[Apologetics] A deathblow for Obamacare from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Mon Nov 16 15:42:11 EST 2009

Please take a moment and read the extremely important excerpts from the
report of the Chief Actuary of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services regarding the devastating effects Obamacare would have on all
Americans!

The full report from CMS is at
http://republicans.waysandmeans.house.gov/UploadedFiles/OACT_Memorandum_
on_Financial_Impact_of_H_R__3962__11-13-09_.pdf 

Please forward this critical information to everyone you know with a
request that they also send it to other persons they know.

Art

________________________________

From: The Heritage Foundation [mailto:morningbell at heritage.org] 
Sent: Monday, November 16, 2009 10:11 AM
To: Art Kelly
Subject: Morning Bell: A Deathblow for Obamacare

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 The Heritage
Foundation<http://paracom.paramountcommunication.com/cimages/b878bb3c4ea
e913925f7e2b8fca014f5/logo.JPG> 	The Morning Bell

MONDAY, NOV. 16, 2009

A Deathblow for Obamacare
<http://paracom.paramountcommunication.com/ct/3606046:5233602888:m:1:149
266645:201F56A192D026F44C6504E7DF454D36> 

Standing in the Rose Garden on November 7th, President Barack Obama
celebrated the passage of the House health care bill claiming
<http://paracom.paramountcommunication.com/ct/3606047:5233602888:m:1:149
266645:201F56A192D026F44C6504E7DF454D36> : "The Affordable Health Care
for America Act is a piece of legislation that will provide stability
and security for Americans who have insurance; quality, affordable
options for those who don't; and bring down the cost of health care for
families, businesses, and our government, while strengthening the
financial health of Medicare." 

Recent Entries

<http://paracom.paramountcommunication.com/cimages/b878bb3c4eae913925f7e
2b8fca014f5/pagebullet.JPG> 	Video: Pelosi Says Jail "Very Fair"
Punishment For Not Buying Health Insurance
<http://paracom.paramountcommunication.com/ct/3606048:5233602888:m:1:149
266645:201F56A192D026F44C6504E7DF454D36>  	

<http://paracom.paramountcommunication.com/cimages/b878bb3c4eae913925f7e
2b8fca014f5/pagebullet.JPG> 	Obama to Copenhagen but No Berlin?
<http://paracom.paramountcommunication.com/ct/3606049:5233602888:m:1:149
266645:201F56A192D026F44C6504E7DF454D36>  	

<http://paracom.paramountcommunication.com/cimages/b878bb3c4eae913925f7e
2b8fca014f5/pagebullet.JPG> 	Obama's Public Option for Gitmo
<http://paracom.paramountcommunication.com/ct/3606050:5233602888:m:1:149
266645:201F56A192D026F44C6504E7DF454D36>  	

<http://paracom.paramountcommunication.com/cimages/b878bb3c4eae913925f7e
2b8fca014f5/pagebullet.JPG> 	President Obama's Trade Failure
<http://paracom.paramountcommunication.com/ct/3606051:5233602888:m:1:149
266645:201F56A192D026F44C6504E7DF454D36>  	

<http://paracom.paramountcommunication.com/cimages/b878bb3c4eae913925f7e
2b8fca014f5/pagebullet.JPG> 	The Logic of Obamacare
<http://paracom.paramountcommunication.com/ct/3606052:5233602888:m:1:149
266645:201F56A192D026F44C6504E7DF454D36>  	
Quite a bold statement if true. But a report
<http://paracom.paramountcommunication.com/ct/3606053:5233602888:m:1:149
266645:201F56A192D026F44C6504E7DF454D36>  released Friday by the
non-partisan and independent Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
<http://paracom.paramountcommunication.com/ct/3606054:5233602888:m:1:149
266645:201F56A192D026F44C6504E7DF454D36> , the agency in charge of
running Medicare and Medicaid, blows the lid off of every one of Obama's
claims. All of the following quotes are from the report itself:

Health Care Costs Increase: "In aggregate, we estimate that for calendar
years 2010 through 2019 [national health expenditures (NHE)] would
increase by $289 billion, or 0.8 percent, over the updates baseline
projection that was released on June 29, 2009."
<http://paracom.paramountcommunication.com/ct/3606055:5233602888:m:1:149
266645:201F56A192D026F44C6504E7DF454D36>  In other words, Obamacare
bends the cost curve up, not down.

Millions Lose Existing Private Coverage: "However, a number of workers
who currently have employer coverage would likely become enrolled in the
expanded Medicaid program or receive subsidized coverage through the
Exchange. For example, some smaller employers would be inclined to
terminate their existing coverage, and companies with low average
salaries might find it to their - and their employees' - advantage to
end their plans ... We estimate that such actions would collectively
reduce the number of people with employer-sponsored health coverage by
about 12 million."
<http://paracom.paramountcommunication.com/ct/3606056:5233602888:m:1:149
266645:201F56A192D026F44C6504E7DF454D36>  In other words, Obamacare will
cause millions of Americans to lose their existing private coverage.

Millions Pay Fines Yet Remain Uncovered: "18 million are estimated to
choose not to be insured and to pay the penalty associated with the
individual mandate. For the most part, these would be individuals with
relatively low health care expenses for whom the individual or family
insurance premium would be significantly in excess of the penalty and
their anticipated health benefit value."
<http://paracom.paramountcommunication.com/ct/3606056:5233602888:m:1:149
266645:201F56A192D026F44C6504E7DF454D36>  In other words, 18 million
Americans will either face jail time or be forced to pay a new tax they
will receive no benefit from.

