www.addictinginfo.org/2014/02/27/harry-reid-slams-koch-brothers-aca-lies/
"Because the Koch Brothers have been unable to find people in real need for affordable insurance where Obamacare was a net negative, they had to resort to lies. Debunkers have been playing Whack-A-Mole with every single false ad, Fox News false story, and or lying politicians. the Koch Brothers keep paying for via shadow organizations like Americans for Prosperity."
2/26/14
Arkansas GOP Pushes To End Medicaid Expansion, Kick 100K Off Coverage
Arkansas GOP Pushes To End Medicaid Expansion, Kick 100K Off Coverage
"Despite voting to expand Medicaid last year under a modified proposal referred to as the 'private option,' Arkansas lawmakers are having a tough time renewing it, preferring to see over 100,000 poor people closed out of access to health care. Worse yet, the actual expansion has only been in effect for two months."
"Despite voting to expand Medicaid last year under a modified proposal referred to as the 'private option,' Arkansas lawmakers are having a tough time renewing it, preferring to see over 100,000 poor people closed out of access to health care. Worse yet, the actual expansion has only been in effect for two months."
2/21/14
Another Obamacare Scare Story Shot Down
Another Obamacare Scare Story Shot Down
"Another day, another Americans for Prosperity ad intended to kill a few more scared Republicans. The Kochs should be ashamed."
"Another day, another Americans for Prosperity ad intended to kill a few more scared Republicans. The Kochs should be ashamed."
2/19/14
PERRspectives: Georgia Republicans are Killing Hospitals--and People
PERRspectives: Georgia Republicans are Killing Hospitals--and People
"By now, millions of Americans--most of them in red states-- are growing familiar with the "coverage gap." Thanks to their rejection of the Affordable Care Act's expansion of Medicaid in states they control, GOP leaders are leaving at least five million people in an insurance "dead zone," earning too much to qualify for Medicaid but too little to obtain federal subsidies to purchase coverage on their. As a recent Harvard study suggests, that Republican dead zone will a very real body count, with as many as 17,000 people forecast to needlessly die each year for lack of health insurance.
But GOP obstruction won't just kill people in places like Texas, Mississippi and many more. As the case of Georgia shows--where over 600,000 residents will fall into the coverage gap and as many as 1,175 will die this year--Republican policy is killing hospitals, too."
"By now, millions of Americans--most of them in red states-- are growing familiar with the "coverage gap." Thanks to their rejection of the Affordable Care Act's expansion of Medicaid in states they control, GOP leaders are leaving at least five million people in an insurance "dead zone," earning too much to qualify for Medicaid but too little to obtain federal subsidies to purchase coverage on their. As a recent Harvard study suggests, that Republican dead zone will a very real body count, with as many as 17,000 people forecast to needlessly die each year for lack of health insurance.
But GOP obstruction won't just kill people in places like Texas, Mississippi and many more. As the case of Georgia shows--where over 600,000 residents will fall into the coverage gap and as many as 1,175 will die this year--Republican policy is killing hospitals, too."
Arkansas lawmaker promotes bill to keep uninsured in the dark about healthcare options
www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/02/19/arkansas-lawmaker-promotes-bill-to-keep-uninsured-in-the-dark-about-healthcare-options/
"A Republican lawmaker in Arkansas is attempting to insert an amendment into a Medicaid expansion bill that is designed to prevent the state from using federal funds to promote Obamacare, explaining that he doesn’t want uninsured Arkansans to know about their healthcare options.
According to ThinkProgress, State Rep. Nate Bell (R) admitted that, by denying the state of Arkansas the ability to use federal funds allocated for advertising the Affordable Care Act (ACA), he is “trying to create a barrier to enrollment"."
"A Republican lawmaker in Arkansas is attempting to insert an amendment into a Medicaid expansion bill that is designed to prevent the state from using federal funds to promote Obamacare, explaining that he doesn’t want uninsured Arkansans to know about their healthcare options.
According to ThinkProgress, State Rep. Nate Bell (R) admitted that, by denying the state of Arkansas the ability to use federal funds allocated for advertising the Affordable Care Act (ACA), he is “trying to create a barrier to enrollment"."
2/14/14
GOP Wrong about Obamacare Again: How the Law Changed Life with Epilepsy
www.alternet.org/personal-health/gop-wrong-about-obamacare-again-how-law-changed-life-epilepsy
"I’ll never love having epilepsy, but I’ve found that serving others who share my condition – many of whom fight a much harder battle than I have – is an avenue to meaning. The Affordable Care Act, for all the gaps it may still leave open, will nonetheless benefit people with epilepsy tremendously, as will all continued efforts at improving and expanding our national healthcare services – something we would all do well to advocate, out of justice, and out of love."
