Florida Insurers To Rebate $113 Million To Policyholders

Florida Insurers To Rebate $113 Million To Policyholders: Thanks to the health care law, Floridians who obtained health insurance without employer assistance will receive rebates between $143 and $949 in August, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. The law requires insurers to spend 80 percent of their premiums on medical costs, and refund the difference to policyholders if they fail to meet the [...]/p

12.8 Million Receive Insurance Rebates As A Result Of Obamacare

12.8 Million Receive Insurance Rebates As A Result Of Obamacare: 12.8 million Americans will receive $1.1 billion in rebates from insurers that have not met minimum spending guidelines in Obamacare, the administration announced Thursday morning. The Affordable Care Act requires insurers to spend 80 to 85 percent of premium dollars on health care services or issue rebates to policy holders. The average rebate is valued [...]/p

Who Do You Dedicate the Health Care Victory To?

Taxes Are The New Death Panels: Exposing The Latest Lie About Obamacare

Taxes Are The New Death Panels: Exposing The Latest Lie About Obamacare: Republicans are responding to the Supreme Court’s ruling upholding the individual mandate by constructing a new “death panels”-like lie. The law, they argue, imposes a burdensome tax on millions of middle class families who will have to pay a penalty for not purchasing health care coverage by 2014. The line originates in the majority’s decision, [...]/p

Health care ruling a victory for problem-solving policy

Rachel Maddow points out the role of the Affordable Care Act in solving the problem of America's terrible health care system

SCOTUS ruling on ACA moves U.S. toward health care as a basic human right

4 Reasons Why Republicans Won’t Be Able To Repeal Obamacare

4 Reasons Why Republicans Won’t Be Able To Repeal Obamacare: Responding to Thursday’s Supreme Court decision upholding the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, Congressional Republicans have scheduled a vote in the House to repeal the law and Mitt Romney pledged to undo the measure if he’s elected president in November. But unless the GOP wins a super majority in the Senate — a scenario [...]/p

'Medicare for All' Must Remain the Goal | Common Dreams

'Medicare for All' Must Remain the Goal | Common Dreams
"Go ahead and wade through the cacophony of responses to the Supreme Court decision. It should be a fascinating excursion through society’s exposed soul at its finest, and at its worst. Some of the responses you will hear will rely on refined cognitive processes and others on fundamental reflexive emotions."

Four Reasons Why The Court’s Decision To Uphold Obamacare Is Good News For The Economy

Four Reasons Why The Court’s Decision To Uphold Obamacare Is Good News For The Economy: The Supreme Court today upheld the Affordable Care Act, the health care reform law signed by President Obama in 2010, ruling 5-4 that the law was constitutional. Chief Justice John Roberts joined Justices Sonya Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Elena Kagan on the opinion. The individual mandate, the requirement that all Americans purchase [...]/p

Medicare for all

Medicare for all
"The Republican majority of the Supreme Court is very likely to overturn the Affordable Care Act tomorrow, fully embracing the "let 'em die" attitude that has become the Republican rallying cry."

10 Things You Would Miss About Obamacare

10 Things You Would Miss About Obamacare: The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act this week and could potentially strike down part or the whole of ‘Obamacare.’ Below are 10 things you will miss about the law if the justices invalidate it: 1) Access to health insurance for 30 million Americans and lower premiums. [...]/p

Can Vermonters Win Single Payer? | Common Dreams

Can Vermonters Win Single Payer? | Common Dreams
"While the nation waits for an overdue Supreme Court decision that will decide the fate of President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, another health care drama with wide implications for universal health care is just starting in Vermont."

PERRspectives: Mitt Romney's Fatal Prescription for Health Care

PERRspectives: Mitt Romney's Fatal Prescription for Health Care
"His plan to gut Medicaid spending and vague proposals for tax deductions to purchase coverage wouldn't merely leave millions of Americans without health insurance, including hundreds of thousands in his home state of Massachusetts. And as the sad history shows, without help from Washington universal coverage at the state level has a proven track record of failure."

GOP Congressman Says Ryan’s Medicare Plan Would Hurt Seniors

GOP Congressman Says Ryan’s Medicare Plan Would Hurt Seniors: House Republicans approved a budget in April that would drive up Medicare costs for seniors, and Mitt Romney has embraced the plan crafted by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI). But not all in the party are in agreement. Ten Republicans voted against Ryan’s budget in April, and now, Rep. David McKinley (R-WV) is campaigning on his [...]/p

Second Republican Campaigns Against Republican Budget: ‘It Harms The Medicare Program Seniors Rely On’

Second Republican Campaigns Against Republican Budget: ‘It Harms The Medicare Program Seniors Rely On’: In an effort to paint himself as an independent who doesn’t always toe the party line, Montana Rep. Denny Rehberg (R) is touting his opposition to the House Republican budget in an ad released by his Senate campaign. Rehberg, who is running to unseat Sen. Jon Tester (D), voted against the GOP’s budget plan for [...]/p

People with pre-existing conditions could be dumped back into the no-coverage world

People with pre-existing conditions could be dumped back into the no-coverage world
"Yes, Ms. Kaine, Republicans and their five allies on the Supreme Court will dump you right back into the world of no coverage. And they'll do it happily."

