Affordable Care Act

I would guess that most people here support single-payer health care, as I do. What we have is the Affordable Care Act, which is at the very least a good start. But it's also pretty damn complicated in a lot of ways. As this DailyKos article shows,the public is pretty misinformed about the impacts of the law.

Now I can tell people about how their kids can stay on their insurance during college. I can tell people about subsidies for the poor uninsured and the Medicaid expansion. Where I run into problems are when business owners call me. It isn't even that they are bitching about having to provide insurance, the just want to know their liability.

Trying to use fear of personal information gathering to gather personal information:

As for the claim that the law will require the government to turn over health records to the IRS, Hall said that is simply not true. Berger’s intention for the petition remains unclear. But often online petitions serve a distinct political purpose. Berger has been mentioned as a potential challenger to U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, D-Greensboro, in 2014.“Sen. Berger is running for first shot at the primary against Kay Hagan,” said Don Taylor, a health policy expert and Duke University professor, to explain the petition.

I never thought anyone could compete with Dick Burr's "Say Anything, Do Nothing" record in the U.S. Senate, but Phil Berger has potential. And as far as truth in advertising is concerned:

Republican lawmakers say the bills reflect a desire to assert states’ rights and tell the federal government to “stay out of our business,” said Rep. Mike Hager, a top-ranking House Republican from Rutherfordton.

“I think at some point we’ve got to draw the line,” he said. “The 10th Amendment is in the Constitution, and we need to exercise our rights under the Constitution.”

Critics said the GOP is hurting working-class people, people without jobs, and the economy, all for the sake of ideology.

“The best I can read it, it’s an ideological play to their base,” said Sen. Josh Stein, a Raleigh Democrat.

Refusing to implement provisions of the Affordable Care Act places North Carolina within the sphere of states that have gone as far as they can to reject the law.

from the Raleigh N&O Thursday:

http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/01/30/2644718/gop-lawmakers-assert-stat...

from WRAL.com:

Raleigh, N.C. — Senate Republicans opened their session Wednesday with an effort to opt out of provisions of the federal Affordable Care Act set to take effect next year.

Senate Bill 4 would exempt North Carolina from establishing a state-run health insurance exchange or an exchange jointly operated by the state and federal government. The exchanges provide people without employer-sponsored health plans with a marketplace to purchase their own coverage.

Read the article here:
http://www.wral.com/bill-would-block-affordable-care-act-changes-in-nc/1...

This bill will be heard in the Senate Insurance Committee tomorrow morning at 10 am at the NC Legislative Building, Room 1027/1128.

I have Medicare Advantage Plan, so this does not affect me directly. But it does add to the list of planned bills that lead me to see the Republicans as heartless bastards.

The deadly Colorado shooting underscores the need to better identify, diagnose and treat people with mental illness. Diane Rehm of NPR and guests discussed the future of mental health services under the Affordable Care Act.

You can listen to today's program online.

Guests
Dr. Steven Davis
chairman of the psychiatry department at the University of Maryland Baltimore-Washington Medical Center.
Rachel Garfield
senior researcher and associate director of the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Pamela Hyde
administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Richard Frank
professor of health economics at Harvard Medical School.

Follow the link to hear the show online:

http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2012-07-31/mental-health-services-unde...

Chronicling Mitt's Mendacity, Vol. XXV
By Steve Benen
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Fri Jul 13, 2012 2:09 pm

For those who regularly watch Maddow's show on MSNBC, this is not breaking news. But this blog entry does well summarize the unbelievable mendacity of Romney and his handlers.

There's dishonesty in politics, and then there's meta-dishonesty in politics

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No question that Romney and his campaign staff are guilty of "meta-dishonesty."

Hi - after Obamacare passed in 2009, I wondered whether or not the cost of my individual health care insurance would become more affordable. The short answer was "no".

So I wondered if a fraternal organization could be created that would attract people to it and work to build the Democratic Party while offering group health insurance at really affordable rates. So why not form a group called the "Fraternal Order of Loyal Democrats" where the qualification for membership is being a registered Democratic Voter in North Carolina. One of the benefits of membership would be the ability to purchase group health insurance at affordable rates?

I wonder if the Pope will excommunicate Rick Santorum for disagreeing with god's representative here on earth.

Having decided to hear arguments about the Affordable Care Act, you have another big decision ahead. But just to say it, your record on big decisions pretty much sucks.

The Affordable Care Act (or ACA) has been challenged by dozens of states, in multiple ways, all over the country. The law remains unpopular among the public and loathed by Republican politicians, who have pledged that repeal will be their first order of business if given power in 2012. Implementation is proceeding jerkily, in part because many states are waiting till the legal and political uncertainty clears to commit to the law.

Next Monday, the Supreme Court will begin hearing three days of oral arguments addressing various questions of legal procedure and legality which will ultimately decide the fate of the ACA, and millions of Americans along with it.

Join Action NC at for a lively discussion about the future of the Affordable Care Act in light of the Supreme Court challenge and the polarized political environment in which we live on Monday, March 26 at Pullen Memorial Baptist Church in Raleigh, starting at noon.