Gruber & Feinstein On Center Stage | Americans Face Higher Premiums And Deductibles

Jonathan Gruber Before House Oversight Comm.

Today in Washington, D.C. - Dec. 9, 2014
The Senate reconvened at 10 AM today. The Senate voted 63-32 and 65-31 to invoke cloture on two nominees to the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Vote on confirming the nominees are scheduled for 6 PM.

Yesterday, the Senate voted 52-40 to confirm Jeffery Baran to be a Member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and 54-40 to confirm Lauren McFerran to be a Member of the National Labor Relations Board.

The House reconvened at 10 AM Today. After routine business and reading notices from the Sentate it recessed until Noon today. Yesterday the House passeda number of naming bills for Post Offices and other buildings and Highways. It did pass by unanimous consent H.R. 2901 — "To strengthen implementation of the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005 by improving the capacity of the United States Government to implement, leverage, and monitor and evaluate programs to provide first-time or improved access to safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene to the world's poorest on an equitable and sustainable basis, and for other purposes."

This morning, MIT economist Jonathan Gruber (a democrat) testified before the House Oversight Committee. almost immediately, Gruber apologized for ‘inexcusable’ political comments about Obamacare. He said, “It’s never appropriate to try to make oneself seem more important or smarter by demeaning others. I knew better. I know better. I’m embarrassed, and I’m sorry,”

Also today, in what may appear to be an effort to deflect from #grubergate, Senator Diane Finestein (D-CA), with approval of the white House, released The Senate Intelligence Committee’s report on the CIA’s post-Sept. 11 interrogation program. Numerous national Security experts believe her action will place American at further security risk and and will loose the trust of allies who aided America after 9-11.

Today, CNBC report , on Obamacare noted, “Santa Claus is going to be bringing lots of presents in a couple of weeks, but lower health-insurance costs for most Americans won't be one of them.

“People with insurance through an employer—that is, most people with health coverage—are paying ‘more in premiums and deductibles than ever before’ as those costs outpace the growth of wages, a new report finds.

“Total premiums for covering a family through an employer-based plan rose 73 percent from 2003 through 2013, while workers' personal share of those premium costs leaped 93 percent during the same time frame, the Commonwealth Fund report said. At the same time, median family income grew just a measly 16 percent. If that wasn't painful enough, deductibles—or the amount a person has to pay out of pocket before an insurance plans covers medical costs—more than doubled over the 10-year span. . . .

“Families are ‘being squeezed by health-care costs,’ said report co-author Sara Collins, vice president for Health-Care Coverage and Access at the Commonwealth Fund. ‘Growth in family income is so slow that people still feel a pinch from health costs.’”

CNBC writes that the report finds, “From 2003 to 2013, the average premium for an individual worker covered by a job-based plan rose from $3,481 per year to $5,571 per year—a 60 percent increase. Family coverage, which grew by 73 percent, went from an average of $9,249 in 2013 up to $16,029 in 2013, according to the Commonwealth Fund. Because of the relatively slow growth in wages at the same time, total average premiums paid for a family getting coverage through a job went from being 15 percent of median income in 2003 to 23 percent in 2013.”

Recall, of course, that President Obama and Democrats promised Americans that Obamacare would lower health insurance premiums. Obama said in 2009, “Families will save on their premiums.” And he claimed the following year, “Your employer, it's estimated, would see premiums fall by as much as 3,000 percent … which means they could give you a raise.”

As Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell told Roll Call last week, “[Jonathan] Gruber has made clear that it required all kinds of deception in order to get it passed. We were saying that at the time, but everybody just assumed we were just hard nosed partisans … but, virtually everything Gruber has said confirms what we were saying during that debate in 2009. But, yeah, to sum it up: we have a strong obligation to the American people to do everything within our power to get rid of it.”

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Tags: IHouse Oversight Committee, Jonathan Gruber, Obamacare, Senator Diane Feinstein, CIA report, Obamacare, premiums, deductibles To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!