Many States Lag in Embracing Obamacare

Tennessee's Bredesen foresees exodus to federally-subsidized insurance

(NEWSER) - If you crunch the numbers, President Obama’s health care plan is a great incentive for employers to stop providing coverage and put their workers in the hands of government-subsidized plans, meaning “much greater cost” for the US, writes Democratic Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen in the Wall Street Journal . Not only would such a move save employers money, it’s also “responsible,” because the subsidies allow workers to buy “excellent, fairly priced insurance.” More»

Outside groups a challenge for House leadership

(NEWSER) - John Boehner issued a statement yesterday insisting that he was dead-set on repealing the health care reform law "in its entirety," refuting a Politico report that he'd hatched a plan to keep the most popular parts of the law should the Supreme Court overturn ObamaCare. What prompted the statement? A wash of right-wing infighting. The leaked plan set off a firestorm among The Repeal Coalition, a Google email group loaded with top congressional staffers and think-tank figures, Politico reports, having obtained a transcript. More»

Health insurers to hand $1.3B back to consumers, employers this summer

(NEWSER) - Health insurers will be handing some $1.3 billion back to consumers and employers this summer as a key provision of ObamaCare comes into force. The health care law requires insurers to spend at least 80% of premiums on health care and quality improvements, or provide refunds. A study from the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that 16 million Americans will be receiving rebates of up to $150, reports Reuters . More»

'New York Post' thinks Medicare Advantage's stay of execution is a dirty trick

(NEWSER) - What would you say if President Obama took $8.3 billion in taxpayer money and used it for his reelection campaign? Because that's exactly what he's done by giving Medicare Advantage a stay of execution, according to Benjamin Sasse and Charles Hurt of the New York Post . The law, they explain, "guts" the market-oriented Medicare alternative, reducing its reimbursement rates to drive people into Medicare proper. Seniors will have to pick a plan in October—just weeks before the election. More»

Founding Fathers may have liked ObamaCare: Einer Elhauge

(NEWSER) - Health insurance mandates—unconstitutional? That's what the opponents of ObamaCare are arguing , "but there’s a major problem with this line of argument: It just isn’t true," writes Einer Elhuage in The New Republic . In fact, the founding fathers passed more than one mandate in Congress in the 1790s. To wit:

• The first Congress (including 20 framers) passed a law mandating that ship owners buy medical insurance for seamen. President George Washington signed it into law. "That's right, the father of our country," writes Elhauge.