It’s Official: The IRS Will Raid Your Tax Data Through Obamacare

“Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!” as Gomer Pyle used to say… except for those who read the bill… and exactly why they have been working so hard to wake America up.

So, it is official, the IRS will be getting personal data from the healthcare exchanges in order to help it implement Obamacare… And as Americans continue to be corralled into a government-mandated healthcare plan, it will be even more difficult to protect personal data.   (AP Photo/J. David Ake, File)

The Blaze: The Internal Revenue Service this week will publish a final rule requiring Obamacare health insurance exchanges to hand over key personal data to the IRS, which will use the information to implement the tax aspects of the controversial health care law.

The IRS rule covers health exchanges that sell insurance to individuals, and it takes effect this year. That means people enrolled in an Obamacare exchange this year will have their information given to the IRS as soon as it’s needed for tax purposes.Information to be handed over from Obamacare exchanges includes names, addresses, taxpayer identification numbers, insurance premium amounts, the name of the insurance issuer, and the insurance plan policy number issued by the exchanges.

The IRS says this data is needed to assess whether people are eligible for a health insurance tax credit. “This tax credit can help make purchasing health insurance coverage more affordable for people with moderate incomes,” according to the IRS.

The rule is being published amid ongoing concerns about data security, and after the troubled launch of the healthcare.gov website that exposed many technical glitches. Those issues have some worried that the personal data people give to the exchanges will be at risk.

House Republicans have passed a few bills aimed at addressing this potential problem. In January, for example, the House passed the Exchange Information Disclosure Act, which would require the government to tell people whenever their personal information has been compromised.

Republicans have also passed legislation requiring weekly updates from the administration on how the law is being implemented, including details about website glitches.

So far, however, only the House has passed these bills, and the Senate has not given any indication it will consider them.

The final IRS rule follows draft regulations that were issued last summer. Those rules were put out for public comment, and the final rules to be published this week were tweaked in some ways in response to those comments.

But the IRS also ignored some requests to alter the rule. For example, the draft rule said exchanges must tell the IRS whether a person enrolled in an Obamacare plan by a taxpayer is that taxpayer’s dependent. The commenter said the IRS should have that information, and that it therefore doesn’t need to be reported.

But the IRS said it would not change this rule.

“The final regulations do not adopt this comment because information the IRS provides as part of the verification process is from the taxpayer’s most recently filed tax return, which may be two years old,” the rule states.

The final IRS rule is due to be published on Wednesday.

The IRS Will Now Be Able to Seize Individual’s Personal Information Through ObamaCare

Technorati Tags: IRS-gate,ObamaCare,ObamaCare Surprises,Wake-Up,Taxes,ObamaCare Taxes,Alert

Affordable Care Act, ObamaCare, plans pose actuarial and rate challenges for insurers, rate to skyrocket in 2015

By Jay Hancock, Saturday, April 26, 3:06 PM  -  Washington Post  -  E-mail the writers

With the results sure to affect politics as well as pocketbooks, health insurers are preparing to raise rates next year for plans issued under the Affordable Care Act.

But how much depends on their ability to predict how newly enrolled customers — for whom little is known regarding health status and medical needs — will affect 2015 costs. 

Republicans have been sharply critical of the rule and of the many ways people can skirt it.

“We’re working with about a third of the information that we usually have,” said Brian Lobley, senior vice president of marketing and consumer business at Pennsylvania’s Independence Blue Cross. “We’ve really been combing the data to get a first look.”

At stake are price increases that buyers on the federal exchange, HealthCare.gov, and other online marketplaces will encounter when they get renewal notices this year. Forecasting success or failure could also affect whether insurers stay on the exchanges, a key pillar of the health overhaul.

The 2014 enrollment period closed at the end of March for most consumers. But carriers selling medical plans on HealthCare.gov must file initial 2015 rate requests with federal regulators in late May or June — even though they have little idea about the health and potential costs of their newly enrolled members. Deadlines also loom for state-run exchange filings.

WellPoint, the biggest player in the online exchanges, is talking about double-digit rate hikes for 2015. Such increases would give ammunition to Republican critics before the November elections.

Analysts’ expectations vary, but nobody is predicting decreases.

“We’ll see rate increases in the marketplaces, but I think it’s anyone’s guess” about what the precise changes will be, said Sabrina Corlette, project director at the Georgetown University Center on Health Insurance Reforms. “It’s like nailing Jell-O to a wall.”

The health law required insurers to accept all applicants this year for the first time without asking about existing illness. That reduces what they know about customers and raises the likelihood that they’ll sign sicker, more expensive members who were previously denied coverage.

At CoOportunity Health, a nonprofit carrier in Iowa and Nebraska, many enrollees scheduled medical treatments — including surgeries — as soon as possible after their coverage began Jan. 1, said chief operating officer Cliff Gold. Among the procedures were several expensive transplant operations, including heart and lung procedures that can cost more than $1 million each.

But insurers tend to receive pharmaceutical claims long before hospital bills. They are poring over these early prescription records for clues about new members’ medical status.

Pharmacy-benefit manager Express Scripts published data April 9 showing that marketplace enrollees in January and February were substantially more likely than average to have HIV infections, chronic pain, depression and other high-cost ailments.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean average costs will soar.

For one thing, insurers figured they would cover more sick patients this year and priced plans accordingly. Early pharmacy data at Independence Blue Cross, Lobley said, are “on par for what we expected.”

Even if carriers signed more chronically ill customers this year than planned, the health law includes “reinsurance” and other safety valves designed to keep high-cost members from pushing up rates.

A sign-up surge at the end of March is another reason not to rely on early claims information.

Just as the first enrollees were more likely to need immediate care, insurers think people who pushed the deadline may be healthier and younger. If so, they would balance the risk and help cover the cost of the early birds.

“It’s clear that sick people were signing up” for January coverage, said David Axene, a fellow of the Society of Actuaries working with insurers to set 2015 rates. “The question now is, were the later people healthier?”

Nobody knows. While March enrollees seem to have been younger on balance, their health status remains largely a mystery.

Blue Shield of California signed more than 50,000 people during the last two weeks of March.

“It’s still too early to draw conclusions,” said Amy Yao, Blue Shield’s chief actuary. “I have the best actuarial team in the whole country. Even with that, it’s less than 50 percent confidence” that they’ll hit the rate-setting sweet spot for 2015, she said.

It’s unclear how many of the 8 million who enrolled through the exchanges were previously uninsured. Many who did have coverage switched carriers this year, meaning their new insurers couldn’t see their health histories.

At CoOportunity Health, a start-up created with funding from the health law, every one of the 74,000 customers is new.

“It is an actuarial nightmare to try to guess what you’re going to get,” Gold said.

It’s not just member health that insurers have to think about. President Obama allowed many people to keep old plans that aren’t compliant with ACA rules. Carriers must calculate how that exception (people covered under old plans are thought to be healthier on average) affects average costs in their new policies.

Backup resources for plans with disproportionate shares of sick and expensive members will become a little weaker next year. Insurers have to factor that into their rates.

And they need to look at the big picture.

What economists call the cost trend — how high prices rise per procedure and how many procedures Americans get this year — may be the biggest variable in setting prices for 2015, experts said.

And the trend seems to be up. After several years of relatively tame increases that many tie to a sluggish economy, medical spending accelerated late last year.

Even so, the forces affecting 2015 premiums may not drive up ACA prices as much as some are forecasting. Finding that insurers have gotten discounts from select hospitals and doctors, the Congressional Budget Office recently lowered its estimate for the cost of premiums and taxpayer subsidies under the health law.

“I’m not expecting double digits like some people have predicted” for 2015 rate increases, Axene said. “I’m expecting mid-to-high single digits” — from 6 to 8.5 percent.

That would still be far higher than growth in the economy or family incomes.

Given the uncertainties that come with a major new social law, officials at Independence Blue Cross don’t think the picture will become clear until much later.