Insurers will have to pay out $1.1 billion in rebates if Obamacare survives the Supreme Court

Insurers will have to pay out $1.1 billion in rebates if Obamacare survives the Supreme Court
"If there's any silver lining to this, it's that for one year, insurance companies generally didmeet the demands of the law. Before the provision was enacted, health care system experts expected that rebates owed would be over $2 billion. Which means the law did what it was supposed to: make insurers spend more on covering actual health care."

Shock: The traditional media had a conservative bias on Obamacare

Shock: The traditional media had a conservative bias on Obamacare
"the traditional media utterly failed in explaining it. Instead of talking about the legislation itself, the media talked about the process and the political fights. And it talked about it using the Republicans' framing. That's not just a liberal's complaint. It's the conclusion of researchers from the Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism."

In Health Care, Give the People What They Want: Medicare for All | Common Dreams

In Health Care, Give the People What They Want: Medicare for All | Common Dreams
"As the nation awaits a Supreme Court ruling on the constitutionality of the Obama health care approach, a new Associated Press-GfK poll suggests that the vast majority of Americans want Congress to come up with a better plan. They know that the current system is unsustainable. Only a third of those polled favored the law President Barack Obama signed, but according to the AP, “whatever people think of the law, they don’t want a Supreme Court ruling against it to be the last word on health care reform.” The article continued, “More than three-fourths of Americans want their political leaders to undertake a new effort, rather than leave the health care system alone if the court rules against the law, according to the poll"."

26,000 Uninsured Americans Died Prematurely In 2010 Because They Lacked Health Care

26,000 Uninsured Americans Died Prematurely In 2010 Because They Lacked Health Care: About 26,100 people between 25 and 64 died prematurely in the U.S. in 2010 because they lacked health insurance, according to a report by Families USA. That estimate is up from 20,350 in 2005 and 18,000 in 2000. The group based its findings on government data and a 2002 Institute of Medicine showing that people [...]/p

Study: Small Business Owners Support Obamacare

Study: Small Business Owners Support Obamacare: Throughout his campaign, Mitt Romney has continued to claim that the Affordable Care Act hurts small businesses. But a new study on small businesses contradicts Romney’s claims. Conducted by a business advocacy group, Small Business Majority, an opinion poll surveyed 800 businesses owners across the country. And the results show that over half of the [...]/p

What's at stake: The SCOTUS and undoing The New Deal

What's at stake: The SCOTUS and undoing The New Deal
"In the next 10 days or so, the Supreme Court will issue its decision in the cases challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (ACA.) One of the results of the decision will resolve whether the ACA survives in any form. Obviously this result is extremely important. But there is another result that will be signalled by the SCOTUS' ACA decision—will the Roberts Court be the engine for executing the Republican project to undo The New Deal and the government programs that followed its lead such as Medicare and Medicaid?"

Senior Citizens Lost $2.9 Billion To Financial Abuse In 2010

Senior Citizens Lost $2.9 Billion To Financial Abuse In 2010: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau launched an inquiry into financial fraud and abuse against senior citizens Thursday, as studies showing that scams against the elderly are becoming more prevalent. Senior citizens lost $2.9 billion to financial abuse in 2010, a 12 percent increase from 2009, according to research from MetLife. 58 percent of respondents to [...]/p

Romney’s Plan To Outsource Coverage For Sick People To The States Would Lead To Soaring Costs

Romney’s Plan To Outsource Coverage For Sick People To The States Would Lead To Soaring Costs: Earlier this week, Mitt Romneyconfirmed that he would only require insurance companies to provide coverage for Americans with pre-existing conditions if they recently had coverage, leaving millions of uninsured individuals in the lurch.

Romney Confirms He Will Deny Insurance To Millions With Pre-Existing Conditions If Obamacare Is Struck Down

Romney Confirms He Will Deny Insurance To Millions With Pre-Existing Conditions If Obamacare Is Struck Down: Mitt Romney confirmed on Tuesday that he would allow insurers to deny coverage to millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions if the Supreme Court strikes down Obamacare later this month. During a speech at Con-Air Industries in Orlando, Florida, the former Massachusetts governor said that Americans who have not been “continuously insured” would not be [...]/p

14 Million Seniors Are Already Benefiting From Obamacare

14 Million Seniors Are Already Benefiting From Obamacare: Medicare reports that 14.3 million seniors in America have already received important preventive benefits under President Obama’s health care law. In the first few months of 2012, seniors were able to take advantage of a number of preventative health services, including an annual checkup, without paying any deductibles or co-pays. “Thanks to the health care [...]/p

NEW DATA: 6.6 Million Young Adults Insured Thanks To Obamacare

NEW DATA: 6.6 Million Young Adults Insured Thanks To Obamacare: Even though much of the Affordable Care Act does not go into effect until 2014, conservatives insist the bill is making things worse for Americans. But a new study shows that one implemented provision of the ACA is already providing millions of young Americans with health insurance. According to a study by the Commonwealth Fund, [...]/p

Lawmakers To Shield Medical Device Companies From Taxes By Increasing Health Costs For Middle Class Families

Lawmakers To Shield Medical Device Companies From Taxes By Increasing Health Costs For Middle Class Families: Republicans in the House will consider legislation this week that would protect the medical device industry from additional taxation, while increasing health care costs for hundreds of thousands of middle class Americans. The measure, sponsored by Minnesota Rep. Erik Paulsen (R), would repeal taxes on medical devices that finance part of the cost of the [...]/p