Where are the death panels? That’s a really good question:

January 02, 2014 9:51 AM

Where Is Obama Hiding the Death Panels?

By Ed Kilgore

….It’s long been understood that once ACA fully took effect, it would finally benefit from a significant number of beneficiaries-above all people locked out of health insurance because of preexisting conditions-with something tangible to lose from its repeal or evisceration. But it’s equally true that the non-materialization of some of the more lurid accusations about Obamacare will (or should) slowly sow some doubts about the law’s opponents.

I’m certain Representative Vicky Hartzler (r) and other republicans in the Missouri congressional delegation will get right on this.

Today, from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:

Nationwide Enrollment for Health Care Coverage Surged in December

By Marilyn Tavenner, Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Posted December 31, 2013

Since the beginning of open enrollment, millions of Americans are gaining access to health coverage-many for the very first time-thanks to the Affordable Care Act.  The most recent data indicate that more than 2.1 million people have enrolled in a private health insurance plan through the Federal and State-based Marketplaces since October 1.

Both states and the federal government have seen a surge in enrollment in December.  Our HealthCare.gov enrollment nearly doubled in days before the January 1 coverage deadline compared to the first weeks of the month.  Nationwide, including state and federal marketplaces, December enrollment so far is nearly 6 times that of October and November combined.

We expect these numbers to continue to grow through the end of March when open enrollment ends.

Additionally, 3.9 million Americans learned they’re eligible for coverage through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in October and November.  These numbers include new eligibility determinations and some Medicaid and CHIP renewals.

We are encouraged that over 6 million people have been enrolled in Marketplace or Medicaid coverage since October 1, and will work to give millions more Americans the peace of mind that comes with health security in the months ahead.

[emphasis added]

In a few hours having a preexisting medical condition can no longer be used to deny someone medical insurance. Canceling your policy because you got sick or because you made a minor error on your insurance application will be a thing of the past. Lifetime coverage can no longer be set to a fixed dollar amount. Eighty cents of every premium dollar must go toward your health care.

It’ll be interesting watching right wingnut republicans continue to try to repeal Obamacare.

Today, via Twitter, from Governor Jay Nixon (D):

Governor Jay Nixon ‏@GovJayNixon

Tomorrow, billions of dollars will begin to flow to states to improve & reform health care, but Missouri won’t be one of them. #momedicaid 12:50 PM – 31 Dec 13

Wait until Missourians realize they’re paying for those other states to do so.

Update:

Governor Jay Nixon ‏@GovJayNixon

Tomorrow, MO taxpayers will start subsidizing health care in other states. That’s wrong and we should resolve to fix it in 2014 #momedicaid 2:23 PM – 31 Dec 13

Today, from Representative Vicky Hartzler (r), via Twitter:

Rep. Vicky Hartzler @RepHartzler

You’ve got to be kidding! I just received a letter rejecting my ObamaCare sign up even tho’ by law I have to sign up in the DC Exchange! 11:25 AM – 27 Dec 13

Some of the responses:

Matt Tharp ‏@matt_tharp

Musta been her forged birth certificate MT “@RepHartzler: You’ve got to be kidding! I just received a letter rejecting my ObamaCare sign up” 11:37 AM – 27 Dec 13

Ouch.

Snarkcasm ‏@Ontheotherhand

@RepHartzler Ppl w pre-existing conditions (fill in ur own GOP ailment) can’t be denied benefits. Maybe pay ur fine out of farm subsidy $$ 11:45 AM – 27 Dec 13

Jeff Reed ‏@JeffReedMO

Forget to check Are you a Birther box? “@RepHartzler: You’ve got to be kidding! I just received a letter rejecting my ObamaCare sign up…” 11:53 AM – 27 Dec 13

You’ve just got to love social media.

Senator Roy Blunt (r-lobbyists), a few days ago via Twitter:

Senator Roy Blunt ‏@RoyBlunt

A family from Troy was forced off their health care & is now paying 125% more for #ObamaCare mandated insurance. [….] 1:15 PM – 14 Nov 13

Some of the responses:

Tim Deveney ‏@TimDeveney

@RoyBlunt Can you also share stories of people who couldn’t get insurance because of preexisting conditions and now can? 1:20 PM – 14 Nov 13

James Overholt ‏@JamesOverholt

.@RoyBlunt The senator who spent his entire term whining. I’ll never vote for him. 2:09 PM – 14 Nov 13

Lion Callie ‏@lioncallie

@royblunt The family from Troy can shop around! Was the insurance that was more covered the same as old one or did it offer more? 4:17 PM – 14 Nov 13

Those were polite ones.

