Democrats Knew All Along Obamacare Would Mean Americans Losing Plans
UPI: More than 7 M To Lose Current Heath Insurance |
The Senate reconvened at 10 AM today and began consideration of the motion to proceed to S.J. Res. 26, a resolution of disapproval of the increase in the debt limit. At 2:15, the Senate will vote on the motion to proceed to S.J. Res. 26 and then on cloture on the controversial nomination of former union lawyer Richard Griffin to be general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board.
Yesterday, without any debate, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) filed cloture (moved to cut off debate) on a whole slew of controversial nominations, including Rep. Mel Watt (D-NC) to be director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and Patricia Millett to be a judge on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals
The House reconvened at 10 AM today. They will be considering
HR 2640 — Central Oregon Jobs and Water Security Act
HR 623 — Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium Land Transfer Act
HR 330 — Distinguished Flying Cross National Memorial Act
HR 2337 — Lake Hill Administrative Site Affordable Housing Act
HR 2374 — Retail Investor Protection Act
Yesterday, the House passed:
H.R. 3304 (Voice Vote) — "To authorize and request the President to award the Medal of Honor to Bennie G. Adkins and Donald P. Sloat of the United States Army for acts of valor during the Vietnam Conflict and to authorize the award of the Medal of Honor to certain other veterans who were previously recommended for award of the Medal of Honor."
H.R. 1742 (Voice Vote) — "To exclude from consideration as income under the United States Housing Act of 1937 payments of pension made under section 1521 of title 38, United States Code, to veterans who are in need of regular aid and attendance, and for other purposes."
H.R. 2481 (Voice Vote) — "To amend title 38, United States Code, to codify and improve the election requirements for the receipt of educational assistance under the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance program of the Department of Veterans Affairs."
H.R. 1405 (Voice Vote) — "To amend title 38, United States Code, to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to include an appeals form in any notice of decision issued for the denial of a benefit sought."
H.R. 2189 (404-1) — "To establish a commission or task force to evaluate the backlog of disability claims of the Department of Veterans Affairs." Noted that the sole vote against was by Rep. Mark Sanford of South Carolina. Wonder if he pushed the wrong button.
H.R. 2011 (404-2) — "To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for a two-year extension of the Veterans' Advisory Committee on Education."
Today the House Ways & Means Committee is holding hearings on the Status of ObamaCare Implementation.
Tomorrow, Wednesday, 10/30 – At the House Energy & Commerce Committee HHS Secretary Sebelius is supposed to testify.
Rep. Darrell Issa remarked about HHS Sec. Sebelius on Sunday:
NBC and other news outlets are finally confirming what Republicans said all along: this flawed, unpopular law, will result in many Americans losing their health care coverage, contrary to repeated explicit promises from Democrats. Some Democrats are even admitting that they knew. According to National Review’s Jonathan Strong, “House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer conceded to reporters today that Democrats knew people would not be able to keep their current health care plans under Obamacare and expressed qualified contrition for President Obama’s repeated vows to the contrary. ‘We knew that there would be some policies that would not qualify and therefore people would be required to get more extensive coverage,’ Hoyer said in response to a question from National Review.” Strong notes in a later post, “Although he now says he and other Democrats knew some Americans would be kicked off their health care plans by Obamacare, Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer himself issued an emphatic, categorical claim to the contrary at a 2009 town hall: ‘Under Democratic health proposals, “we keep what works and fix what doesn’t,” Hoyer said. “If you’ve got it, you like it, you keep it.”’”
Meanwhile, reports continue to pour in from all over the country about Obamacare hurting consumers, just as Republicans predicted when they opposed it. CBS reports, “CBS News has learned more than two million Americans have been told they cannot renew their current insurance policies -- more than triple the number of people said to be buying insurance under the new Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare. There have been estimates about hundreds of thousands of people losing coverage, CBS News' Jan Crawford reported on ‘CBS This Morning.’ CBS News has reached out to insurance companies across the country to determine some of the real numbers -- and this is just the tip of the iceberg, Crawford said. The people who are opening the letters are shocked to learn they can't keep their insurance policies despite President Obama's assurances to the contrary. The White House is on the defensive trying to explain it, after Mr. Obama repeatedly said, ‘If you like your doctor or health care plan, you can keep it.’ . . . [T]he hard numbers reveal the evidence is far more than anecdotal. CBS News has confirmed with insurance companies across the country that more than two million people are getting notices they no longer can keep their existing plans. In California, there are 279,000; in Michigan, 140,000; Florida, 300,000; and in New Jersey, 800,000. And those numbers are certain to go even higher. Some companies who tell CBS News they've sent letters won't say how many.”
In Seattle, KING 5 reports, “Hundreds of thousands of people in Washington state are receiving letters in the mail from their insurers, informing them ‘your health insurance plan will no longer be available’ under the Affordable Care Act. This is despite a promise President Obama repeated campaigning for his health care reform plan, where he stated, ‘if you like your plan, you can keep it.’ Nikki Gibson, a hair stylist in Seattle, is among the 290,000 people in the state who pay for their own health insurance. She received the letter from Regence a month ago. ‘It's not the truth,’ said Gibson. ‘You don't get to keep your premiums. You don't get to keep anything.’”
This morning on the Senate floor, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell once again blasted Democrats’ health care law: “[T]he President likes to say that Obamacare is about more than just a website. He’s absolutely right. And that’s why fixing a website won’t solve the larger problem here. The larger problem is Obamacare itself. The larger problem is what the few people who actually have signed up for coverage have discovered about this law. The larger problem is how Obamacare is hurting people out there: It’s about college graduates and middle-class families getting hit with massive premium increases they can’t afford. It’s about workers seeing their hours cut and their paychecks shrink because of this law. It’s about the millions of Americans who will lose their current health coverage because of Obamacare—despite the President’s promises. According to news reports, the Obama Administration knew for at least three years that millions of Americans would not be able to keep their health coverage. The President’s Press Secretary basically admitted yesterday that Americans would lose coverage too. Remember, this is the same President who said – and I’m quoting – ‘If you like your health-care plan, you'll be able to keep your health-care plan, period…No one will take it away, no matter what.’ This is just one of the many reasons Americans feel betrayed. . . . It’s not fair. It’s not right. And Republicans are going to keep fighting to get our constituents relief from this partisan law. Of course, the most logical course would be to simply stop this trainwreck and start over. But Washington Democrats still appear more interested in protecting the President’s namesake legacy than protecting their constituents from this law.”
If Democrats ever finally change their minds, it is very obvious that the Republicans are ready to repeal and replace this unpopular law with reforms that actually lower costs and provide choice to consumers instead of growing government.
Tags: Washington, D.C., Obamacare, Americans, healthcare plans, house hearings, To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
2 Comments:
Republican leadership knew it, too...
Anita, Republicans indeed know and continued to shout out this warning. As detailed in the next article ObamaCare Didn't Terminate Your Health Plan; President Obama Did! the House republicans tried to stop this action and the House democrats prevented them from doing so. The President & WH also called these Republicans "obstructionists."
Post a Comment
<< Home