ObamaCare News – Good and Bad – September 30 and October 1, 2014

There is so much good in the worst of us,

And so much bad in the rest of us,

That it hardly becomes any of us,

To talk about the rest of us.

E.W. Hoch (1849-1925), American politician

1. "Federal Judge Rules Against White House in ObamaCare Case," Jennifer Haberkorn, Politico

Ronald White, A Federal Judge in Oklahoma, has ruled that ObamaCare subsidies cannot go to 36 states where the federal government ran the exchanges. This is the second ruling against ObamaCare. Other rulings in Richmond and D.C. appeal courts went the other way. The losing side in Richmond appeals court has asked U.S. Supreme Court to decide issue. Supreme Court will decide on Friday whether to take case.

2. "More Cancellations Before Election," Elsie Vierback, The Hill

50,000 people in will lose coverage in Kentucky, Alaska, Tennessee, New Mexico, North Carolina, Maine, and Colorado, with more states to follow in which cancellations will occur because other state regulators only allowed consumers to "keep your health plan for one more year." Not to worry says, HHS, new plans will be better. even though many will be more expensive.

3. “Democrats Should Embrace ACA Success,” Alan Barber, The Hill.

Democrats, take heart, CBO says overall health spending has gone down, 8 million more Americans are covered through exchanges, 5 million more under Medicaid, and 25% more insurers have joined the exchanges, giving consumers more choices.

4. “60 Percent of Voters Want ObamaCare To Be Repealed,” Jeffrey Anderson, The Weekly Standard.

A new poll of 1000 voters, 48% Democrats and 42% Republicans, by McLaughlin and Associates, says 44% of Americans want ObamaCare repealed and replaced by conservative alternative, and 16% want it repealed but not replaced.


5. “Medical Mergers Drive Up Costs,” Suzanne Delbanco, Wall Street Journal.

Studies indicate mergers and consolidations between hospitals and doctors drive up costs an average of 3%, sometimes as much as 50%. Cost increases averaging 3% increase hospital costs $900 billion a year, “ a hefty chunk of change.”

Metaphor:

Comments Jeffrey Anderson with this metaphor: “ObamaCare is like a house that’s built on a poor foundation by the world’s worst architect, with cost-overruns and maintenance expenses that make each year’s tab higher than the last. When confronted with such a monstrosity, one doesn’t change the placement of a closet or tweak the color scheme in the kitchen. One calls for a bulldozer and hires a different architect to build a better house on a strong foundation at a lower price. Such is how it is with ObamaCare.”


Which leads inexorably to this limerick.

So much for good-bad news and a metaphor.

November 4 will tell us what voters are for.

They will tell us whether to keep ObamaCare,

Whether it is really balanced and fair,

Or is basically rotten at its very core.