Other Broken Obamacare Promises: Obamacare Abortion Rules Widely Ignored & Thousands Likely to Lose Health Insurance at End of Sept.

By William Warren

Today in Washington, D.C. - Sept. 16, 2014:
The House reconvened at 10 Am today and proceeded with Morning-Hour Debate. At the conclusion of Morning-Hour, the House adjourned until 12:00 PM for the start of legislative business.

Bills/Resolutions being considered by the House today:
H.J. Res. 124 - "Making continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2015, and for other purposes."
S. 2154 — "To amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize the Emergency Medical Services for Children Program."
H.R. 5405 — "To make technical corrections to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, to enhance the ability of small and emerging growth companies to access capital through public and private markets, to reduce regulatory burdens, and for other purposes."
H.R. 5461 — "To clarify the application of certain leverage and risk-based requirements under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, to improve upon the definitions provided for points and fees in connection with a mortgage transaction, and for other purposes."
H.R. 4276 — "To extend and modify a pilot program on assisted living services for veterans with traumatic brain injury."
S. 2258 — "To provide for an increase, effective December 1, 2014, in the rates of compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities and the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for the survivors of certain disabled veterans, and for other purposes."
H.R. 5169 — "To amend title 5, United States Code, to enhance accountability within the Senior Executive Service, and for other purposes."
H.R. 5170 — "To improve Federal employee compliance with the Federal and Presidential recordkeeping requirements, and for other purposes."
H.R. 5418 — "To prohibit officers and employees of the Internal Revenue Service from using personal email accounts to conduct official business."
H.R. 5419 — "To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for a right to an administrative appeal relating to adverse determinations of tax-exempt status of certain organizations."
H.R. 5420 — "To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to permit the release of information regarding the status of certain investigations."
S. 1603 — "To reaffirm that certain land has been taken into trust for the benefit of the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatami Indians, and for other purposes."
H.R. 5404 — "To amend title 38, United States Code, to extend certain expiring provisions of law administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes."
H.R. 3593 — "To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the construction of major medical facilities, and for other purposes."

Yesterday, In addition, numerous land transfer, study, and naming bills were passed by voice vote, the House passed:
S. 1086 (Voice Vote) — "To reauthorize and improve the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990, and for other purposes."
H.R. 83 (Voice Vote) — "To require the Secretary of the Interior to assemble a team of technical, policy, and financial experts to address the energy needs of the insular areas of the United States and the Freely Associated States through the development of action plans aimed at reducing reliance on imported fossil fuels and increasing use of indigenous clean-energy resources, and for other purposes."
H.R. 4771 (Voice Vote) - "To amend the Controlled Substances Act to more effectively regulate anabolic steroids."
H.R. 5108 (327-22) — "To establish the Law School Clinic Certification Program of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and for other purposes."

The Senate reconvened at 10 AM today and began a period of morning business and then recessed until 2:15 PM at which time the Senate will vote on the confirmation of Jeffery Baran and Stephen Burns to be members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Following those votes, there will be a series of voice votes on ambassadors to Lesotho, Guatemala, France, Monaco, and ASEAN. Also scheduled for voice votes are nominees for Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs and Air Force general counsel.

Yesterday, Democrats failed again to get the 60 votes needed to advance their so-called “Paycheck Fairness Act,” (S. 2199) which would not actually do anything to address compensation for women.

Also yesterday, President Obama and Democrat Senator Harry Reid with other Senate Democrats continued to "pack the courts" with liberal judges by again using their own precedent of breaking Senate rules and changed them via the nuclear option to allow cloture on nominees with only 50 votes. Using this precedent, the Senate voted 52-39 to invoke cloture on the Baran nomination and 54-37 to invoke cloture on the Burns nomination.

Another broken promise about Obamacare is exposed. Remember this one? In his speech to Congress promoting his health care plan in 2009, President Obama claimed, “And one more misunderstanding I want to clear up -- under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions, and federal conscience laws will remain in place.”

