (SW corner of Swan and Pima), Tucson, 85712.  Sierra Vista–77 Calle Portal, Sierra Vista, 85635 

2)  THIS JUST IN—GABBY GIFFORDS TOWN HALL THURS AUG 6TH 

This just in from Tucson Tea Party co-organizer Robert Mayer:

WHAT:     “Casual Conversation” with Gabrielle Giffords

WHEN:     Thursday, August 6, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

WHERE:   La Placita, 110 S. Church Ave.

Parking info:   The address is 110 South Church Avenue, at the intersection of Church and Broadway.  Parking is available across the street (West of La Placita), off of the street “Jackson” in the five-story parking garage. Parking is reportedly free after 5 p.m. on Levels 3 and above. 

Mayer asks Tea Partiers to remember to wear your red Tea Shirts! 

3)  HOW TO SIGN UP FOR SATURDAY, INFO ON OTHER AZ RALLIES 

To sign up for a rally, please take the following five steps: 

a)  Decide which Congressional office you wish to visit on August 8th. The offices are listed on the Code Blue flyer:

http://www.americansforprosperity.org/files/health-care-code-blue-8-8-flyer.pdf 

b)  Reply to this email (or write to tjenney@afphq.org) to let AFP Arizona know which office you plan to visit. 

c)  Let your local Tea Party organizer know which office you’re going to, by signing up at www.arizonateaparty.com 

d)  Get talking points, policy updates, and ideas for signs at: http://joinpatientsfirst.com/ 

e)  Email and call your friends and family members, and urge them to join us on August 8th. 

4)  SOME IDEAS FOR SIGNS 

My doctor is my choice!

Hands off our health care!

ObamaCare = Long lines, poor quality

ObamaCare = Death

Read the Bill, Gabby!  Then vote NO!

Read Page 30 of HR 3200:  Govt will decide who gets treated

Read Page 72 of HR 3200:  All private plans must conform to govt rules

Read Page 124 of HR 3200:  No one can sue the govt health monopoly

Read Page 149 of HR 3200:  8% payroll tax on large employers

Read Page 150 of HR 3200:  6% payroll tax on small employers

Read Page 167 of HR 3200:  2.5% tax on people who don’t go along

Read Page 272 of HR 3200:  Cancer hospital payments will be rationed

Read Page 318 of HR 3200:  Hospital expansions prohibited w/o govt approval

Read Page 335 of HR 3200:  “Outcome-based measures” = Rationing

Gabby: Don’t let DC bureaucrats destroy health care

Don’t pull the plug on elderly Americans!

Fed up with govt health care

The VA almost killed me—ObamaCare will finish the job

If you think health care is expensive now, wait until it’s “free”

We say NO to ObamaCare

Where will the Canadians go for surgery?

Fascism: When govt decides whether you live or die 

5)  WHY THIS PROTEST IS IMPORTANT 

This is the fight of the decade for American liberty.  Now is the time to take a stand.  

President Obama and the leftists in Congress wanted to hurry up and complete the national government’s takeover of American health care–before the public got a chance to find out what was in the legislation.  We are grateful to report that the legislation does not look like it will move until after the August recess.  That means we have a very limited window to act. 

The same people who have taken over private banks and much of the auto industry now want to take over even more of the health care sector.  The same people who make you wait in line at the Post Office want to create a system in which you will have to wait weeks, months, or even years for life-saving or life-improving medical services.  The same kind of people who run America’s very expensive and very ineffective public schools claim that they will (somehow) maintain quality and control costs in the health care sector. 

Some of the central planners in Washington want to give government the power to say which doctors you can go to, and which medical procedures you can and can’t have.   President Obama is not sure whether the government should have allowed his own grandmother to get a hip replacement.  Imagine how Washington bureaucrats will treat YOU!

We must take a stand NOW to protect elderly patients, to maintain the high quality of health services in America, and to preserve the essential doctor-patient relationship.   Government has already distorted US health insurance markets by making private health insurance too expensive for many Americans, and by making American workers dependent upon on employer-provided insurance.  But if you think things are bad now, wait until government completes its takeover of the medical sector.  We must STOP the rapid march of socialist health care!

For Liberty,

–Tom 

Tom Jenney
Arizona Director
Americans for Prosperity
(Arizona Federation of Taxpayers)
www.aztaxpayers.org
tjenney@afphq.org
(602) 478-0146