“We always viewed this as a three-year plan,” Lobley said. “We always thought there would be a lot of volatility in years one and two. We really thought 2016 would [bring] market stability in the individual market.”

Kaiser Health News is an editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Related: 

2.7 Million ObamaCare Enrollees Still Unaccounted For

Aid organizations across the country were jammed with people racing to get insurance under the Affordable Care Act..

Feds prepare to take over Oregon’s health exchange

21 ACA deadline extensions, in one chart

Technorati Tags: ACA,Affordable Care Act,ObamaCare,ObamaCare Costs,Wake-Up,ObamaCare Surprises,PPACA,Insurance Exchanges,Health Insurance Providers,Kaiser

GOP Senators’ Obamacare Replacement Beneficial to Young People says Senator Colborn as He Loses His Own Cancer Doctor in the Midst of His Cancer Fight

GOP senators’ Obamacare replacement beneficial to young people

Red Alert Politics: Just weeks into the new year and only months after Congressional Republicans attempted to defund the Affordable Care Act, a trio of Senate Republicans have unveiled a plan to replace Obamacare. And this alternative seeks to put money back in Millennials’ pockets.

Sens. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) joined forces in crafting a replacement for the Affordable Care Act, unveiling the proposal Monday. Called the Patient Choice, Affordability, Responsibility, and Empowerment Act, the law’s first step would be to repeal Obamacare. However, the proposed alternative does leave some key aspects of the current healthcare law in place, while offering some reprieves for Millennials.

“The American people have found out what is in Obamacare— broken promises in the form of increased health care costs, costly mandates, and government bureaucracy.  They don’t like it and don’t want to keep it,” Burr said in a press release. “…We can lower costs and expand access to quality coverage and care by empowering individuals and their families to make their own health care decisions, rather than empowering the government to make those decisions for them.”

Since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, young Americans have found their premiums increasing, some as much as 260 percent. However, the law was designed to require Millennials to pay more for health insurance to subsidize coverage for the elderly, whose health insurance is deemed to be more costly.

The Patient CARE proposal, however, seeks to take the financial burden off of young people’s shoulders.

“Unfortunately, young Americans are on the front lines of experiencing the costs and consequences of Obamacare’s costly mandates and broken promises: skyrocketing premiums, fewer choices, employers deciding not to offer health insurance, cutting back hours, or not hiring all together,” Burr said in an emailed statement to Red Alert. ”They know that Obamacare is not fair to them or their future.”

Under the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies can charge older Americans only three times as much as they charge “young invincibles.” This provision drives up the cost of health insurance for Millennials.

But under the Patient CARE proposal, that threshold is increased to allow insurance companies to charge the elderly a maximum of five times as much as they charge Millennials. States, though, can set their own ratio below that amount or opt out of the mandate by passing a law allowing it to do so.

Prior to the implementation of Obamacare, many states adhered to the federal benchmark proposed by Burr, Coburn and Hatch.

“Mr. President, we can see the importance of choice in the failings of ObamaCare, which is struggling to sign up young people who might just need a health plan that’s affordable instead of one that includes coverage they’ll never use or need,” Hatch said on the Senate floor Monday.

One of the Affordable Care Act’s most lauded provisions allows young people under the age of 26 to stay on their parents’ health insurance plans, and the measure has long been a staple of President Obama’s speeches and addresses surrounding his signature healthcare law. Sens. Burr, Corburn and Hatch included the provision in the Patient CARE proposal.

“While we believe fewer young consumers will utilize this option as the cost of health insurance decreases, retaining this policy has a very marginal effect on premiums and provides consumers with more choices,” it states.

The Congressional Budget office projected Obamacare would lead to 800,000 fewer jobs, likely as a result of the high cost of providing employees working more than 30 hours per week and other provisions in the employer mandate. But repealing the Affordable Care Act, as the Patient CARE measure seeks to do, provides both economic relief and opportunity for Millennials — a generation facing 15.9 percent unemployment.

“The Patient CARE Act would provide relief to young Americans by repealing Obamacare’s costly mandates, putting in place common-sense  insurance protections – like guaranteed coverage for pre-existing conditions, and empowering them to find a plan that meets their needs, including allowing health savings account dollars to go toward health premiums for the first time,” Burr said.

The Patient CARE legislation has yet to be introduced in the Senate, as the Republican triad hopes to “further refine and improve upon the proposal” and build support on both sides of the aisle.

Meanwhile, Cancer-stricken Sen. Tom Coburn revealed Tuesday that his health insurance under Obamacare doesn’t cover his oncologist.

The Oklahoma Republican’s spokesman confirmed to POLITICO that since the senator enrolled in his health insurance plan under Obamacare, his coverage has been reduced and he lost coverage for his cancer specialist. Coburn will continue to pay out of pocket and see his oncologist, his office said.

Luckily the former physician and Senator can pay for his doctor of choice and treatment out of pocked, but that is not the situation for many Americans who are losing their specialists, doctors or choice or their healthcare coverage completely and can’t afford the replacement.

His spokesman said Coburn’s struggles with his own doctor illustrate the need for a new policy, saying that not every American has the option to pay out of pocket for care.

“We hope the White House will work with us to make sure Americans who can’t afford to pay out of pocket don’t lose access to life-saving care,” spokesman John Hart said. “As Dr. Coburn’s experience shows, the American people are about to learn they’re going to lose access to not only their doctors and plans, but their specialists and treatments.”

Technorati Tags: Patient Choice,Affordability,Responsibility,and Empowerment Act,ObamaCare Alternatives,GOP,Tom Colburn,Cancer,ACA,Millennials,Health Insurance

Moody's Downgrades Health Insurers, Cites ObamaCare Uncertainty

New American: In announcing credit rating firm Moody’s downgrade of all health insurers, Senior Vice President Stephen Zaharuk placed the blame firmly and directly on the Obamacare rollout and implementation:

The ongoing and unstable and evolving environment is a key factor for our outlook change. The past few months have seen new regulations and announcements that impose operational changes well after product and pricing decisions were finalized.

Translation: Health insurers could lose their shirts if the assumptions they made in their premium calculations prove false. So far, it doesn’t look good. Zaharuk cited some of those uncertainties, including the demographics of those enrolling for coverage. The insurers assumed that the Obama administration was right when it estimated that at least 2.7 million young and healthy individuals aged 18 to 34 would sign up by the end of March. Only 24 percent of the 2.2 million enrolled by the end of the year fall into that category. Put another way, so far just 528,000 of the 2.7 million needed to make the math, and the economics, work out are in that category.

That’s why, in its report, Moody’s cut its earnings estimate for all insurers by a full third, while expecting enrollments will fall short by two-thirds.

There are other uncertainties, including the decision by the administration to allow insurers to continue to offer “bare bones” (read: low profit margin) coverages in response to pressure from those previously insured who had their present insurance plans terminated. The administration delayed the premium payments deadline (delaying expected cash flows to the insurers), delayed the sign-up date, pushed back the second-year enrollment period until after the November elections, and extended the enrollment deadline for those with pre-existing conditions.

There’s also the industry’s new tax on medical devices that insurers somehow had to factor into their calculations. Said Zaharuk: “While some insurers built this tax into their premium calculations, the amounts [they receive] may still be insufficient to cover their share of the assessment.”

Also, many ObamaCare enrollees are actually pouring into the states’ Medicaid programs, and insurers have no direct way to offset those increased expenses and will have to eat any losses, perhaps for years. Zaharuk explained: “The Medicaid business is particularly vulnerable to this disconnect as insurers cannot pass on additional costs to consumers, and it remains to be seen whether states will permit insurers to factor in the assessment costs in determining Medicaid reimbursement rates.”

