74% Of Republicans Are Satisfied With Their Obamacare Health Plans
A recent survey found that 74% of Republicans are happy with the health coverage they're receiving through the Affordable Care Act.
Meanwhile, Congressional Republicans have voted over 50 times to repeal the popular program.
Here in Texas, over 1 million people were denied the opportunity to enroll in Medicaid due to Rick Perry's refusal to expand the program and let the federal government foot the bill. Now, Texans are paying federal taxes to help insure folks in other states.
The poll was commissioned by The Commonwealth Fund, an organization dedicated to promoting high performing health care. 4,425 adults were surveyed between April 9th and June 2nd.
Other key findings from the poll:
Had Texas expanded Medicaid, it is likely that our uninsured rate would have plummeted even lower.
Meanwhile, as more Americans use their plans, visit the doctors they want to see, and save money on their annual health care costs, Obamacare's popularity will likely continue to rise.
But don't expect the Republicans in Congress to stop trying to repeal it. After all, it's not like they have any solutions of their own.
http://www.burntorangereport.com/di...e-satisfied-with-their-obamacare-health-plans
* of course...
http://online.wsj.com/articles/fred...ry-on-the-front-lines-of-obamacare-1405117339
A Republican Victory on the Front Lines of ObamaCare
They're winning on Medicaid in Virginia by making the case against lousy care and offering better alternatives.
The biggest ObamaCare fight in the country is ruffling the politics of Virginia. The issue is whether the state should expand Medicaid to 400,000 more Virginians, as President Obama's health-care law prescribes. Gov. Terry McAuliffe, the pal of the Clintons and a former Democratic National Committee chairman, is committed to expansion; Republican House Speaker Bill Howell is opposed.
Though the struggle is far from over, Mr. Howell has the upper hand, and Mr. McAuliffe is increasingly exasperated. He's been outsmarted at every turn by Mr. Howell, whose maneuvers should be a lesson for foes of enlarging Medicaid in other states where it's still an issue.
Under ObamaCare, the federal government would pay 100% of the Medicaid expansion for three years, then 90% until 2022. Mr. Howell estimates the expansion will cost Virginia $40 million to $50 million in administrative expenses even when Washington supposedly is paying 100%. When that dips to 90%, another $200 million to $250 million will be added to the state's annual tab. Also, the percentages—100% and 90%—are nationwide.
Mr. McAuliffe took the risky step of including the new Medicaid provision in his budget and vowing a veto if the legislature removed it. Republicans in the Virginia House balked and the threat of a government shutdown on July 1 lingered for months until anxious Democratic legislators and the governor backed down in mid-June. This left Mr. McAuliffe in a dyspeptic mood.
He had ruminated publicly about imposing the Medicaid expansion without the legislature's approval. But Republicans, led by Mr. Howell, countered by hiring prominent constitutional lawyer Paul Clement to assess the legality of such a move. Mr. Clement delivered a blunt finding: "No funds may be expended to finance any attempt by the Governor to expand Medicaid unilaterally."
The governor grew angrier. He accused Republicans of "demagoguery, lies, fear, and cowardice" in thwarting him. And he ordered his secretary of health to consult "our federal partners in Washington"—that's the Obama administration—and health-care organizations to come up with ways by Sept. 1 "to extend the promise of health care to our people."
That may lead to alternatives to Medicaid and a special session of Virginia's General Assembly this fall. But Mr. McAuliffe would still have to persuade the Republican legislature, and Speaker Howell in particular, to pay for them.
That would be difficult. Mr. Howell, a conservative from northern Virginia outside Fredericksburg, has been speaker since 2003. He dealt amicably with Democratic governors Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, both now U.S. senators. Mr. McAuliffe is another story.
The key to Mr. Howell's effectiveness is his ability to keep House Republicans united. They hold 68 of the 100 seats. All of them, except for a single potential dissenter, have stuck together in blocking the Medicaid addition. On two test votes, 68 members voted against the expansion, with one Democrat offsetting the Republican defector.
The Virginia Senate was tied 20-20 until a Democrat resigned in June and Republicans took control. Democrats claim he quit after Republicans offered him a post on the state Tobacco Commission. But it's the House with its large GOP majority that is the bane of Mr. McAuliffe's governorship. "We can kill anything in the House," Mr. Howell told me.
He has left little to chance on Medicaid. He hired Mr. Clement, whose fee was $25,000. "We couldn't go to the [Virginia] attorney general," he said. "This guy is working for the governor. He's not going to help." Republican delegates gave speeches on Medicaid and signed newspaper op-eds. Mr. Howell organized a direct-mail campaign to combat the governor's constant harping on Medicaid. A million letters went to base Republican voters, independents and seniors.
In ObamaCare, President Obama "got away" with cutting Medicare for seniors to pay for extending Medicaid "before people had a chance to understand it," the letter to seniors said. "Now, Governor McAuliffe is trying to do the same thing with Medicaid expansion in Virginia."
