Fix Health Care Policy

The Big Issues Behind the Obamacare Challenge

“Are you serious? Are you serious?” then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D–CA) famously replied when asked where, specifically, the Constitution granted Congress the authority to mandate that every American purchase health insurance coverage.

The question was very serious, it turns out, even if Pelosi’s intent was sarcasm. Four federal courts have already struck down Obamacare in whole or in part on constitutional grounds. And now, with the Supreme Court widely expected to take the case in the coming weeks, three of the individuals who proved Pelosi wrong will address The Heritage Foundation on the present and future of Obamacare and constitutional federalism this Thursday at noon.

At the time that Pelosi spoke, just two years ago, her incredulity was hardly atypical. The Democrat-controlled Congress was racing to enact President Obama’s top legislative priority, a government-run health care system, and there was simply no place or time for quaint constitutional niceties. Only a few months later, recall, Speaker Pelosi’s minions would contrive the magnificently named “deem and pass” maneuver by which House Members wouldn’t even have to vote for a health care bill that the public had by then turned against.  (Read the rest on The Foundry…)

Tags: deem and pass maneuver, government-run health care, Individual Mandate, ObamaCare, unconstitutional

CLASS Dismissed: Long-Term Care Program Examined in Hill Hearing

The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation and Subcommittee on Health held a hearing last week on the future of the unsustainable, poorly designed CLASS program now that it’s on life support (though it still has a heartbeat). As Heritage analysts have already pointed out, there is a lot to look into in this flawed program.

CLASS was created as a voluntary, government-run long-term care insurance program. According to the legislation, it would be fully funded from the premiums paid by its beneficiaries, requiring no federal taxpayer dollars. But experts and Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle have long warned that the program wouldn’t work and would eventually cost taxpayers a pretty penny.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently dropped a bombshell on Obamacare when it announced it will not be implementing the program. Their official report raised concerns about adverse selection in the program, pointing out that “if healthy purchasers are not attracted to the CLASS benefit package, then premiums will increase, which will make it even more unattractive to purchasers who could also obtain policies in the private market. This imbalance in the beneficiary pool would cause the program to quickly collapse.”  (Read the rest on The Foundry…)

Tags: CLASS, House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation, long-term care insurance, unsustainable

Love Conquers All…Except Obamacare

Thanks to Obamacare, Americans looking to tie the knot may find that it’s a lot cheaper to stay single.

Last week, the House Oversight Committee released a report and held a hearing to unpack its subject matter: a hidden penalty on marriage created by the structure of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s (PPACA) tax subsidies for low- and middle-income Americans to purchase health insurance.

Obamacare’s new tax subsidies are linked to the federal poverty level, discriminating against married couples by failing to increase proportionally with household size. Heritage research has shown how two individuals could qualify for more financial assistance to purchase health insurance individually than as a couple, leading many to forego marriage altogether. The difference could amount to several thousand dollars.  (Read the rest on The Foundry…)

Tags: federal poverty level, health insurance, hidden marriage penalty, ObamaCare, tax subsidies

New Poll Shows Obamacare Less Popular by the Day

There’s more bad news for Obamacare. A new poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation shows that 51 percent of Americans have an unfavorable view of President Barack Obama’s signature health care law, while only 34 percent see it favorably.

Kaiser reports that this is “a low point in Kaiser polls since the law was passed,” and that the reason for the law’s declining popularity is rooted in decreased Democrat support. (Read the rest on The Foundry…)

Tags: Kaiser Family Foundation, ObamaCare, poll, repeal the law, unpopular

Online Chat on Obamacare and Medicare Reform

Read our “Lunch with Heritage” chat with Health Policy Analyst Kate Nix. The Obama Administration recently said that part of Obamacare, the CLASS Act, would no longer go into effect. Also, in a speech at Heritage yesterday, Paul Ryan mentioned the need to reform Medicare. Join right now as Kate takes your questions about the CLASS Act, what it means for the future of Obamacare, and how Medicare should be reformed. (See the full transcript on The Foundry…)

Tags: CLASS Act, Medicare, ObamaCare, Rep. Paul Ryan