Health insurers are vulnerable on other fronts as well. Gallup just published its latest “Well-Being Index,” which shows the uninsured rate to be virtually the same as it was two years ago, despite the enormous marketing efforts by the administration touting the wonders of ObamaCare, and actually significantly higher than it was in January 2008, long before the federally mandated law was birthed in the hothouse of central planning. In addition the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that, even under the most favorable circumstances, by 2016, when Obamacare was assumed to be fully functioning, 31 million citizens will remain uninsured. This means insurers can’t count on that huge block of customers to enhance their revenue streams.

Moody’s was not optimistic:

In 2015, insurers will need to deal with the implications of the employer mandate and the second year of the individual mandate. Both require substantial lead time with respect to product development and pricing. Ad hoc changes to these provisions, as experienced at the end of 2013 … add additional risks and financial uncertainty.

When asked by Kate Rogers of Fox News what it would take for Moody’s to reverse its downgrade, Zaharuk said:

We would need [to see] some positive enrollment numbers, the back-end problems with the exchanges fixed, and the regulatory environment … stabilized.

Positive news would help the situation.

How likely is that? Responded Zaharuk:

The first test comes in March when we will see what enrollment looks like, if the back-end issues are fixed, if people are getting access to health care, and what the costs … are.

If these things don’t work, it may have a longer and more detrimental effect on the industry as they struggle under the new law. 

Whether intended or not, this disruption in the healthcare marketplace is having its consequences, nearly all of them negative. First experienced by the consumers, they are now spilling over, inevitably, to the insurers. 

A graduate of Cornell University and a former investment advisor, Bob is a regular contributor to The New American magazine and blogs frequently at www.LightFromTheRight.com, primarily on economics and politics. He can be reached at badelmann@thenewamerican.com.

Here comes Obama’s solution to the disastrous Affordable Care Act: National Health Care a.k.a. the Single Payer System

Betsy McCaughey: Obamacare designed to vastly expand single payer Medicaid by eviscerating Medicare 

Bailing Out Health Insurers and Helping Obamacare

Technorati Tags: ObamaCare,Health Insurers,Moody's,Economics,Bailouts,Downgrades,Single-Payer,The Plan,Socialized Medicine,Watch the Other Hand,Wake-Up

Are Young Americans Signing Up For Obamacare?

Video: Are Young Americans Signing Up For Obamacare?

Scottie Nell Hughes (News Director of Tea Party News Network) joins FBN's Charles Payne and Josh Nass (Voices of Conservative Youth Chairman) to discuss the reasons behind lack of enthusiasm by young Americans to sign up for Obamacare.

Harry Reid: Obamacare 'Costs Me About $4,500 More'

NewsMax: President Barack Obama may have famously promised his signature healthcare plan would cost consumers less money — but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is proof that it's often not true.

"Under Obamacare, my insurance costs me about $4,500 more than it did before," Reid told the Reno Gazette Journal. "Yes, because it is age-related and it wasn't like that before."
Reid, while noting that 150 million families get insurance through their employers, "so should all federal employees."

Reid's comments came while he denied a CNN story claiming he is the only top congressional leader to exempt some of his staff from having to buy coverage through the Obamacare exchanges.

"I followed the Affordable Care Act,” Reid said. “It is the law. The law says that if you have committee staff, leadership staff, they stay where they are. If you have other staff, which is most everyone, they go to the exchanges."

Reid is worth $2.8 to $6.2 million, according to an OpenSecrets.org report, so he would not qualify for subsidies that would lower his Obamacare insurance costs.

But his rate hike is an eye-opener after promises made by people like House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who told Meet the Press last year that "everybody would have lower rates" under Obamacare.

And the healthcare rate increases under ObamaCare have been eye-openers for not only the rich, but for many in the middle class and after all is said and done there will be as many uninsured Americans as before only now the government controls one sixth of the U.S. budget through healthcare as well as everyone’s healthcare options.  Wake-up America, the outcome of the next two elections will be the only chance to change this.  Time to oust the Harry Reids, Nancy Pelosis and Barack Obama’s

Pelosi denied to The Weekly Standard in a later report that she'd made the statement, saying she doesn't "remember saying that everybody in the country would have a lower premium."
But a study earlier this year by two members of the American Academy of Actuaries found that tens of millions will see higher insurance costs, reports Forbes, with or without the subsidies — and just like Harry Reid.

Related stories:

• Obamacare Out-of-Pocket Costs Much Higher Than Expected

• Millions Facing Huge Costs, Lost Coverage Thanks to Obamacare Upheaval

CoffeeCare

Video: CoffeeCare 

Perspective: New Law – "The Affordable Boat Act" 2014

Megyn Kelly - Did Obama win election by lying abt Keeping your Healthcare; Still Lying 2 Cover up

Video: Megyn Kelly - Did Obama win election by lying about Keeping your Healthcare; Still Lying 2 Cover up

Wake-Up… ObamaCare Eliminates Your Plan by Design 

The Dirty Secret Behind ObamaCare No One’s Talking About

Book:  Beating Obamacare

Obamacare Debacle - Many Losing Their Plans - Chris Wallace - Fox News Sunday - 11-3-13

Video:  Obamacare Debacle - Many Losing Their Plans - Chris Wallace - Fox News Sunday - 11-3-13

Nov 3, 2013:  Another tough week for the Obamacare rollout and the massive number of folks who are having their medical insurance coverage cancelled in the process. This week, FNC's Chris Wallace hosts a highly spirited debate between James Capretta (Ethics & Public Policy Center) and Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel (Former Adviser to President Obama on Obamacare)

Related: 

Betsy McCaughey: Obamacare designed to vastly expand single payer Medicaid by eviscerating Medicare

Ezekiel Emanuel & The Complete Lives System: part 3 of Health Care: Why We are Scared (Video)

Ezekiel Emanuel, architect of ObamaCare..please read

“Death Panel” Three Years Later

"People 70 and over will not be treated under Obamacare… and you thought DEATH PANELS were gone"  -  Betsy McCaughey recently warned baby-boomers that if they are under 65, they better line up their doctors, at least a primary care physician and an internist, now… because with all the people being enrolled in Medicare/Medicaid under ObamaCare, once they turn 65 and go on Medicaid they will have a hard time finding doctors, if they can find them at all.

She also warned that if they have major surgery, they need to cobble together enough funds for a private nurse for the first night because hospitals are already laying off staff, including nurses.

McCaughey is the author of Beating Obamacare: Your Handbook for the New Healthcare Law, Decoding the Obama Health Law: What You Need To Know (Kindle) and Obama Health Law: What It Says and How to Overturn It (Encounter Broadsides) (Kindle).  She knows of what she speaks!!

No Bid Contract For ObamaCare Website Was Given To Michelle Obama's Pal And Sorority Sister

Joshua Pundit – Cross-Posted at AskMarion: There's an interesting thing that's surfaced regarding the disastrous $678 million ObamaCare website.

The company that built it, CGI Federal received a no bid contract to build the site, even though four other companies submitted bids which were never reviewed. Only CGI’s bid was considered.

And wouldn't you know it, there are a couple of other interesting coincidences.

As the Daily Caller reported, Toni Townes-Whitley, Princeton class of ’85, is the senior vice president at CGI Federal...and not only a classmate and friend of the First Lady, who graduated from Princeton the same year, but a sister at the all black sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha and a fellow member of the Association of Black Princeton Alumni.

And to add to the mix, there's George Schindler, president of CGI, who became an Obama Campaign donor after CGI won the lucrative contract.

Even more interesting, there are rumors that CGI Technologies and Solutions, Inc. PAC – CGI Group’s political action group that donates to the campaigns - made a significant swing in donations to Democrats at around the same time.

Now, no bid contracts have come up before. Democrats threw a huge tantrum over no bid contracts awarded to Halliburton for services they performed in Iraq because of former Vice President Dick Cheney's past employment with them. Those services included saving Iraq's oil wells after Saddam Hussein set them on fire after we invaded.