"I’ll never love having epilepsy, but I’ve found that serving others who share my condition – many of whom fight a much harder battle than I have – is an avenue to meaning. The Affordable Care Act, for all the gaps it may still leave open, will nonetheless benefit people with epilepsy tremendously, as will all continued efforts at improving and expanding our national healthcare services – something we would all do well to advocate, out of justice, and out of love."
Louisiana Obamacare Attack Ads Use Actors To Tell Made-Up Horror Stories
Louisiana Obamacare Attack Ads Use Actors To Tell Made-Up Horror Stories
"I guess the real people they tried to use in other ads got tired of having their stories debunked by actual real reporters, so now AfP is running ads with actors and fake stories. How ethical of them!"
"I guess the real people they tried to use in other ads got tired of having their stories debunked by actual real reporters, so now AfP is running ads with actors and fake stories. How ethical of them!"
Can Right-Wingers and Plutocrats Be Stopped from Destroying Social Security?
www.alternet.org/economy/can-right-wingers-and-plutocrats-be-stopped-destroying-social-security?page=0%2C0
"There's momentum in the fight to strengthen, instead of gut, social security."
"There's momentum in the fight to strengthen, instead of gut, social security."
2/12/14
Uninsurance Rate Falls To Five-Year Low As 3.3 Million Enroll In Obamacare
www.thinkprogress.org/health/2014/02/12/3284581/uninsurance-rate-year-obamacare-enrollments/
"The Obama administration on Wednesday released its monthly update on health insurance enrollment under the Affordable Care Act. Nearly 3.3 million Americans enrolled in private health plans through Obamacare’s state and federal marketplaces from October through February 1, with 1.1 million signing up in January alone. The data comes on the same day that a Gallup survey found that the U.S. uninsurance rate has hit a five-year low"
"The Obama administration on Wednesday released its monthly update on health insurance enrollment under the Affordable Care Act. Nearly 3.3 million Americans enrolled in private health plans through Obamacare’s state and federal marketplaces from October through February 1, with 1.1 million signing up in January alone. The data comes on the same day that a Gallup survey found that the U.S. uninsurance rate has hit a five-year low"
2/11/14
The Good Jobs News on the Affordable Care Act
The Good Jobs News on the Affordable Care Act
"There are millions of people who struggle at their jobs with serious health conditions in the hope of reaching age 65 when they can qualify for Medicare. The exchanges will make it possible for many of these people to get insurance at prices they can afford, since insurers are not allowed to discriminate based on pre-existing conditions. As a result, some of these older workers will opt to either retire or to possible work fewer hours at a job that doesn't provide insurance. Giving people this option was one of the main goals of health care reform.
Similarly, there are many workers with young children who would like to be able to either take time off from work to spend with their kids, or alternatively to work at a job part-time. However they may not have this option if their only way to afford insurance is by working at a full-time job. As a result of the ACA these people will work fewer hours.
This also was also one of the goals of Obamacare."
"There are millions of people who struggle at their jobs with serious health conditions in the hope of reaching age 65 when they can qualify for Medicare. The exchanges will make it possible for many of these people to get insurance at prices they can afford, since insurers are not allowed to discriminate based on pre-existing conditions. As a result, some of these older workers will opt to either retire or to possible work fewer hours at a job that doesn't provide insurance. Giving people this option was one of the main goals of health care reform.
Similarly, there are many workers with young children who would like to be able to either take time off from work to spend with their kids, or alternatively to work at a job part-time. However they may not have this option if their only way to afford insurance is by working at a full-time job. As a result of the ACA these people will work fewer hours.
This also was also one of the goals of Obamacare."
Ending Job Lock: What Economists Praise As Choice, Fox Slams As Laziness
www.mediamatters.org/research/2014/02/10/ending-job-lock-what-economists-praise-as-choic/197993
"Economists are encouraged by reports that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will increase job flexibility by allowing workers to maintain health coverage outside employment, calling the impact good for workers and the economy. But to Fox News, increased flexibility just means increased laziness."
"Economists are encouraged by reports that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will increase job flexibility by allowing workers to maintain health coverage outside employment, calling the impact good for workers and the economy. But to Fox News, increased flexibility just means increased laziness."
2/10/14
PERRspectives: Post's Thiessen Tortures Logic with Bogus $70 Billion Obamacare Pay Cut
PERRspectives: Post's Thiessen Tortures Logic with Bogus $70 Billion Obamacare Pay Cut
"And now for today's math quiz. Let's say you decide to work 2 percent fewer hours this year. At the end of the year, your total compensation is 1 percent lower. Does that mean you got a pay cut?
If you answered "yes," you might want to reread the question. Or, you might be Marc Thiessen, former Bush speechwriter and torture enthusiast turned AEI fellow and Washington Post columnist.