Well, today, Politico reports, “There are widespread instances of Obamacare insurance plans violating the rigid rules surrounding whether customers can use federal health care subsidies on insurance policies that cover abortion procedures, according to a Government Accountability Office investigation. The report, commissioned by House Republican leadership and obtained by POLITICO on Monday night, found that 15 insurers in a sample of 18 are selling Obamacare plans that do not segregate funds to cover abortion (except in cases of rape, incest or the mother’s life) from their Obamacare subsidies. The Affordable Care Act requires that insurers collect separate payments from customers for abortion coverage so that taxpayer money in the form of subsidies do not cover abortions. Adoption of the complex payment scheme — which essentially requires customers to send two separate payments to their insurers — was pivotal to getting the health law through Congress. Anti-abortion Democrats brokered the arrangement shortly before the law passed, threatening to vote against it without the restrictive language.”

The AP adds, “The Government Accountability Office said in a report released late Monday that only 1 of 18 insurers it reviewed was separately itemizing a charge for coverage of elective abortions on enrollees' bills. That detail is important because the original compromise that President Barack Obama sealed with anti-abortion Democrats stipulated that no federal funds would be used to pay for elective abortions. Instead, private health plans covering the procedure would collect a separate premium, which would be segregated from federal subsidies for other medical services. . . . The report also found that some insurers were unaware of a requirement in the law that they notify policyholders if they cover elective abortions. Abortion opponents have complained that it's very difficult for average consumers to determine whether or not their plan covers the procedure. Abortion supporters say they would also like clearer information.”

Meanwhile, Obamacare continues to create more problems for the health care system in America. The Wall Street Journal reports, “Tens of thousands of people are likely to lose their health insurance at the end of this month because they missed a deadline to confirm they are legally residing in the U.S., the Obama administration said Monday. In all, 115,000 people whose citizenship or immigration status wasn't verified by HealthCare.gov hadn't contacted the federal government by a Sept. 5 deadline to send additional documents, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said. The government is now set to inform insurers to terminate at the end of the month the coverage those people bought through HealthCare.gov. . . . Federal officials also said they would send notices to about 279,000 people whose income can't be verified, giving them until Sept. 30 to submit further documentation. Those people won't lose their coverage if they don't respond, but the tax credits that offset the cost of their premiums could be suspended. . . . The issues stem from technological flaws in the HealthCare.gov website that persisted through the first year's sign-up period. The government was unable to accurately determine the income of about 1.2 million people of the 5.4 million who bought coverage through the site. It struggled to verify citizenship or immigration status for almost 1 million more people who had obtained plans through HealthCare.gov by the time the main enrollment period closed in mid-April. That is because the information in their applications didn't match the data the federal government had on file. . . . Of people set to lose coverage, 35,100 are in Florida. A further 19,800 are in Texas, and the rest are dispersed through 34 other states where the federal government is running some or all of the exchange.”

And another Wall Street Journal story notes that a new CDC study “captures some of the other changes sweeping through the American health-care system, fueled at least in part by the health law. It shows, for example, that the share of the population with high-deductible insurance plans has grown significantly since 2009. That year, around 22.5% of respondents had private coverage that required them to pay a larger share of their upfront coverage costs in exchange for a lower premium. In early 2014, some 36% had plans with an annual deductible of at least $1,250 for an individual or $2,500 for a family.”

So in addition to not living up to the pledge from the president and Democrats that no federal funds would go to abortions under Obamacare, the unpopular law is also restricting choices among health care plans, as fewer Americans can choose plans with lower deductibles while the debacle that has been the federal Obamacare website continues to generate problems for tens of thousands of people.

As Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said over the summer, “Obamacare may not have existed in the English language just a few years ago. But in short order, it’s become a byword for broken promises and almost-cartoonish inefficiency. It’s no wonder why: ‘You can keep your plan.’ ‘You can keep your doctor.’ ‘Premiums will go down.’ ‘The law will create millions of jobs.’ We knew the promises wouldn’t hold up. Many of us said so. One even earned the dubious distinction of being declared the ‘Lie of Year.’ . . . Many of us predicted that these kinds of problems would be the likely outcome of giving government such expansive power over such a huge segment of our economy. Of course you’re going to have massive inefficiency. And probable fraud. And migraines for middle-class families that already have enough to deal with. Of course you’re going to see all this. It seems inevitable. That’s why Republicans say we need to start over with actual health care reform – reform that can actually lower costs and increase the quality of care without resorting to this tired government-centric approach.”

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