The difference was that for most of the work Halliburton performed in Iraq, they were the only game in town and no other bids were submitted. Few companies had the expertise and/or the equipment to do what Halliburton contracted to do... observers who credited Halliburton with saving Iraq's oil wells while avoiding an ecological disaster characterized it as a miracle. Not only that, but few if any competitors were willing to send their equipment and employees into a war zone or pony up for the huge insurance costs involved.

What happened with CGI was very different, with four other companies submitting bids that were never even looked at.

It's the Chicago way...and always done using other people's money.

The Dirty Secret Behind ObamaCare No One’s Talking About

Technorati Tags: CGI,Obamaland,Chicago,Chicago Way,Michelle Obama,Cronyism,ObamaCare rollout,ObamaCare,Halliburton,smoke and mirrors,Corruption,taxpayers,double standards,Website,No-Bid,Moochelle,Princeton

“Mr. President, I’m Leaving the Medical Field”; Letter from a Physician to Obama

The Last Great Stand: Which props do you think Obama will use when he reads THIS letter on national television? Will he call back all the actors he dresses up in white lab coats to stand around him and look all doctor-like when he reads it?

No wait! I know, maybe one of the fake doctors in the lab coats will fake a faint, and Obama will be there to save HIM! What do you think? Am I close?

No. Lord Barrack has a funny way of reading letters from the pile that only has about 4 letters in it. The pile that is now responsible for 1% of the annual budget in storage because of the size never seems to get read from. I wonder why??? I’m kidding about the 1% by the way. I’m sure he just burns all the hate mail telling him what a boob he is. 

Barack Hussein Obama

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W.

Washington, DC 20500

Mr. President,

I was born at Centennial Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. My mother would later take a job delivering babies in that same operating room only a couple years later. My parents got a divorce when I was young. There were many times during the summer when she would be forced to take my sister and I to work with her. I vividly remember the child version of myself walking the halls of the same floor I was born on in fascination as the years passed. The anesthesiologists use to bring us candy and watch movies with us. When the holidays came, a nurse by the name of Patty Vaughn (we called her Granny), would have bags of presents for my sister and I. Donna Smith, a surgical first assistant who came to America from Canada to work in a free-market healthcare system, use to babysit us.

I’m Hanging Up The White Coat Because Of Obamacare To Pursue My Doctorate In Economics And Head To Wall Street

I’m Hanging Up The White Coat Because Of Obamacare To Pursue My Doctorate In Economics And Head To Wall Street

Donna’s two-story town-home became a 3rd home (2nd was the hospital). We spent countless nights at her house.

Patty passed away when I was ten. I still remember the last box of moon pies she gave me for Halloween that year. To this day every time I see a moon pie I think of her. Donna helped me through my undergrad at Belmont University. With tuition at $30k/year money was tight. Donna never let me go without a meal.

You see Mr. President, the smell of sterile operating rooms, horrible coffee, crisp white coats, and cold metal was my destiny. The first time someone ever asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up I responded, “Anesthesiologist”. I had no idea what they even did, but it was the first big word I learned to pronounce as a 6-year-old. The hospital is my family. It’s all I’ve ever known.

Twenty-one years after my birth, in the same hospital, I listened to a fetal heart beat through my very own stethoscope. You know, it’s quite magical. As the cool, metallic bell lies upon the tight skin of a young mother’s stomach anxiety, fear and joy are all present in her face. A week before my birthday I stood at the side of the laboring mother. There’s no other way to explain childbirth than witnessing the face of God. The emotion is enveloping. You can only try (unsuccessfully) to hold the tears back. I knew at that moment what a gift God had given me. To be allowed the involvement of such a beautiful, pure moment was not to be unappreciated.

When I started college I knew where I was going. You had just won the election. I remember the cameras focusing in on Oprah Winfrey’s face. Tears streamed down. At the time, I knew nothing about politics. My biggest concern was a girl in my Anatomy & Physiology class I had a crush on. I paid little attention to Washington DC.

I worked hard. Multiple all-nighters, falling asleep behind the wheel of my car countless times, thousands of shots of espresso (I actually took a job at Starbucks to support the habit) and 15k note-cards later I had graduated in the top 5% of the country. However, during those last few years something changed.

We studied medical legislation for an entire semester. It’s no secret that the federal government has over-burdened the healthcare market, which has manifested astronomical costs to consumers. However, in 2010, democrats forced through the partisan Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), which was later funded by both democrats and republicans.
Since the passage of Obamacare everything has changed. When I started college I never intended to work for the government. I never thought I’d have a government bureaucrat dictate what I was worth to the market, and I certainly never imagined those same bureaucrats (who have absolutely no medical training) telling me how to treat my patients.

I remember the day Obamacare became law. I was sitting in the hospital working in the anesthesia department part-time to cover the costs of tuition. Dr. Alfery, a mentor of mine, looked over at me and said, “Run– It’s not too late to change majors.”

Your legislation has caused countless doctors to go into retirement early, opt for cash-only practices, and has discouraged bright, young minds from entering the field.

With student loans reaching $300k, incalculable opportunity costs and 8 years lost to school, students seeking medical degrees give their lives to the practice. Starting our careers at 30 while dictating to us how much money we can make is nothing short of destroying all incentive to enter the field.

Since that day I’ve yet to find a doctor who recommends the field. People respond to my complaints, “It’s still going to be a good job”. I don’t want a “good job”. I have not fought for a government entitlement of a “good job”. I want an incredible career. That’s what I have fought tirelessly for.

I have been on a path to enter the Air Force and continue my education in medicine. I have been dreaming of specializing in pediatric neurosurgery for half a decade.

After quite literally losing my hair from the internal conflict, considering the sunk costs and evaluating different avenues I have decided.

I have decided that I believe in the principles of a truly free-market, and I trust the free-market. Because of this deep, internal value system I cannot, with clear conscience, continue on this path. My life has value. Such value cannot be calculated by Washington bureaucrats. I won’t allow it. Only a true free-market can accurately assess the value I am capable of.

Mr President, I’m leaving the medical field. I’m hanging up the white coat. However, let me be clear. You have not won. Unless something “changes”, you’ve lost and will continue to lose. You will fail because you lack principle. Meanwhile, we will succeed because we are born of principle.

Regards,

Michael Gordon Lotfi

2014 IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER!!!!  GET-INVOLVED!!!!

Technorati Tags: ObamaCare Lies,ObamaCare,Doctor Shortages,Repeal and Replace ObamaCare,Socialized Medicine,Physicians

An ObamaCare Update from a Comrade

Video: An ObamaCare Update from a Comrade

SD tea party ad likens ‘Obamacare’ to communism 

Bill O’Reilly on Socialism and a Shocking New Book

Technorati Tags: Constitution,Financial,History,Politics,Survival,Taxation,ObamaCare,Communism,Socialized Medicine,Marxists,Progressivism

$634 Million ObamaCare Website Company was Fired by Canada

FrontpageMagazine: So Obama took a Canadian company that Canadian officials fired for screwing up their health care website and gave it a much bigger job.

Canadian provincial health officials last year fired the parent company of CGI Federal, the prime contractor for the problem-plagued Obamacare health exchange websites, the Washington Examiner has learned.

CGI Federal’s parent company, Montreal-based CGI Group, was officially terminated in September 2012 by an Ontario government health agency after the firm missed three years of deadlines and failed to deliver the province’s flagship online medical registry.

The online registry was supposed to be up and running by June 2011.

…

The CMS officials refused to say if federal officials knew of its parent company’s IT failure in Canada when awarding the six contracts.

It wasn’t just those contracts. As mentioned earlier, Obama dumped huge amounts of money on CGI.

CGI Federal is a subsidiary of Montreal-based CGI Group. With offices in Fairfax, Va., the subsidiary has been a darling of the Obama administration, which since 2009 has bestowed it with $1.4 billion in federal contracts, according to USAspending.gov.

HHS is by far the single largest federal contractor of CGI, showering it with $645 million in contracts. The Defense Department pays the Canadian company $254 million, the EPA $58 million and the Justice Department $36 million.