From a commenter at Balloon Juice:

….We’re thrilled to finally be able to get insurance that will actually be, you know, insurance. We’ve been going bare because the only policies we could afford were such crap & also expensive enough that we couldn’t afford to use them. I know that sentence doesn’t seem to make sense, but if you’ve been in the insurance market it does.

We’ve got the account part done & are deciding between the plans. I believe we have 28 or 32 to choose from (in Nevada). Our state, despite our Repub governor, does have a website up & running. It is clunky, but manageable. There has been swearing, though.

We’ll have a plan chosen & paid for by the Dec. deadline, because we want, nay NEED, insurance ASAP. We’re going through plans a few at a time because it is just mind-numbingly boring & we don’t want to f*ck it up. Lots &lots of details & similarities that could turn out to be a huge deal if we get it wrong. So we are thinking about it.

Also, too, not to be shallow & have my priorities screwed up, but Christmas expenses are here, plus all my kids’ birthdays in the next 8 weeks. So we’re juggling how & when to pay for everything. And, as said above, the deadline is weeks away.

Also, we’ve shopped for insurance in the past, and I have to say, this is NOT harder or more complicated than that was. Losing the BS “medical history” catalog you had to fill out makes up for several tries with the clunky website. Easily.

As I said yesterday, breathe, people. This will work. As long as the backstabbing D’s don’t kill it in the cradle.

Representative Vicky Hartzler (r) via twitter:

Rep. Vicky Hartzler ‏@RepHartzler 16h

Only 106k have successfully signed up for #Obamacare. 751 Missourians were successful. RT if you agree the rollout is a #trainwreck 3:25 PM – 13 Nov 13

Does that “successful” number only include individuals who have “signed up for the plan and already paid for it”? Or is that people who have signed up on the site and haven’t made their choice yet? There is a difference.

From another commenter at Balloon Juice:

About two weeks ago I went on the site for the first time. A couple glitchy things but I was still able to register and see the list of available plans in about 20 minutes. It took a little longer to figure out what plans would cover my current primary doctor. Health care dot gov linked me to the various insurance company sites to search for my doctor and they were a bit clunky too.

I know what I’m going to buy but haven’t gone through and completed the transaction. No reason other than I procrastinate. It’s what I do.

A few questions:

Do we want to go back to a time when people with preexisting conditions couldn’t get insurance or couldn’t afford to leave a job because they had a preexisting condition?

Do we want to go back to a time when insurance companies practiced recission (retroactive cancellation of your health insurance by a company because you may have made a mistake on your initial insurance application)?

Do we want to go back to a time when their were lifetime caps on health insurance benefits?

If we repeal the individual mandate for so called healthy people, what do we do when they have a catastrophic illness or a major accidental injury? In the right wingnut world of personal responsibility do we deny them any and all medical care they can’t pay for in full? What about their children who can’t and didn’t make that risky “choice”?

Do we want to go back to a time when insurance companies could sell “junk” insurance with no real catastrophic health/injury benefits to people who couldn’t normally afford insurance in the individual market?

There are a lot more questions, not very many answers from right wingnuts.

In response to a Twitter post by Representative Vicky Hartzler (r):

Bob Yates ‏@OldDrum

@RepHartzler What is the Republican replacement? Back to having insurance companies denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions? 11:07 AM – 8 Nov 13

John Schultz ‏@theknobboy

@OldDrum @RepHartzler Auto and life insurance is based on previous behaviors and lifestyle, why not health insurance? 1:19 PM – 8 Nov 13

One of those things is not like the others.

Bob Yates ‏@OldDrum

@theknobboy @jeeastwood63 @RepHartzler I forgot that people born with genetic illnesses are at fault. Thanks for reminding us. 7:21 AM – 9 Nov 13

Uh, yep.

And they know it.

You can access the sign up for an ACA/Obamacare health insurance exchange here.

Time and demographics will finish the job.

Oh, they’ll still whine while they reap the benefits of the program brought to them by that socialist usurper occupying the White House. It’s just that no one else will pay them much attention anymore.

Have you been thinking that the GOP-dominated Missouri lege’s unconstitutional efforts to “nullify” federal laws prove that that body is populated by idiots? The following tidbits – both of which are, by the way, pure hearsay – indicate that you might be right. You can take these gems for what they’re worth – I can’t confirm either, but they’re too funny to ignore.

According to an unnamed Democratic legislator, one of the not-so-bright GOP lights in Jefferson City – whose name he could not remember – prominently proclaimed the right to nullify federal laws because, get this, Missouri was a state before there was a federal government. Yep. I’ve often suspected that lots of the state-level GOPers were dead ignorant, but this takes the cake.