Millions Lose Medicare Advantage: "Section 1161 of Division B of H.R.
3962 would set Medicare Advantage capitation benchmarks ... We estimate
that in 2014 when the MA provisions would be fully phased in, enrollment
in MA plans would decreased by 64 percent (from its projected level of
13.2 million under current law to 4.7 million under the proposal)."
<http://paracom.paramountcommunication.com/ct/3606057:5233602888:m:1:149
266645:201F56A192D026F44C6504E7DF454D36>  In other words, 8.5 million
seniors who currently get such services as coor-dinated care for chronic
conditions, routine eye and hearing examinations, and preventive-care
services
<http://paracom.paramountcommunication.com/ct/3606058:5233602888:m:1:149
266645:201F56A192D026F44C6504E7DF454D36>  would lose their existing
private coverage.

Millions Placed on Welfare: "Of the additional 34 million who are
estimated to be insured in 2019 as a result of H.R. 3962, about
three-fifths (21 million) would receive Medicaid coverage due to the
expansion of eligibility to those adults under 150 percent of the FPL."
<http://paracom.paramountcommunication.com/ct/3606059:5233602888:m:1:149
266645:201F56A192D026F44C6504E7DF454D36>  In other words, more than half
the people who gain health insurance will receive it through the welfare
program Medicaid.

Seniors Access to Care Jeopardized: "H.R. 3962 would introduce permanent
annual productivity adjustments to price updates for institutional
providers... Over time, a sustained reduction in payment updates, based
on productivity expectations that are difficult to attain, would cause
Medicare payment rates to grow more slowly than and in a way that was
unrelated to, the providers' costs of furnishing services to
beneficiaries. Thus, providers for whom Medicare constitutes a
substantive portion of their business could find it difficult to remain
profitable and might end their participation in the program (possibly
jeopardizing access to care for beneficiaries)."
<http://paracom.paramountcommunication.com/ct/3606057:5233602888:m:1:149
266645:201F56A192D026F44C6504E7DF454D36>  In other words, the Medicare
cuts in the House bill are so out of touch with reality that hospitals
currently serving Medicare patients might be forced to stop doing so.
Thus making it much more difficult for seniors to get health care.

Poor's Access Problems Exacerbated: "In practice, supply constraints
might interfere with providing the services by the additional 34 million
insured persons. ...providers might tend to accept more patients who
have private insurance (with relatively attractive payment rates) and
fewer Medicaid patients, exacerbating existing access problems for the
latter group."
<http://paracom.paramountcommunication.com/ct/3606060:5233602888:m:1:149
266645:201F56A192D026F44C6504E7DF454D36>  In other words, those 21
million people who are gaining health insurance through Medicaid are
going to have a very tough time finding a doctor who will treat them.

Reacting in part to Friday's CMS report, Robert J. Samuelson writes in
today's Washington Post
<http://paracom.paramountcommunication.com/ct/3606061:5233602888:m:1:149
266645:201F56A192D026F44C6504E7DF454D36> :

	The disconnect between what President Obama says and what he's
doing is so glaring that most people could not abide it. The president,
his advisers and allies have no trouble. But reconciling blatantly
contradictory objectives requires them to engage in willful
self-deception, public dishonesty, or both.

There is a reason why as more Americans learn about Obamacare, the less
popular it gets
<http://paracom.paramountcommunication.com/ct/3606062:5233602888:m:1:149
266645:201F56A192D026F44C6504E7DF454D36> .

QUICK HITS

Commenting on President Barack Obama's meeting with Emperor Akihito of
Japan, an academic with expertise about the Japanese Empire tells ABC
News
<http://paracom.paramountcommunication.com/ct/3606063:5233602888:m:1:149
266645:201F56A192D026F44C6504E7DF454D36> : "The bow as he performed did
not just display weakness in Red State terms, but evoked weakness in
Japanese terms....The last thing the Japanese want or need is a weak
looking American president and, again, in all ways, he unintentionally
played that part."

Thanks to conservatives in Congress, President Obama has been "hobbled"
<http://paracom.paramountcommunication.com/ct/3606064:5233602888:m:1:149
266645:201F56A192D026F44C6504E7DF454D36>  in his search for a global
warming treaty.

The government paid more than $47 billion in questionable Medicare
claims
<http://paracom.paramountcommunication.com/ct/3606065:5233602888:m:1:149
266645:201F56A192D026F44C6504E7DF454D36>  including medical treatment
showing little relation to a patient's condition, wasting taxpayer money
at a rate nearly three times that of the previous year.

Former Assistant Secretary of Treasury and Deputy Assistant to President
George W. Bush Tony Fratto explains why President Obama's trip, and his
"new engagement" with Asia, ignores the achievements
<http://paracom.paramountcommunication.com/ct/3606066:5233602888:m:1:149
266645:201F56A192D026F44C6504E7DF454D36>  of many past U.S. presidents.

After $111 billion in bailouts for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the
Federal Housing Administration is also close to a taxpayer bailout
<http://paracom.paramountcommunication.com/ct/3606067:5233602888:m:1:149
266645:201F56A192D026F44C6504E7DF454D36> .	

________________________________

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