The resistance by Republicans is rooted in two other factors. They don't trust Washington to stick with the plan to fund 90% of the cost of more Medicaid. And they regard Medicaid as a flawed program—which delivers poor care at high cost, is badly administered, and suffers from chronic fraud—as numerous studies have concluded. "It would be one thing if it were a well-working system," Mr. Howell said. "It's a broken system."
Meanwhile, public opinion on Medicaid has soured. In January a poll by the Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University found that 38% of Virginians opposed the Medicaid expansion. By late April, 53% were against it.
But merely saying no is politically risky for Republicans. So Mike Thompson of the Thomas Jefferson Institute, a Virginia think tank, met with Mr. Howell and advised him to explore alternatives to adding more Medicaid beneficiaries. Later, Mr. Howell and four other Republicans spent the day with Mr. Thompson and a group of health-policy experts to discuss ideas such as increasing the number of free clinics and auditing Medicaid to weed out those who are ineligible or already have health insurance.
Mr. McAuliffe's strenuous advocacy has not helped his cause. He has insisted that the expansion will create 30,000 jobs and save $1 billion over eight years—both unproven claims. His threat to foist more Medicaid, or something like it, on Virginia unilaterally has backfired. Even media supporters of Mr. McAuliffe's policy disapproved. "We're skeptical about the prospect of unilateral action," the Washington Post editorialized.
Mr. McAuliffe, a New York native, is different from an earlier Virginia governor with a controversial proposal. Mark Warner used his first year, 2004, to spend an enormous amount of time with Republicans, occasionally playing basketball with them. The next year, 17 Republicans defected and voted for a large tax increase sought by Mr. Warner. It passed.
Shortly after Mr. McAuliffe took office, his chief of staff, Paul Reagan, asked Mr. Howell if he had any advice for the new governor. "Don't pick a fight your first year you can't win," the House speaker answered. Mr. McAuliffe has not heeded that wise advice.
A recent survey found that 74% of Republicans are happy with the health coverage they're receiving through the Affordable Care Act.
Meanwhile, Congressional Republicans have voted over 50 times to repeal the popular program.
Overall, the survey found that 78 percent of Americans who received coverage through the Affordable Care Act said they were satisfied: 73 percent of those enrolled in a private plan and 84 percent of those enrolled in Medicaid.
Here in Texas, over 1 million people were denied the opportunity to enroll in Medicaid due to Rick Perry's refusal to expand the program and let the federal government foot the bill. Now, Texans are paying federal taxes to help insure folks in other states.
The poll was commissioned by The Commonwealth Fund, an organization dedicated to promoting high performing health care. 4,425 adults were surveyed between April 9th and June 2nd.
Other key findings from the poll:
The uninsured rate for the 19-to-64 age group declined from 20 percent in July-September 2013 to 15 percent in April-June 2014, which means there were an estimated 9.5 million fewer uninsured adults.
The uninsured rate for young adults 19 to 34 declined the most of any adult age group, falling from 28 percent to 18 percent, or 5.7 million fewer uninsured young adults.
The uninsured rate fell significantly for people with low and moderate incomes and for Latinos.
The adult uninsured rate fell significantly in the nation's two largest states, California and Texas. Among the six largest states, Texas and Florida-neither of which expanded Medicaid-have the highest uninsured rates.
The uninsured rate for young adults 19 to 34 declined the most of any adult age group, falling from 28 percent to 18 percent, or 5.7 million fewer uninsured young adults.
The uninsured rate fell significantly for people with low and moderate incomes and for Latinos.
The adult uninsured rate fell significantly in the nation's two largest states, California and Texas. Among the six largest states, Texas and Florida-neither of which expanded Medicaid-have the highest uninsured rates.
Had Texas expanded Medicaid, it is likely that our uninsured rate would have plummeted even lower.
Meanwhile, as more Americans use their plans, visit the doctors they want to see, and save money on their annual health care costs, Obamacare's popularity will likely continue to rise.
But don't expect the Republicans in Congress to stop trying to repeal it. After all, it's not like they have any solutions of their own.
http://www.burntorangereport.com/di...e-satisfied-with-their-obamacare-health-plans
* of course...
http://online.wsj.com/articles/fred...ry-on-the-front-lines-of-obamacare-1405117339
A Republican Victory on the Front Lines of ObamaCare
They're winning on Medicaid in Virginia by making the case against lousy care and offering better alternatives.
The biggest ObamaCare fight in the country is ruffling the politics of Virginia. The issue is whether the state should expand Medicaid to 400,000 more Virginians, as President Obama's health-care law prescribes. Gov. Terry McAuliffe, the pal of the Clintons and a former Democratic National Committee chairman, is committed to expansion; Republican House Speaker Bill Howell is opposed.
Though the struggle is far from over, Mr. Howell has the upper hand, and Mr. McAuliffe is increasingly exasperated. He's been outsmarted at every turn by Mr. Howell, whose maneuvers should be a lesson for foes of enlarging Medicaid in other states where it's still an issue.
