Fix Health Care Policy

Sorry Dr. Dean, Obamacare Is Not Creating New Jobs

In recent interview, doctor and former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean tried to make the case that Obamacare will boost small-business job growth.

“But the fact is [Obamacare] is very good for small business. It’s incredibly good for small business,” said the one-time Democratic presidential candidate.

Incredibly, Dean breaks away from his liberal colleagues and the White House by backing the results from a recent McKinsey & Co. survey. The survey was vilified for reporting that 30 percent of companies said they would drop employee health coverage once the taxpayer-subsidized health insurance exchanges from Obamacare start in 2014.  (Read the rest on The Foundry…)

Tags: employee health coverage, Howard Dean, insurance exchange, McKinsey & Co. survey

The Obstructionism of the Left

Over the past few days, as Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) pushed ahead on the most partisan piece of significant legislation in the Senate’s storied history, political leaders on the left have sought to blame Republicans for the failure to achieve passage sooner. President Obama’s political consultant in the West Wing, David Axelrod, said as much on Meet the Press. Former DNC Chairman Howard Dean echoed these statements on the same program. And now the line seems to be at the top of every liberal talking points memo in Washington.

However, this line of political attack is patently false. First, there is the obvious fact that the media is choosing to ignore — the Democrats have overwhelming majorities in the House and Senate, and control the White House. How can one party meaningfully obstruct from a position of 40 votes in the Senate? Since a vote will in fact occur on Christmas Eve, it has been proven that you simply cannot effectively obstruct from the ultra-minority position. But more importantly, this line of political attack overlooks the two greatest obstructionists operating today — President Obama and Harry Reid. (more…)

Tags: buyouts, Howard Dean, ObamaCare, obstructionists, President Barack Obama, Sen. Harry Reid, Sen. Mary Landrieu

Unconstitutional Mandate Attacked from the Left

The Left is starting to recognize some of the perils of health care legislation that would create a whole new way for government to control its citizens.

Democracy for America (run by Howard Dean’s brother) is now warning its left-wing allies, “The bill doesn’t actually “cover” 30-million more Americans – instead it makes them criminals if they don’t buy insurance.”

How true. Projections are that 8-million to 14-million Americans would pay billions of dollars for failing to buy insurance under the House bill.

To Democracy for America, this is wrong, but only because a government-run “public option” insurance plan is out of the Senate version of the bill. However, restoring a public option doesn’t fix the wrongness of having government dictate how you must spend your money. (more…)

Tags: Democracy for America, Howard Dean, individual mandates

Morning Bell: Howard Dean Is Right, This Is Not Health Care Reform

President Barack Obama yesterday hosted yet another health care pep rally to shore up liberal support for his health care bill. Obama’s “rally” followed Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV) latest capitulation to Sen. Joe Lieberman’s (I-CT) health care demands, whereby Reid removed a Medicare expansion that Lieberman had initially supported. From the Roosevelt Room, Obama claimed Democrats were “on the precipice of an achievement that’s eluded congresses and presidents for generations.” But hours later, former Governor and Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean told Vermont National Public Radio:

This is essentially the collapse of health care reform in the United States Senate. And, honestly, the best thing to do right now is kill the Senate bill and go back to the House … You have the vast majority of Americans want the choices, they want real choices. They don’t have them in this bill. This is not health care reform and it’s not close to health care reform.

Later on MSNBC’s Countdown, Dean further responded to President Obama’s claims that “You talk to every healthcare economist out there and they will tell you that whatever ideas are — whatever ideas exist in terms of bending the cost curve and starting to reduce costs for families, businesses and government, those elements are in this bill.” Dean told guest host Lawrence O’Donnell: “There is no cost control of any substance. … You’re going to be forced to buy health insurance from a company that is going to take on average of 27% of your money … and there is no choice about that. If you don’t buy that insurance you are going to get a fine.” (more…)

Tags: Howard Dean, Obama Health Care Plan