Writing in Monday's Post, Thiessen tried to add a sequel to the GOP's discredited sound bite that the Affordable Care Act will cost the U.S. economy 2.5 million jobs over the next decade. On the same day the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) once again debunked that tried but untrue talking point, Dubya's former wordsmith concocted a new one"
"And now for today's math quiz. Let's say you decide to work 2 percent fewer hours this year. At the end of the year, your total compensation is 1 percent lower. Does that mean you got a pay cut?
If you answered "yes," you might want to reread the question. Or, you might be Marc Thiessen, former Bush speechwriter and torture enthusiast turned AEI fellow and Washington Post columnist.
Writing in Monday's Post, Thiessen tried to add a sequel to the GOP's discredited sound bite that the Affordable Care Act will cost the U.S. economy 2.5 million jobs over the next decade. On the same day the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) once again debunked that tried but untrue talking point, Dubya's former wordsmith concocted a new one"
2/7/14
Koch Group Goes After Medicaid Expansion in Louisiana
Koch Group Goes After Medicaid Expansion in Louisiana
"It's stunning but not at all surprising to see the Kochs go all out in Louisiana to try and kill the Medicaid expansion for people earning less than 138% of the federal poverty level. Because really, we don't want the poor folks -- especially poor folk of color -- to have access to decent medical care, now do we?"
"It's stunning but not at all surprising to see the Kochs go all out in Louisiana to try and kill the Medicaid expansion for people earning less than 138% of the federal poverty level. Because really, we don't want the poor folks -- especially poor folk of color -- to have access to decent medical care, now do we?"
2/6/14
Republicans Wanted To Free Workers From Bad Jobs Until Obamacare Did It
www.talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/republicans-obamacare-cbo-report-insurance-employment
"Republicans and conservative wonks have long supported de-linking health insurance from employment in order to give workers more economic freedom. But now they're attacking Obamacare for ... doing just that."
"Republicans and conservative wonks have long supported de-linking health insurance from employment in order to give workers more economic freedom. But now they're attacking Obamacare for ... doing just that."
2/5/14
Conservative Seize On Report To Argue Obamacare Is A Job Killer — But The Author Says They’re Wrong
www.thinkprogress.org/health/2014/02/05/3252421/elmendorf-debunk-obamacare-job-killer/
"In fact, the CBO report explicitly states that the estimated reduction in labor “stems almost entirely from a net decline in the amount of labor that workers choose to supply, rather than from a net drop in businesses’ demand for labor” and that “there is no compelling evidence that part-time employment has increased as a result of ACA.” Those notions are further supported by economic data on full- and part-time employment trends over the last several years. Simply put, the report finds that Obamacare will reduce the number of people who are forced to work a job merely for the sake of health insurance.
Elmendorf also noted that the ACA is actually expected to boost the economy in the near-term by making health insurance and medical care affordable for the poorest Americans, giving them the freedom to spend money in other areas of the economy. “On balance, CBO estimates that the ACA will boost overall demand for goods and services over the next few years,” states the report."
"In fact, the CBO report explicitly states that the estimated reduction in labor “stems almost entirely from a net decline in the amount of labor that workers choose to supply, rather than from a net drop in businesses’ demand for labor” and that “there is no compelling evidence that part-time employment has increased as a result of ACA.” Those notions are further supported by economic data on full- and part-time employment trends over the last several years. Simply put, the report finds that Obamacare will reduce the number of people who are forced to work a job merely for the sake of health insurance.
Elmendorf also noted that the ACA is actually expected to boost the economy in the near-term by making health insurance and medical care affordable for the poorest Americans, giving them the freedom to spend money in other areas of the economy. “On balance, CBO estimates that the ACA will boost overall demand for goods and services over the next few years,” states the report."
2/4/14
Obamacare Finally Gives Workers The Freedom Conservatives Demanded
www.thinkprogress.org/health/2014/02/04/3249671/obamacare-job-lock/
"Academic research has quantified the cost of keeping health care coverage connected to the workplace. In 2008, researchers at Harvard estimated that there are “11 million people who would like to change jobs but are locked into their current job simply to keep their insurance,” while other studies have found that “job-to-job mobility is estimated to increase by as much as 25 percent when alternative group coverage is available.”
As Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) explained in 2008, while rolling out the health care proposal that animated his presidential campaign, “‘job lock’ reduces opportunities for American workers because they often pass up new jobs for fear of losing their health care coverage.” The health care law will start to change that predicament."
"Academic research has quantified the cost of keeping health care coverage connected to the workplace. In 2008, researchers at Harvard estimated that there are “11 million people who would like to change jobs but are locked into their current job simply to keep their insurance,” while other studies have found that “job-to-job mobility is estimated to increase by as much as 25 percent when alternative group coverage is available.”
As Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) explained in 2008, while rolling out the health care proposal that animated his presidential campaign, “‘job lock’ reduces opportunities for American workers because they often pass up new jobs for fear of losing their health care coverage.” The health care law will start to change that predicament."
No, the CBO Did Not Find That the ACA Kills Jobs
No, the CBO Did Not Find That the ACA Kills Jobs
"The Congressional Budget Office released its Budget and Economic Outlook, and, in Appendix C, one can find an expanded discussion of the labor market effects of the Affordable Care Act.
Not surprisingly, the CBO finds that, all else equal, people are less likely to work and will work fewer hours under the ACA. They find, and I quote, “The estimated reduction stems almost entirely from a net decline in the amount of labor that workers choose to supply, rather than from a net drop in business’ demand for labor” (page 117).
These are purely voluntary labor supply decisions, not people being laid off from jobs they’d rather keep, or people looking for work and being unable to find it. Working-age adults can now choose, without regard to their need to secure health insurance, whether they wish to supply labor and how much labor they wish to supply to the labor market. This is unabashedly a good thing for them.
Opponents of the ACA will try to paint these CBO estimates as evidence that the ACA has “killed jobs” or something like it. That’s flat wrong. What the ACA has done is expand the menu of options available to Americans about how to obtain decent health insurance without having their income fall to poverty levels. That menu used to include one option—“go to work for a large employer.” The fact that it’s broader now is an unambiguously good thing."
"The Congressional Budget Office released its Budget and Economic Outlook, and, in Appendix C, one can find an expanded discussion of the labor market effects of the Affordable Care Act.
Not surprisingly, the CBO finds that, all else equal, people are less likely to work and will work fewer hours under the ACA. They find, and I quote, “The estimated reduction stems almost entirely from a net decline in the amount of labor that workers choose to supply, rather than from a net drop in business’ demand for labor” (page 117).
These are purely voluntary labor supply decisions, not people being laid off from jobs they’d rather keep, or people looking for work and being unable to find it. Working-age adults can now choose, without regard to their need to secure health insurance, whether they wish to supply labor and how much labor they wish to supply to the labor market. This is unabashedly a good thing for them.
Opponents of the ACA will try to paint these CBO estimates as evidence that the ACA has “killed jobs” or something like it. That’s flat wrong. What the ACA has done is expand the menu of options available to Americans about how to obtain decent health insurance without having their income fall to poverty levels. That menu used to include one option—“go to work for a large employer.” The fact that it’s broader now is an unambiguously good thing."
CBO Report Blows Away GOP ACA Lies
CBO Report Blows Away GOP ACA Lies
"Today's CBO report on the ACA was so bad for Republicans that they're spinning furiously to minimize the damage. While Fox News, Fox Business, and MSNBC's favorite GOP mouthpiece Chuck Todd intentionally misstate the report's findings to support repeal, the facts are there in black and white."
"Today's CBO report on the ACA was so bad for Republicans that they're spinning furiously to minimize the damage. While Fox News, Fox Business, and MSNBC's favorite GOP mouthpiece Chuck Todd intentionally misstate the report's findings to support repeal, the facts are there in black and white."
RNC Names Obamacare Supporter A ‘Republican Trailblazer’
www.thinkprogress.org/health/2014/02/04/3244131/republican-trailblazer-obamacare/
"He also didn’t mince words about the Republican Party and their efforts to repeal the law, pointing out the support that his own similar plan received from many of the same Republicans now fighting to undo the law."
"He also didn’t mince words about the Republican Party and their efforts to repeal the law, pointing out the support that his own similar plan received from many of the same Republicans now fighting to undo the law."
2/2/14
Implementing the Affordable Care Act: The State of the States
www.commonwealthfund.org/Publications/Fund-Reports/2014/Jan/Implementing-the-Affordable-Care-Act.aspx
"States varied significantly in their approach to implementing the Affordable Care Act’s three major components, but states were most likely to take new action to implement the market reforms. These reforms include access to coverage for young adults, a ban on preexisting condition exclusions, the coverage of a minimum set of essential health benefits, and a ban on lifetime limits for health care coverage, among other critical consumer protections. To date, 32 states and the District of Columbia have taken new legislative or regulatory action on at least one of the market reforms. Of these, 11 states addressed all of the reforms studied in this report."
"States varied significantly in their approach to implementing the Affordable Care Act’s three major components, but states were most likely to take new action to implement the market reforms. These reforms include access to coverage for young adults, a ban on preexisting condition exclusions, the coverage of a minimum set of essential health benefits, and a ban on lifetime limits for health care coverage, among other critical consumer protections. To date, 32 states and the District of Columbia have taken new legislative or regulatory action on at least one of the market reforms. Of these, 11 states addressed all of the reforms studied in this report."
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