Under ObamaCare, the federal government would pay 100% of the Medicaid expansion for three years, then 90% until 2022. Mr. Howell estimates the expansion will cost Virginia $40 million to $50 million in administrative expenses even when Washington supposedly is paying 100%. When that dips to 90%, another $200 million to $250 million will be added to the state's annual tab. Also, the percentages—100% and 90%—are nationwide.
Mr. McAuliffe took the risky step of including the new Medicaid provision in his budget and vowing a veto if the legislature removed it. Republicans in the Virginia House balked and the threat of a government shutdown on July 1 lingered for months until anxious Democratic legislators and the governor backed down in mid-June. This left Mr. McAuliffe in a dyspeptic mood.
He had ruminated publicly about imposing the Medicaid expansion without the legislature's approval. But Republicans, led by Mr. Howell, countered by hiring prominent constitutional lawyer Paul Clement to assess the legality of such a move. Mr. Clement delivered a blunt finding: "No funds may be expended to finance any attempt by the Governor to expand Medicaid unilaterally."
The governor grew angrier. He accused Republicans of "demagoguery, lies, fear, and cowardice" in thwarting him. And he ordered his secretary of health to consult "our federal partners in Washington"—that's the Obama administration—and health-care organizations to come up with ways by Sept. 1 "to extend the promise of health care to our people."
That may lead to alternatives to Medicaid and a special session of Virginia's General Assembly this fall. But Mr. McAuliffe would still have to persuade the Republican legislature, and Speaker Howell in particular, to pay for them.
That would be difficult. Mr. Howell, a conservative from northern Virginia outside Fredericksburg, has been speaker since 2003. He dealt amicably with Democratic governors Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, both now U.S. senators. Mr. McAuliffe is another story.
The key to Mr. Howell's effectiveness is his ability to keep House Republicans united. They hold 68 of the 100 seats. All of them, except for a single potential dissenter, have stuck together in blocking the Medicaid addition. On two test votes, 68 members voted against the expansion, with one Democrat offsetting the Republican defector.
The Virginia Senate was tied 20-20 until a Democrat resigned in June and Republicans took control. Democrats claim he quit after Republicans offered him a post on the state Tobacco Commission. But it's the House with its large GOP majority that is the bane of Mr. McAuliffe's governorship. "We can kill anything in the House," Mr. Howell told me.
He has left little to chance on Medicaid. He hired Mr. Clement, whose fee was $25,000. "We couldn't go to the [Virginia] attorney general," he said. "This guy is working for the governor. He's not going to help." Republican delegates gave speeches on Medicaid and signed newspaper op-eds. Mr. Howell organized a direct-mail campaign to combat the governor's constant harping on Medicaid. A million letters went to base Republican voters, independents and seniors.
In ObamaCare, President Obama "got away" with cutting Medicare for seniors to pay for extending Medicaid "before people had a chance to understand it," the letter to seniors said. "Now, Governor McAuliffe is trying to do the same thing with Medicaid expansion in Virginia."
The resistance by Republicans is rooted in two other factors. They don't trust Washington to stick with the plan to fund 90% of the cost of more Medicaid. And they regard Medicaid as a flawed program—which delivers poor care at high cost, is badly administered, and suffers from chronic fraud—as numerous studies have concluded. "It would be one thing if it were a well-working system," Mr. Howell said. "It's a broken system."
Meanwhile, public opinion on Medicaid has soured. In January a poll by the Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University found that 38% of Virginians opposed the Medicaid expansion. By late April, 53% were against it.
But merely saying no is politically risky for Republicans. So Mike Thompson of the Thomas Jefferson Institute, a Virginia think tank, met with Mr. Howell and advised him to explore alternatives to adding more Medicaid beneficiaries. Later, Mr. Howell and four other Republicans spent the day with Mr. Thompson and a group of health-policy experts to discuss ideas such as increasing the number of free clinics and auditing Medicaid to weed out those who are ineligible or already have health insurance.
Mr. McAuliffe's strenuous advocacy has not helped his cause. He has insisted that the expansion will create 30,000 jobs and save $1 billion over eight years—both unproven claims. His threat to foist more Medicaid, or something like it, on Virginia unilaterally has backfired. Even media supporters of Mr. McAuliffe's policy disapproved. "We're skeptical about the prospect of unilateral action," the Washington Post editorialized.
Mr. McAuliffe, a New York native, is different from an earlier Virginia governor with a controversial proposal. Mark Warner used his first year, 2004, to spend an enormous amount of time with Republicans, occasionally playing basketball with them. The next year, 17 Republicans defected and voted for a large tax increase sought by Mr. Warner. It passed.
Shortly after Mr. McAuliffe took office, his chief of staff, Paul Reagan, asked Mr. Howell if he had any advice for the new governor. "Don't pick a fight your first year you can't win," the House speaker answered. Mr. McAuliffe has not heeded that wise advice.