In comparison, in 2008, under President George W. Bush, CGI contracts totaled only $16.5 million for all federal departments and agencies.

The interesting question is why Obama dumped 1.4 billion in taxpayer money on a company this incompetent and ignored all the warnings.

It’s one more thing that ought to be investigated.

The Dirty Secret Behind ObamaCare No One's Talking About

Technorati Tags: government waste,EPA,CGI,Obamacare,ObamaCare costs,Canada,taxpayers

Obamacare will double my monthly premium (according to Kaiser)

That’s  right… the Progressive website, the Daily Kos, reported that according to Kaiser, people’s healthcare premiums, under the new Affordable Care Act, ObamaCare, are doubling for some.

Daily Kos: My wife and I just got our updates from Kaiser telling us what our 2014 rates will be. Her monthly has been $168 this year, mine $150. We have a high deductible. We are generally healthy people who don't go to the doctor often. I barely ever go. The insurance is in case of a major catastrophe.

Well, now, because of Obamacare, my wife's rate is gong to $302 per month and mine is jumping to $284.

I am canceling insurance for us and I am not paying any fucking penalty. What the hell kind of reform is this?

Oh, ok, if we qualify, we can get some government assistance. Great. So now I have to jump through another hoop to just chisel some of this off. And we don't qualify, anyway, so what's the point?

I never felt too good about how this was passed and what it entailed, but I figured if it saved Americans money, I could go along with it.

I don't know what to think now. This appears, in my experience, to not be a reform for the people.

What am I missing?

I realize I will probably get screamed at for posting this, but I can't imagine I am the only Californian who just received a rate increase from Kaiser based on these new laws.

UPDATE: Updated the title per some requests. I appreciate all the helpful comments. I am   now on baby duty but will go through these later for more information. I can't keep up with all the comments right now.

I really do appreciate the helpful comments. Peace all. Peace out.

Technorati Tags: ObamaCare,ObamaCare costs,ObamaCare surprises,Kaiser,Healthcare Premiums,Affordable Care Act,wake-up,ACA,Socialized Medicine,ObamaCare lies,Get-Involved

Have You Gotten Your Biometric Screening Letter from Your Employer, Yet?

Freedom By The Way: 

Big Brother has arrived...neatly packaged in “The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” AKA Obamacare. Hubby received a notice today at work about “FREE BIOMETRIC SCREENINGS” for himself and his dependents that could save us from $17-$34 a month on premiums. (which, of course, doesn’t do much to  offset the 29% increase which went into effect July 1, but I digress). 

Right now, the biometric screening is voluntary. Which is a good thing because we have no intention of selling out our privacy for $34 a month. However, employer biometric screening and individual wellness plans will be MANDATORY under Obamacare in the not too distant future.

From a press release from a company called BIOQ, published August 14, 2013:

BioIQ Helps Employers Comply with New ACA Wellness Requirements

Health Improvement Technology Company Helps Companies Engage Employees in a Non-Discriminatory Manner to Measure Individual and Population Health

Santa Barbara, Calif. – August 14, 2013 –

BioIQ announced that its health-improvement technology platform helps employers comply with the final regulations of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). Leveraging the BioIQ platform, organizations throughout the United States can increase wellness program participation, avoid discrimination, and meet stated health and wellness goals…

BioIQ offers a comprehensive set of products and services to help employers achieve and verify compliance with ACA wellness requirements. For example, BioIQ Dimensions offers several health-screening methods for gathering biometric data from employees and dependents to enforce nondiscrimination. BioIQ program participants who are unable to take a blood test or meet stated health standards due to a medical condition are allowed to request an alternative or a waiver. BioIQ Axis connects individuals to specific interventions based on their identified risks and needs. BioIQ Ecosystem funnels participants into an array of complementary health, wellness, and disease-management solutions to improve their health. This patented “closed-loop” wellness platform helps all participants to earn rewards by meeting agreed-upon milestones and outcomes. Specific risk-factors trigger targeted interventions. Secure personal health dashboard enable participants to track their progress and allow administrators to manage participation, outcomes, rewards and incentives, all while protecting personal health information as per HIPAA requirements.

“To comply with the ACA mandates, employers need to engage the entire population, carefully track the results, and provide direct interventions to help participants achieve healthy outcomes and meet personal wellness goals,” said Justin Bellante, CEO of BioIQ.,,,

Outcomes-based programs (also called health-contingent wellness programs) not only require participation; they also require individuals to attain or maintain specific health outcomes as measured by biometric screening or a health risk assessment. Corporate wellness programs must track individual results related to each requirement and allow employees to take additional steps to achieve the stated outcomes to obtain wellness incentives or rewards. These programs must also offer reasonable alternatives for people who have a specific condition that precludes them from achieving the outcome, so that the individual can earn the incentives via other agreed-upon means, as validated by a recent Internal Revenue Service bulletin.  Read the entire press release here: https://www.bioiq.com/press

So now your employer will be involved in tracking your health & lifestyle? That’s right folks!

If your cholesterol is too high…you smoke…you drink too much…you take sleeping pills…you are overweight…your employer must design an individual program for you to improve.

Can we just do the jobs employers hired us to do? Do you have to take a sample of my blood and tell me how to live?

Belize is looking better and better.

Technorati Tags: ObamaCare,biometrics,behavior,Behavior Based Health Costs,ACA,Big Brother,Employers,Wellness

ObamaCare Cost Increases Shocking to Many…

Fabulous Obamacare Success Stories

EIB: BEGIN 10.03.13 TRANSCRPT

RUSH: James Taranto, the Wall Street Journal, has a story of a guy named Brendan Mahoney, who did succeed. It's a Hartford Courant story, and this guy's being joked about as the man who saved Obamacare. The subhead is: "Great news! They got a 30-year-old dude to sign up!" And here are the details. "Meet Brendan Mahoney, the young man who is saving ObamaCare. He's 30 years old, a third-year law student at the University of Connecticut. He's actually been insured for the past three years -- in 2011 and 2012 through a $2,400-a-year school-sponsored health plan." So he's already got insurance and he went to the exchange. This year he is insured "through 'a high-deductible, low-premium plan that cost about $39 a month through a UnitedHealthcare subsidiary.'" But even though he already had plan, at 39 bucks a month, "he wanted to see what ObamaCare had to offer."

"He tried logging in to the exchange's website at 8:45 a.m. yesterday, which is impressive in itself. Most young people don't get up that early. 'He said the system could not verify his identity.'" He's got insurance, don't forget. He's paying $39 a month through a United Health Care subsidiary, high deductible, low premium plan, school-sponsored health plan. When the system couldn't verify his identity, "he called the toll-free help line, whose operator also encountered computer trouble. 'But then he logged on a second time, he said, and the system worked.'"

He told the Hartford Courant, "'Once it got running, it was fast. It really made my day. It's a lot like TurboTax.' He obtained insurance through ObamaCare. Now, he says, 'if I get sick, I'll definitely go to the doctor.' Even better, if he stays healthy, he won't need to go to a doctor, and his premiums will support chronically ill policyholders on the wrong side of 40."

This is the guy, this is what they're looking for. Now, hang in there with me, folks. This is not over. This is exactly what they're looking for, a 30-year-old healthy guy to sign up and pay the freight so that nanaw and grandpa can be treated. They're looking for 30-year-olds who are not gonna get sick, not gonna put any financial strain on the system. They pay the premium, they pay the freight. This guy had a premium of 39 bucks. He wanted to see if he could beat that on Obamacare, and he did.

"So, how much of a premium is strapping young Brendan Mahoney paying to help make ObamaCare work? Oops. The Courant reports that Mahoney 'said that by filling out the application online, he discovered he was eligible for Medicaid.'" So 30-year-old strapping, healthy dude, Brendan Mahoney, beginning next year will not pay any premium at all because Obamacare, the exchange, told him, based on the way he filled out the data, that he is eligible for Medicaid.

