Healthcare & Policy News
Reporting on health care policy, insurance coverage, and federal health programs. Includes news updates and conservative commentary from The Daily Signal.
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news
Inside the Comic Book Jonathan Gruber Wrote to Sell Obamacare to America
Jonathan Gruber, the Obamacare architect made notorious in newly surfaced videos, credits the “stupidity of the American voter” with helping pass the Affordable Care Act. To help Americans understand the law, it turns out, Gruber wrote — and starred in — a 150-page comic book titled “Health Care Reform: What It Is, Why It’s Necessary,… -
news
Reporter Says CNBC ‘Silenced’ Her for Detailing Obamacare Problems
Melissa Francis, a financial reporter on Fox Business, knows dollars and cents. But after trying to explain the dollars and cents of the Affordable Care Act to the audience tuned in to her former employer, CNBC, Francis says, she faced criticism from network executives. While at CNBC, Francis said on “Fox & Friends,” she pointed… -
news
Support for Obamacare Drops to New Low
Support for Obamacare has reached a new low. According to a new Gallup poll, only 37 percent of Americans approve of the president’s signature law, its lowest approval rating ever. Additionally, 56 percent of Americans disapprove of the law, its highest disapproval rate. Gallup characterizes Americans’ feelings about Obamacare as highly partisan, noting that 74… -
opinion
Cartoon: Obamacare Is Heading Back to the Supreme Court
It's round two. From Nina Owcharenko's column: The Supreme Court’s decision to hear the King v. Burwell case exposes another potential weakness in the health care law. In the King case, the Supreme Court will consider whether the Internal Review Service has the authority to expand the application of healthcare subsidies to federal exchanges. The subsidies are a… -
news
Fifth Video Emerges, Showing Gruber Mocking Man Worried About Obamacare
A video from Vermont shows Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber mocking a Vermonter who expressed concern about single-payer health care. In the 2011 video shot by TrueNorthReports.com and released on Thursday, Gruber appears before the Vermont House Health Care Committee to present recommendations for a universal, publicly financed health care program. The recommendations were part of… -
opinion
27 Must-See Tweets About Infamous Obamacare Architect Jonathan Gruber
Since we reported that Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber admitted to purposely deceiving the American people—and then calling them “stupid”—the story has been trending nonstop on social media. We gathered some of the best tweets about the infamous man with a microphone. Pelosi In 2009: Americans Should Read Jonathan Gruber’s ObamaCare …: http://t.co/BaDvBfdz7y via @YouTube @GenGSPatton… -
news
Flashback: Pelosi Praised Obamacare Architect’s Work in 2009. Today, She Doesn’t Know Who He Is.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said today she doesn’t know Jonathan Gruber, the man credited with helping congressional Democrats draft Obamacare. “I don’t know who he is. He didn’t help write our bill … let’s put him aside,” said Pelosi. But shortly after making the claim, video of then-Speaker Pelosi surfaced, in which he… -
opinion
The Extreme Advertising by Insurance Companies in the Obamacare Era
Ah, the individual mandate. In 2015, if you don't have health insurance, get ready to fork over $325 or a whopping 2 percent of your income (up from 1 percent in 2014), whichever is higher. Health insurance companies are fully aware of this new reality—and the ka-ching opportunities the individual mandate provides. At least one… -
news
Maine Senator in Spat With ‘Fox & Friends’ Hosts Over Obamacare: ‘Don’t Lecture Me’
Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, and the hosts of “Fox & Friends” engaged in a contentious debate about Obamacare yesterday as comments from the law’s architect reverberated on Capitol Hill. As previously reported on The Daily Signal, Jonathan Gruber credited the Affordable Care Act’s passage to “a lack of transparency” and “the stupidity of the American… -
news
What Howard Dean Thinks Is the ‘Core Problem’ with Obamacare
Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber’s remarks about the “stupidity of the American voter” and a “lack of transparency” as factors necessary to passing Obamacare have spurred responses from across the political spectrum. Former DNC chairman Howard Dean responded to Morning Joe host Mika Brzezinski’s comment that Gruber’s statement “might be a problem.” “The problem is not… -
news
‘Too Stupid’: Second Video Shows Obamacare Architect Insulting Public
Just hours after Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber apologized for “off the cuff” remarks disparaging the intelligence of American voters, another video surfaced of the former White House adviser calling the American people “stupid.” Fox News host Megyn Kelly last night screened the clip of Gruber speaking at an Oct. 4, 2013, event at Washington University in… -
opinion
In Another Blow to Obamacare, the Supreme Court Will Hear This Case
The Supreme Court’s decision to hear the King v. Burwell case exposes another potential weakness in the health care law. In the King case, the Supreme Court will consider whether the Internal Review Service has the authority to expand the application of healthcare subsidies to federal exchanges. The subsidies are a key tool used under… -
opinion
Caught on Camera: Obamacare Architect Admits Deceiving Americans to Pass Law
In a newly surfaced video, one of Obamacare’s architects admits a “lack of transparency” helped the Obama administration and congressional Democrats pass the Affordable Care Act. The conservative group American Commitment posted Jonathan Gruber’s remarks, reportedly from an Oct. 17, 2013, event, on YouTube. “Lack of transparency is a huge political advantage,” says the MIT… -
opinion
Supreme Court to Hear Obamacare Federal Exchanges Case
The U.S. Supreme Court announced today it will hear King v. Burwell, a challenge to the Internal Revenue Service’s authority to subsidize health coverage purchased through insurance exchanges run by the federal government. It’s likely the court will schedule oral argument in early 2015 and issue a decision by the end of June. Section 36B… -
opinion
Cruz: Republicans Won Because US Wants Obamacare Repeal, No Amnesty
Ted Cruz thinks the Republicans won on Tuesday because of candidates’ positions on Obamacare and immigration reform. “If you look at what Senate candidates ran on all over the country, the number one issue was stopping Obamacare and the number two issue was stopping President Obama’s amnesty [for illegal immigrants],” the Republican senator from Texas… -
news
Kevin McCarthy: Republicans Will Repeal Obamacare When Replacement Policy Ready
Fox News’ Megyn Kelly grilled House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., about whether a Republican-controlled Congress would seek to repeal Obamacare. After repeated questions from Kelly, McCarthy said, “I would press for [a vote to repeal Obamacare] when we have ability to replace it at the same time.” -
opinion
Pelosi Predicted Obamacare Would Be ‘Winning Issue‘ for Democrats. How Has That Panned Out?
Even before voters headed to the polls on Tuesday, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz had begun to downplay the midterm elections. “Nothing to see here” no doubt has begun to be scribbled into the talking points regarding every hard-fought blue-state campaign. Despite the political spin, you can… -
opinion
Ben Carson: Obamacare Will ‘Collapse Under Its Own Weight’
Dr. Ben Carson, a successful pediatric neurosurgeon and conservative activist, sat down with The Daily Signal to talk to us about what he thinks should be done about Ebola, his perspective on the damage Obamacare has done to our health care system, and how to win the minority vote. -
opinion
Scott Rasmussen: Why Obamacare Is the Defining Issue of 2014 Elections
Veteran public opinion guru Scott Rasmussen says the biggest issue driving the 2014 election cycle is not just President Obama’s low approval rating but his signature policy achievement, Obamacare. And, Rasmussen says, this is an issue that isn’t going away. Obama won’t be on the ballot in 2016, but he believes Obamacare will be. Steve… -
opinion
The Numbers You Need to Know About Obamacare
“Is the Affordable Care Act Working?” reads a recent headline in The New York Times. The editors then consider a series of questions, the first of which is pretty basic: “Has the percentage of uninsured people been reduced?” Their answer: yes. So, problem solved, right? Not quite. The devil, as they say, is in the…