Health Care Reform - Obamacare

MN's System Reform Was Once Considered "Communism"

WALTER MCCLURE, who worked with Paul Ellwood to create the HMO, was interviewed in August 2012. Minnesota's health care system is close to where he wants health care to be with outside analysis of patients and doctors. From the Interview: "When [McClure's] team started on [cost and quality] assessment in the 1980's, the idea that someone would be looking over a physician's shoulder was considered communism. Physicians were convinced of their right to autonomy. However, by 2008 Minnesota's private and voluntary sector had accomplished a sea change in this culture with 85 percent of providers in the state participating in having their outcomes measured." [our emphasis]

CCHF Predicts Patient Difficulty in Accessing Care

As the Affordable Care Act (ACA) continues to be implemented, patient privacy is one of the most oft-noted concerns as data is forced online, but the law’s impact on patient access to care is critical. The Citizens' Council for Health Freedom (CCHF) predicts, based on the results of a new study, that patients will have difficulty accessing medical care.

Stop Pushing Health Data Online, It Doesn’t Reduce Costs or Improve Care

ST. PAUL, Minn. –Michael Grunwald recently wrote in Healthcare IT News that health IT was one of the most transformative programs promoted by President Obama’s $27 billion Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health – or HITECH – Act within the Recovery Act. By computerizing medical data under the guise of cost control and improved healthcare delivery, the U.S. government has been able to implement what HHS Secretary Sebelius called the “foundation” for Obamacare. 

Minnesota Exchange Documents

Governor Dayton is building President Obama's health insurance exchange (federal takeover center) without legislative authority. He issued an Executive Order on October 31, 2011 when the 2011 legislature did not pass a law to establish a state-run exchange. This page provides KEY DOCUMENTS from the battle between the legislature and the Governor over implementing Obamacare -- national health care -- in Minnesota.

Obama Exchanges will Cause "Irreversible Shift"

A report from PriceWaterhouse Cooper (PwC)'s Health Research Institute says, "By 2021, the size of the exchange market is projected to more than double, marking the single largest expansion of health coverage in this country since the creation of Medicare in 1965...Public exchanges will create an irreversible shift in the insurance market that will ultimately change the way medical care is sold in the US. For the insurance industry, the new state-based exchanges represent a major business opportunity—an estimated $205 billion in premiums by 2021" Other reports say 98% of new spending in Obamacare -- $1 trillion -- is going to the health plans through the exchanges.

Stop Obamacare Insurance Exchanges - CCHF Speech

On September 21, CCHF President gave this speech at the Eagle Forum Council in St. Louis Missouri.

Lawsuit Against IRS Highlights Government Overreach of Affordable Care Act

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt filed an amended complaint to his lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act, alleging that a new IRS rule violates the Administrative Procedures Act and conflicts with the Affordable Care Act.

Hearing on Implementation of Health Insurance Exchanges and Related Provisions

Sent in: September 26, 2012 - This letter provides a summary of at least 15 reasons our organization supports the repeal of the health insurance exchanges provisions in the PPACA, the defunding of all exchange establishment and IT grants, the end of all funding for state, federal or federally-facilitated exchanges, the end of all funding for the Federal Data Services Hub, and ultimately, the repeal of the entire PPACA.

CCHF to Present Written Testimony to U.S. House

ST. PAUL, Minn. – On Wednesday, September 12, 2012, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means and its subcommittee on health will hold a hearing to learn more about the state implementation of health insurance exchanges. The Committee outlined in a hearing advisory that, without final guidelines from the Obama Administration on such issues as mandated benefits packages, expected enrollee costs, and other exchange-related information, uncertainty “threatens to saddle stakeholders with higher costs and also increases the risk of waste, fraud, and abuse.

CCHF Outlines True Reform