What a fabulous success story for Obamacare's first day. Here we have a future lawyer -- remember, now, this guy is I think a 3L at the University of Connecticut. He was gonna be a lawyer, might still be a lawyer. He was already paying for insurance, and he's been converted into a welfare case. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the objective. When you strip it all away, this shows how all of this is really designed to work.

Now, on the surface -- and everything I've told you here is true -- this 30-year-old guy signs up, he's paying a premium of $39, but, you know, he's curious. He's a tech savvy guy. He wanted to find out what it was all about. Maybe he could beat the 39 bucks. So he fills out all the necessary forms, inputs all the data, and he finds out at age 30 he qualifies for Medicaid, and therefore he's become a welfare case.

So this 30-year-old guy -- and hopefully, theoretically millions like him who are gonna be signing up and paying all these premiums so that nanaw and grandpa can get health coverage and treatment, qualified for Medicaid. So a 30-year-old guy -- who was gonna be a lawyer, so you figure he's got some decent earning power -- has been converted by Obamacare into a welfare case. And he didn't pull any strings. He didn't know anybody. He didn't ask for special treatment. This is just what the system spat out.

So now he doesn't have pay 39 bucks. Now he can get rid of that health plan he's got at school. At 30 years of age, he discovered he was eligible for Medicaid. He's a healthy guy. I is a joke here that they're saying, "Here we have great news, a 30-year-old guy signed up," because the story is nobody's been able to sign up. But lo and be, "Hey, we got a guy!" You know, the regime can tell everyone, "We got a guy! We got a guy! It's this guy in Old Clayneck, Connecticut, 30 years old. Look at this, what we did here. We got a guy! We got a guy.

"He's exactly who we want to sign up here," and Obamacare turned him into a welfare case. They turned him into a ward of the state. A guy that's gonna be a lawyer, is gonna have decent earning power is now a Medicaid recipient. "Oh, come on, Rush! It's just a first-year glitch. These things will get ironed out." A little companion story here from the Washington Free Beacon. "Health insurance premiums for young people will rise in all 50 states under Obamacare, with an average increase of 260 percent, according to a study released Thursday.

"The young and healthy segment of the uninsured is considered crucial for the Affordable Care Act to succeed. Former President Bill Clinton suggested last week that Obamacare only works 'if young people show up.'" Well, what the hell, folks? Here we got this young guy that showed up and the system made him a Medicaid recipient. He didn't game it. He is just going through the process and found out that he qualified for Medicaid -- and I'm telling you, in my not so cynical opinion, I think that is the long-0term objective is to turn everybody into a welfare case in this country, folks.

That's the long-term objective of not just Obamacare, but of the Democrat Party. Turn everybody into a dependents. Make everybody dependent on government for things they consider really important, like their health care. Here's another one. The Associated Press: "A Bumpy First Day for New Affordable Care Act Insurance Marketplaces -- The technical trouble couldn't dampen the relief Hussein Daoud felt for himself, his wife and their six children. The 51-year-old Detroit man came to apply for insurance at the Dearborn-based nonprofit organization ACCESS. With the help of counselors, he learned that his annual income of $14,500 made him eligible for Medicaid, and he likely won't have to pay for a plan that covers his family."

He's 51 years old. He, his wife, and six children -- and an annual income of $14,500? What in the world...? (interruption) Yeah, eight people for free, but before you get there, how are eight people getting by on his $14,500 annual income? Well, I know. Food stamps and all the other stuff, but so eight people in Dearbornistan go in to sign up and he end up becoming wards of the state. Health care for them is free as well, in addition to the strapping young 30-year-old Brendan Mahoney in Connecticut. (laughing)

On one hand, this is the biggest collection of Keystone Cops and incompetence running. On the other hand, this is a really, really profoundly dangerous thing that's happening here. But there's a part of me that, I'm sorry, cannot suppress my laughter at raging... I know you might think it's a conflict to call them incompetent when they're registering all these wards of the state. I am here to tell you, folks, that they did not intend for 30-year-olds to be comped. That was never part of the plan. That's who is going to have to pay. How in the world...?

The way that they make those people wards of the state is take all of their disposable income in the form of health care premiums and make them dependent in other ways. But they do need money flowing into the system. They do need some people paying premiums, and they can't get by with just the rich paying premiums; there isn't enough money there to cover everybody. So they need these strapping, young, 30-year-old guys and women, who aren't gonna get sick, paying into the system -- and the system's converting 'em to welfare recipients. (Raspberry) Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Here's Lee, New York City. Lee, it's great to have you on the EIB Network. Hello.

CALLER: How are you? Hey, you spoke about the Obamacare success story with 30-year-old guy in law school getting a free ride.

RUSH: Yeah.

CALLER: They're probably tickled pink about this because what's gonna happen in a few years or less than that this guy starts earning six figures and he's stuck in the program? Hello, premiums!

RUSH: Now, that's a good point. He's talking about the first story I had in the Stack today, a Hartford Courant story about Brendan, some 30-year-old law student at University of Connecticut. He is in, folks, an insurance plan right now at school where he has a $39 a month premium. So he went to the Obama exchange in Connecticut on the website, and he got through, and he signed up.

Well, he found out that he qualifies for Medicaid as a college student. He doesn't have any income, not to speak of, so he's poor. So he qualifies for Medicaid. So right now, he doesn't pay anything. Now, the regime... He's 30, still in school. The regime wants people like this guy paying full freight to pay for nanaw and grandma. So people are making a big joke about the fact that this Brendan guy -- a healthy, strapping 30-year-old -- has been converted into a ward of the state by Obamacare.

But Lee's point here is, if this guy finishes school and does become a lawyer and does find a job (and all of those are questionable) then he's no longer qualifying for Medicaid, is he? He won't qualify for Medicaid once he gets a job as a lawyer, 'cause he won't qualify for Medicaid anymore. As Lee points out, this 30-year-old strapping young Brendan guy, he's not gonna like it. He's not gonna like the revelation that his premiums are gonna skyrocket, and that's true. That's gonna be a delayed reaction, because that requires old Brendan to graduate and then find a job at a decent law firm where he hangs his own shingle or what have you.

It's a great point, Lee. I appreciate that.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Here's Nancy, Salt Lake City. Hi, Nancy, great to have you on the program. Hi.

CALLER: Hello. Nice to speak with you. Thank you for your time. I'll get right to the point 'cause I know you're busy. I want to tie in your very first story in the first hour and the story in your second hour about the Medicaid. I'm a single mom. I make $5,000 a year. I qualify for Medicaid, but my spend down premium is $460 a month. I am not eligible for any tax credit subsidy because my income is below 100% of the federal poverty level, which is 99% of my household income. This is a mess, it's a chocolate mess.

RUSH: Wait a minute. You make $5,000 a year?

CALLER: Yes. I'm a student and I make $5,000 a year and I'm trying to get out of the toilet.

RUSH: Oh, okay, student. And you don't qualify. You make too little to qualify for poverty?

CALLER: I do qualify. I am 100% below the federal poverty level.

RUSH: Yeah.

CALLER: But for me to have Medicaid I have to pay the state of Utah $460 a month.

RUSH: Well, how did this clown in Connecticut get onto Obamacare and he's not gonna pay anything?

CALLER: Exactly, and he doesn't even have a child that he has to raise.

RUSH: Well, not that we know of.

CALLER: Well, that's true, too.

RUSH: Not that he knows of.

CALLER: I'm still trying to see the future pay-in, you know. But, anyway, so I'm not available for any tax credit subsidies that they claim that the poor people get to help them --

RUSH: This is incredible. So people at or below 100% of the poverty line cannot get Obamacare subsidies?

CALLER: Correct. You are correct. I have it right here in black and white. I do not qualify for any of the subsidy. But yet they want 99% of my household --

RUSH: You know, I could be really insensitive and say, "Welcome to my world."

CALLER: Yeah.

RUSH: But I wouldn't do that.

CALLER: But that's okay.