And that crazy gun bill that our GOPers are pushing? According to another source, even the NRA lobbyists have informally, when approached on the topic in the halls of the statehouse, refused to endorse it. The word is that they act like it’s poison.

Actually, there is some evidence that the hearsay about the NRA’s disquiet with Missouri’s extreme law may be true – as the New York Times reports:

The National Rifle Association, which has praised Mr. Nixon in the past for signing pro-gun legislation, has been silent about the new bill. Repeated calls to the organization were not returned.

Goes to show that when you let ignorant and crazy people write laws, you may get laws so obviously crazy that even ideological fellow travelers don’t want to be associated with them.

Sadly, several Democrats have indicated that they might be willing to vote to override the veto of this bill – not because they believe it’s a good idea, but because they’re so afraid of the gun nuts among their constituents that they believe they can’t afford to vote against gun enabling legislation. It doesn’t seem to bother them that allowing this bill to stand will force the state to pay the costs of the inevitable court challenges, but perhaps if someone pointed out to them that they might not lose NRA points if they voted against overriding Governor Nixon’s veto, it might help sway their minds?  

“…A lot of Republicans seem to believe that if they can gum up the works and make this law fail, they’ll somehow be sticking it to me.  But they’d just be sticking it to you.

Some even say that if you call their office with questions about the law, they’ll refuse to help.  Call me old-fashioned – but that’s lousy constituent service.  And it’s not what you deserve…”

Remarks of President Barack Obama

Weekly Address

The White House

August 17, 2013

Hi, everybody.  Over the past few weeks, I’ve been visiting with Americans across the country to talk about what we need to do to secure a better bargain for the middle class.

We need to rebuild an economy that rewards hard work and responsibility; an economy built firmly on the cornerstones of middle-class life.  Good jobs.  A good education.  A home of your own.  A secure retirement.  And quality, affordable health care that’s there when you need it.

Right now, we’re well on our way to fully implementing the Affordable Care Act.  And in the next few months, we’ll reach a couple milestones with real meaning for millions of Americans.

If you’re one of the 85% of Americans who already have insurance, you’ve already got new benefits and protections under this law that you didn’t before.  Free checkups, mammograms, and contraceptive care.  Discounted prescription medicine on Medicare.  The fact you can stay on your parents’ plan until you turn 26.  And much, much more.  And it’s okay if you’re not a fan of the Affordable Care Act – you can take advantage of these things anyway.

If you don’t have insurance, beginning on October 1st, private plans will actually compete for your business.  You can comparison shop in an online marketplace, just like you would for cell phone plans or plane tickets.  You may be eligible for new tax credits to help you afford the plan that’s right for you.  And if you’re in the up to half of all Americans who’ve been sick or have a preexisting condition, this law means that beginning January 1st, insurance companies have to cover you – and they can’t use your medical history to charge you more than anybody else.

You can find out more about the law, and how to sign up to buy your own coverage right now at HealthCare.gov.  Tell your friends and neighbors without insurance about it, too.  And tell your kids that there’s a new, easy way to buy affordable plans specifically tailored to young people.

Many Members of Congress, in both parties, are working hard to inform their constituents about these benefits, protections, and affordable plans.  But there’s also a group of Republicans in Congress working hard to confuse people, and making empty promises that they’ll either shut down the health care law, or, if they don’t get their way, they’ll shut down the government.

Think about that.  They’re actually having a debate between hurting Americans who will no longer be denied affordable care just because they’ve been sick – and harming the economy and millions of Americans in the process.  And many Republicans are more concerned with how badly this debate will hurt them politically than they are with how badly it’ll hurt the country.

A lot of Republicans seem to believe that if they can gum up the works and make this law fail, they’ll somehow be sticking it to me.  But they’d just be sticking it to you.

Some even say that if you call their office with questions about the law, they’ll refuse to help.  Call me old-fashioned – but that’s lousy constituent service.  And it’s not what you deserve.

Your health insurance isn’t something to play politics with.  Our economy isn’t something to play politics with.  This isn’t a game.  This is about the economic security of millions of families.

See, in the states where governors and legislatures and insurers are working together to implement this law properly – states like California, New York, Colorado and Maryland – competition and consumer choice are actually making insurance affordable.

So I’m going to keep doing everything in my power to make sure this law works as it’s supposed to.  Because in the United States of America, health insurance isn’t a privilege – it is your right.  And we’re going to keep it that way.

Thanks.  And have a great weekend.

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