Press Releases
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January 15, 2013
As Minnesota convened its first session of its 88th Legislature, the Senate’s most important priority was to introduce and begin passage of Senate File 1: a bill for an act relating to commerce and establishing the Minnesota Insurance Marketplace. According to the Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom (www.cchfreedom.org), the bill is deceptive in several ways, most notably in its description of the state healthcare exchange
Press Releases
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January 07, 2013
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services set forth four new Obamacare regulations that totaled more than 700 pages during the holiday season and allowed for only 30 days of public review and comment. A majority of public comments on these bills – totaling more than 80 percent on one regulation – insisted that the HHS extend the review and comment period to 90 days to allow for adequate review and public feedback.
Press Releases
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December 17, 2012
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is petitioning the American public for comment on a total of six new regulations related to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as the ACA law. Two regulations have an adequate amount of time to read, understand, and comment on the proposed regulations, but four, including the 373-page the “Head Tax” rule that adds a monthly fee to all insurance premiums to cover the cost of individuals with pre-existing conditions, have only a 30-day window for public comment, and the timeframe falls over the winter holidays that include Chanukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and New Year’s. The four bills total nearly 750 pages of regulation, clearly a large amount to read, absorb, and understand in thirty days.
Press Releases
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December 10, 2012
The new, extended deadline for states to declare their intentions with regard to a state health insurance exchange is December 14, by which time HHS has asked states to declare whether they intend to shoulder the responsibility of creating and operating an ACA health insurance exchange in their state. Costs are determined by a state’s population and the anticipated usage of the Exchange, with costs estimated to be between $15 million for very small states with low populations, to upwards of $300 million for heavily populated states like California. The costs are not only staggering, but could decimate the budgets and financial standing of states already struggling under a difficult economy.
Press Releases
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December 03, 2012
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health met last Wednesday to hear testimony on ways to reduce fraud, waste, and abuse in the Medicare system. While few deny the need to reform Medicare and cut payments based on fraudulent claims by common thieves, the lack of definitions around “fraud,” “waste,” and “abuse” are troubling, according to the Citizens' Council for Health Freedom (CCHF). A sample of the various definitions...
Press Releases
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November 26, 2012
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker recently refused implementation of a Wisconsin owned and operated health insurance exchange, citing lack of design freedom and potentially undisclosed costs to taxpayers as impetus for his refusal. His decision letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius noted that Wisconsin is already able to provide healthcare to 90 percent of its citizen population without an exchange, and the new system would not improve coverage for state citizens.
Press Releases
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November 19, 2012
ST. PAUL, Minn. – With Friday’s deadline for states to declare their intentions with regard to implementing an Obamacare health insurance exchange past, several states agreed to allow the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to come into the state and “partner” with state officials in order to create a health insurance exchange. States like North Carolina, Arkansas, and Illinois will pursue such partnerships, seemingly unaware of the power they have handed to the federal government.
Press Releases
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November 12, 2012
ST. PAUL, Minn. – By Friday, November 16, 2012, each state has been asked to submit, in writing, their intention with regard to a state health insurance exchange as outlined in the Obamacare plan. To date, three states have told the U.S. Department of Health and Human services, or HHS, that they will not implement an exchange, and with good reason. Public exchanges are cost prohibitive, with an estimated price tag of anywhere between $10 and $100 million per year to operate.
Press Releases
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November 07, 2012
ST. PAUL, Minn. – With the election behind us and President Obama elected to a second term in office, it is clear that his administration will be emboldened to finish the implementation of his quintessential first-term “achievement,” Obamacare, regardless of the cost, problems, or irreversible – and potentially devastating – changes it forces on the landscape of American medicine.
Press Releases
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October 31, 2012
ST. PAUL, Minn. – With a looming deadline of Friday, November 16, many states are
still determining whether to move forward with a state health insurance exchange. To
date, only 15 states have declared a definite intent to proceed with such an exchange, and six others have declared opposition to a state exchange, and with good reason, according to the Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom.
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