RUSH: I'm not doing that, Dawn, don't shake your head. I wasn't doing that. I told her I could, but I wouldn't. I'm not doing that. I just want you to know I don't get subsidies, either.

CALLER: Yeah. It blows you away, doesn't it, how this Obamacare is supposed to help the poor and --

RUSH: Yes, I know.

CALLER: -- blah, blah, blah.

RUSH: I did not know that you could be too poor to qualify for Obamacare. You're supposed to get Medicaid, but you have to pay $460 bucks a month did you say for Medicaid?

CALLER: Correct.

RUSH: That doesn't sound like it makes any sense. Anyway, I've gotta run. I'm outta time. I'm very sorry, Nancy, but that we'll have to look into. Don't go away, folks. Be right back.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: I don't understand having to pay $400 a month for Medicaid. I've never heard of that before. I'm not challenging what she said; I just haven't heard about it.

END TRANSCRIPT

Obamacare To Double Cost Of Insurance For Average Californian

Originally Posted 06/02/2013 22:18 –0400 at ZeroHedge

Last week, the state of California claimed that its version of Obamacare’s health insurance exchange would actually reduce premiums. But, as Forbes reports, the data that the executive director of California's 'exchange' released tells a different story: Obamacare, in fact, will increase individual-market premiums in California by as much as 146 percent. The exuberance that Peter Lee exclaimed over the 'savings' is a misleading comparison. He was comparing apples - the plans that Californians buy today for themselves in a robust individual market-and oranges - the highly regulated plans that small employers purchase for their workers as a group. If you're a 25 year old male non-smoker, buying insurance for yourself, the cheapest plan on Obamacare’s exchanges is the catastrophic plan, which costs an average of $184 a month; but in 2013, on eHealthInsurance.com, Forbes explains, the median cost of the five cheapest plans was only $92. In other words, for the typical 25-year-old male non-smoking Californian, Obamacare will drive premiums up by between 100 and 123 percent. The desperate spin of the PR disaster is incredible as talk of a 'rate shock' is now very prescient, "these extraordinary increases are up to 15 times faster than inflation and threaten to make health care unaffordable for hundreds of thousands of Californians."

Via Forbes,

Last week, the state of California claimed that its version of Obamacare’s health insurance exchange would actually reduce premiums. “These rates are way below the worst-case gloom-and-doom scenarios we have heard,” boasted Peter Lee, executive director of the California exchange. But the data that Lee released tells a different story: Obamacare, in fact, will increase individual-market premiums in California by as much as 146 percent.

...

“The rates submitted to Covered California for the 2014 individual market,” the state said in a press release, “ranged from two percent above to 29 percent below the 2013 average premium for small employer plans in California’s most populous regions.”

That’s the sentence that led to all of the triumphant commentary from the left. “This is a home run for consumers in every region of California,” exulted Peter Lee.

Except that Lee was making a misleading comparison. He was comparing apples—the plans that Californians buy today for themselves in a robust individual market—and oranges—the highly regulated plans that small employers purchase for their workers as a group. The difference is critical.

...

If you’re a 25 year old male non-smoker, buying insurance for yourself, the cheapest plan on Obamacare’s exchanges is the catastrophic plan, which costs an average of $184 a month.

... But in 2013, on eHealthInsurance.com (NASDAQ:EHTH), the median cost of the five cheapest plans was only $92.

In other words, for the typical 25-year-old male non-smoking Californian, Obamacare will drive premiums up by between 100 and 123 percent.

...

Obamacare’s impact on 40-year-olds is steepest in the San Francisco Bay area, especially in the counties north of San Francisco, like Marin, Napa, and Sonoma. Also hard-hit are Orange and San Diego counties.

...

How did Lee and his colleagues explain the sleight-of-hand they used to make it seem like they were bringing prices down, instead of up? “It is difficult to make a direct comparison of these rates to existing premiums in the commercial individual market,” Covered California explained in last week’s press release, “because in 2014, there will be new standard benefit designs under the Affordable Care Act.” That’s a polite way of saying that Obamacare’s mandates and regulations will drive up the cost of premiums in the individual market for health insurance.

But rather than acknowledge that truth, the agency decided to ignore it completely, instead comparing Obamacare-based insurance to a completely different type of insurance product, that bears no relevance to the actual costs that actual Californians face when they shop for coverage today. Peter Lee calls it a “home run.” It’s more like hitting into a triple play.

Everyone needs to go through the process of finding out what ObamaCare will cost them and then send the quote on to your Congressman and Senator… and ask them Why?  What happened to the promises?!?

Related:

Anyone Who Is Buying That the Republicans in the House Are Unreasonable Needs to Read This… NR: 100 Unintended Consequences of ObamaCare

Technorati Tags: ObamaCare,ObamaCare Costs,ObamaCare Mandates,California,ACA,Medicaid,Rush,EIB

Glenn Beck on ObamaCare

Video: Beck – ObamaCare Glitches

Video:  Apples to Apples

Video: David Buckner

Video:  David Buckner II

Technorati Tags: ObamaCare,ObamaCare Costs,ObamaCare Glitches,ObamaCare Surprises,Beck,Glenn Beck,David Buckner,ObamaCare Mandates,Wake-up America,Stand-up America

Woman Who Could Not Afford ObamaCare Tries to Kill President

Photo Credit – The Blaze

After the initial report of mayhem in Washington D.C. and the originally reported shooting of a guard in the Capitol, it changed to that a woman, with a baby in her car, tried to ram the barriers in front of the White House in an attempt to kill the president after not being able to afford ObamaCare… an ever disappointing promise for many.

The facts on this event have been a disorganized moving target, but it now appears that the woman did not have a gun, that the car chase by police after the unarmed suspect led to the Capitol where it was reported that a guard or policeman was shot by a stray police bullet.

Capitol has re-opened within about an hour after shots were fired but the actual events are still evolving.

*The latest update is that the suspect tried to get through a check point at the far southern point of what is now considered White House grounds, blocks away from the actual White House.  The President was never in danger.  It seems that the suspect was hit and killed, but that is not verified, and the baby was not hit and is fine.  It also now appears that the formerly reported shooting of the guard or policeman was a false reporting and that the policeman injured himself in the police car crash below… one police car hitting another.

*(4:22p.m.) It has now been confirmed that the suspect, who appears to be an African-American, is dead and although the officer was hurt during the impact of their cars, no officers were killed.  A witness reports that she was shot in the head; not confirmed.  It appears that the suspect backed into a police vehicle at one point, but short of trying to escape she did not appear to be violent or have any weapons. So did the police over-react? Was there excessive force used?

*(4:52P.M.) The questions are now surfacing… Why are there no photos of the baby or of a baby being removed from the car.  If there was a baby, with the back windows of the car blown out, was that baby injured?  Could this situation have been accelerated by bad judgment?  Why is any normally released information not being released, yet nobody bothered to blur out the the victim’s car license plate number on many photos?  Why was it originally reported that this was a reaction to the woman’s disappointed with ObamaCare and now that fact has already been buried?

What this incident does do is add a whole new dynamic to the ObamaCare debate and perhaps a glimpse into the reality for many who will find themselves in the same place as this woman… feeling duped by the President’s promises surrounding ObamaCare. 

At this point there is much speculation, but there seem to be more questions than answers. 

AskMarion~

Blaze Report: Shots Fired Outside U.S. Capitol; One Officer Injured (Live Updates HERE) 

Related: 

• Capitol Hill Shooting
• Video

A woman driving a black Infiniti with a young child inside tried to ram through a White House barricade Thursday, then led police on a chase toward the Capitol, where police shot and killed her, witnesses and officials said.

Tourists watched the shooting unfold on Constitution Avenue outside the Capitol as lawmakers inside debated how to end a government shutdown. Police quickly locked down the entire complex temporarily, and both houses of Congress went into recess.

Read our previous posts and updates below to see how it all unfolded.

