Government Programs

Swimming in Dependency

I recently stopped at a restaurant. Inside was a small pool with white and orange koi fish. As I came close, they stopped swimming and came to the side of the pool and started to beg. Five swishing tails. Five wide-open mouths peering up at me, sucking the air, silently asking for food.

Will You Be Exempt from the Individual Mandate?

IRS DEADLINE FOR PUBLIC COMMENT: May 2, 2013

Comment online: www.regulations.gov (IRS REG-148500-12)

Starting on page 8 of the 73-page proposed IRS rule to implement the mandate:

"[The federal health care reform law] provides that an individual is exempt for a month for which the individual lacks access to affordable minimum essential coverage... 

The "5C" Health Care Solution

Do conservative organizations all sing the same health care tune? No, writes John Goodman at the National Center for Policy Analysis. In fact, I'd argue that sometime they are singing in complete dissonance.

The Big Blue Book

The Enroll UX 2014 Design Specifications Manual reviewed by and designed with three federal agencies (CMS, ONCHIT, CCIIO) for health insurance exchanges as discussed at the MN Health Insurance Exchange marketing workgroup, July 10, 2012.

Really, Mr. President?

Actions speak louder than words. Who was President Obama trying to convince otherwise in his inaugural speech? ... Obama quoted our founding documents. He attested their significance. He even mentioned "Republic" once. Three times he mentioned "founding" (founding creed, founding principles, founding documents). Five times he said, "We the people." And although he referenced Newtown, he never mentioned his 23 executive orders on guns, mental health or curtailing the Second Amendment. 

Reality #1: Not A Marketplace

The “Minnesota Insurance Marketplace” in Senate File 1/House File 5 is not competitive, limits citizens’ choice of health insurance options, expands government dependency (premium subsidies for middle class/Medicaid expansion), is managed by unelected state workers, is under federal control (law/regulations), and operates through the online transfer of vast quantities of personal data on individuals from state and federal government.  

Minnesota Health Insurance Exchange Diagram

Minnesota Legislation: Senate File 1/ House File 5

Adding Minnesotans to “the largest consolidation of personal data in the history of the republic” - USA TODAY

AHA Sues Medicare for Sweeping Denials of Payment

The Complaint: "Plaintiffs the American Hospital Association, Missouri Baptist Sullivan Hospital, Munson Medical Center, Lancaster GEneral Hospital, and Trinity Health Corporation ("Plaintiffs") bring this action to end an unlawful government practice: The Medicare program has been refusing to pay hospitals for hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of care provided to patients, even though all agree tha tthe care provided was reasonable and medically necessary as the Medicare Act requires. The government's refusal to pay for this care is harming hospitals and patients. More pertinent here, it violates the Medicare Act and is otherwise unlawful. Plaintiffs seek a declaration to that effect as well as monetary and other relief." - AHA, et. al. vs Kathleen Sebelius, HHS, November 1, 2012.

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.

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.