UPDATE 7:25 p.m. ET: Via the Hartford Courant:

A Stamford dental hygienist with a history of mental health issues was killed after a chase and shooting near the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, a source with knowledge of the investigation said.

The source said Miriam Carey, 34, was the woman who was driving the black Infiniti coupe with Connecticut license plates that tried to pass a security check point at the White House, led police on a chase through central Washington and died after being shot near the U.S. Capitol.

–

UPDATE 6:06 p.m. ET: Police would not reveal any information on the female suspect, but they did confirm that she has been “pronounced” dead.

There were two officers injured during the pursuit, and both are in good condition, police said.

The child who was traveling in the suspect’s car is reportedly in protective custody.

–

UPDATE 5:35 p.m. ET: The Washington Posts says that the suspect involved in the incident was a woman in her 30s and that a child taken from the car could be as young as one. The Post also cites two sources who say the woman did not have a gun.

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) told Fox News the woman was “African-American.”

–

UPDATE 5:15 p.m. ET: Eyewitnesses describe the frantic scene in the aftermath of the incident.

“I didn’t really have time to think; if I had I probably wouldn’t have gone outside,” one witness told TheBlaze’s Oliver Darcy.

“I really didn’t know what to think. I heard the seven or eight shots. There were dozens of officers. So much so that you really couldn’t even see what was happening. There were officers in police vehicles on every side, swarming, and more coming in every second.”

Read more in our separate post.

UPDATE 5:33 p.m. ET: Suspect’s, now said to be, 1-year-old child is said to be in protective custody and doing fine.

UPDATE 5:06 p.m. ET:  An onsite reporter said that all witnesses were removed from the area after her shooting, including one who said the suspect appeared to be just a scared woman…

UPDATE 5:06 p.m. ET:  The report of a baby in the car has now been changed to a 3 to 5 year old; still no photos or reported citings of the child?!?

UPDATE 4:42 p.m. ET:  Sen. Richard Blumenthal (R-Conn.) tells NECN that the black car involved in Thursday’s police chase had Connecticut plates.

NBC Connecticut is also reporting that the “car involved in the incident outside the U.S. Capitol on Thursday is owned by a Connecticut resident, NBC News learned.”

WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 03: A police officer checks out a car on grass with his canine near the U.S. Capitol October 3, 2013 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The US Capitol and the White House were placed on lockdown after an ‘active shooter’ situation was reported. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

UPDATE 4:26 p.m. ET: Fox News’ Chad Pergram reports that the female suspect involved in the car chase near the U.S. Capitol is deceased.

Tweeter: Chad Pergram ✔@ChadPergram -  Capitol Hill sources confirm suspect in WH/Capitol incident is deceased.  -  1:19 PM - 3 Oct 2013

–

UPDATE 4:25 p.m. ET: New video of a late model black (possibly G-35 Sports Coup) car involved in the incident has emerged

UPDATE 4:05 p.m. ET: Executive Director of the American Center for Law and Justice Jordan Sekulow witnessed some of the chaos that unfolded on Thursday and recalled the surreal incident in an interview with TheBlaze.

Sekulow says he could see the crime scene outside his office window in Washington, D.C. He also said there were sirens before gun shots rang out.

“Then we hear, ‘boom, boom, boom!’ and someone said, ‘that’s gunfire, everybody needs to get down,’” he recalled. “There was what I can only describe as an army of police responding at what is literally our intersection.”

–

UPDATE 4:00 p.m. ET: New video obtained by NBC News shows people running away after shots were fired outside the U.S. Capitol on Thursday.

UPDATE 3:51 p.m. ET: Sergeant at Arms Terrance Gainer is now telling a local Fox affiliate that the incident split into two locations. In other words, there are two crime scenes that police are investigating.

That seems to be corroborated by TheBlaze’s own Oliver Darcy, who reports Capitol Police have told him they have “multiple crime scenes.”

Gainer said there were shots fired at both locations and the suspect sped away from the first incident and fled to the second crime scene.

Reports indicate that the female suspect rammed a security barricade near the White House before speeding away and being stopped by police at the second crime scene.

UPDATE 3:44 p.m. ET: TheBlaze’s Oliver Darcy reports live from Washington, D.C.:

–

UPDATE 3:30 p.m. ET: Sergeant at Arms Terrance Gainer told a local Fox affiliate that the incident does not appear to be related to terrorism and is an isolated incident.

He also said it appears that shots were fired by law enforcement. It’s unclear if the suspect involved in the incident ever fired shots or if all shots were fired by police.

The child who was reportedly in the suspect’s car was taken to the hospital but she was not believed to be injured, Gainer said.

During a press conference, the police chief said it appears that no officers were shot in the incident. Injuries sustained by one officer after reportedly being struck in his squad car are not believed to be life threatening.

–

UPDATE 3:24 p.m. ET: TheBlaze’s Oliver Darcy is on the scene at the U.S. Capitol. We will continue bringing you breaking updates.

Tweet:  Oliver Darcy@oliverdarcy: Capitol police tells me they have "multiple crime scenes" they are trying to secure near Capitol.  -  12:22 PM - 3 Oct 2013

–

UPDATE 3:06 p.m. ET: Fox News confirms that a female driver tried to ram the security barrier at the White House with her car. Ed Henry reports Capitol Police then chased the suspect toward the Capitol.

Fox also reports the woman had a child in the car, whose status is unknown.

In addition to ABC News, WJLA is also reporting that a female suspect was shot and killed. There are also conflicting reports saying that the female suspect has been taken into custody.

 

Executive Director of the ACLJ Jordan Sekulow tweeted the following picture that shows a black car surrounded by police:

Tweet: Jordan - Sekulow@JordanSekulow -  This appears to be the vehicle that crashed in police station at 2nd/Constitution #capitolhillshooting  -  11:52 AM - 3 Oct 2013

Police have reportedly lifted the lockdown at the U.S. Capitol.

–

There are reports of shots fired near the U.S. Capitol, according to several news organizations. There are unconfirmed reports of one officer injured and possibly others.

The shots came from outside not inside the U.S. Capitol, Reuters reports. Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) also reported hearing shots fired.

Police say the U.S. Capitol had been put on a security lockdown since reports of possible shots fired outside the building emerged. However, the lockdown was lifted at around 3 p.m. ET.

Several news organizations are reporting that one suspect is in custody.

Another source tells ABC News that a female suspect is reportedly dead on scene at U.S. Capitol.

Credit: Tampa Bay Times reporter Alex Leary (@learyreports)

Fox News is reporting that the shooting may have been the result of a high-speed car chase that began outside the U.S. Capitol.

People standing outside the Supreme Court across the street from Congress were hurried into the court building by authorities.

In a notice distributed by email, the U.S. Capitol Police advised everyone to “close, lock and stay away from external doors and windows.The notice said gunshots have been reported on Capitol Hill. There are unconfirmed reports of an officer injured.

Executive Director of the ACLJ Jordan Sekulow was able to capture a photo of at least one person being carried out on a stretcher following the reports of shots fired.

Source: Twitter, @JordanSekulow

en. Bob Casey, D-Pa., told reporters he was walking from the Capitol to the Senate Russell Office Building across the street when he noticed several police officers driving fast up Constitution Avenue on motorcycles.

“Within seconds of that,” Casey said, “we heard three, four, five pops,” which he assumed were gunshots. He said police ordered Casey and nearby tourists to crouch behind a car for protection.

In about two minutes, he said, the officers moved everyone into the Capitol.

FBI agents rushed to the scene and Senate Sergeant at Arms Terrance Gainer confirmed: “There are reports of injuries.

This is an evolving story… so check back for updates.

Marion Algier – Cross-Posted at Ask Marion

Technorati Tags: ObamaCare,White House,you be the judge,shooting,Washington D.C.,shootings,TheBlaze,News,Breaking News,NewsMax,Mental Illness,Disappointment,ObamaCare Costs,low-informed voters,ObamaCare Surprises,ObamaCare Consequences