SaddleBrooke Republican Club » Health care

The Real Tragedy of the Komen/Planned Parenthood Flapdoodle

Michael F. Cannon — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:25:38 +0000

By Michael F. Cannon

…is that it overshadowed news that the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted to repeal one of two new entitlement programs created by Obamacare—the ironically named CLASS Act—with a bipartisan three-fifths majority. (With numbers like that, Congress could even repeal Obamacare’s death panel!) But really, one private organization pulling funding for another private organization is way [...]

The Real Tragedy of the Komen/Planned Parenthood Flapdoodle is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog

Two Thoughts on Susan G. Komen & Planned Parenthood

Michael F. Cannon — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:42:46 +0000

By Michael F. Cannon

I’m sure that many of you are following the controversy over the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation’s decision to suspend its partnership with and funding of Planned Parenthood. Two thoughts on this: First, this controversy provides a delightful contrast to the Obama administration’s decision to force all Americans to purchase contraceptives and subsidize [...]

Two Thoughts on Susan G. Komen & Planned Parenthood is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog

An Opportunity to Improve the FDA

Kathryn Nix — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:15:37 +0000

This year, Congress will have to reauthorize the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA), which funds the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) drug approval process. As noted by Amanda Kronquist, a Heritage Health Policy Graduate Fellow, the FDA drug approval process has become “increasingly unpredictable, uncertain, and inefficient.” The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health held its first hearing this year on the topic yesterday. It heard from the FDA commissioner and others in the field on the PDUFA reauthorization and its effect on jobs, innovation, and patients. In … More

Lunch with Heritage Online Chat on Obamacare – LIVE NOW

Todd Thurman — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 22:30:58 +0000

Click here to join us right now for our “Lunch with Heritage” chat. We are joined by Health Policy expert Kate Nix. She is taking your questions about the CLASS Act and Obamacare. Earlier this week, the House voted to repeal the CLASS Act, ...

Morning Bell: Obamacare’s Latest Victim Is Religious Freedom

Mike Brownfield — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:35:27 +0000

It has not even been two years since Obamacare was enacted, and already the President’s health care law has taken another victim — the religious freedoms Americans hold dear, as reflected by the First Amendment. The Obama Administration recently reaffirmed a rule under Obamacare that requires many religious employers to provide health care coverage for all FDA-approved contraceptive methods, sterilization procedures, and related education and counseling. On the grounds that certain FDA-approved contraceptive methods can sometimes “cause the demise of embryos both after and before uterine implantation,” many groups also … More

As Heritage Predicted, Obamacare Burdens Freedom of Conscience

Thomas Messner — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:30:30 +0000

The enormous storm brewing over health care in the last several years has included debate on everything from costs of care to covering the uninsured. One of the most charged issues involves moral controversies that intersect with health care. In 2006, Heritage published a paper explaining how reducing personal control over health care decisions would burden freedom of conscience. The paper argued that the main problem for freedom of conscience in health care “is that most Americans, as a practical matter, do not have [adequate] control over their own health … More

Obamacare’s Contraception Mandate Tramples on Religious Liberty

David S. Addington — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:36:27 +0000

The Obama Administration’s mandate under the Obamacare statute that many religious employers provide health care coverage for contraception, abortifacients, and sterilization tramples upon their free exercise of religion. The Obama Administration should immediately exempt such religious employers from the contraception mandate. The Administration’s trampling upon religious liberty with the contraception mandate illustrates yet again the need to repeal the Obamacare statute. What the Obamacare Statute Says Section 2713 of the Public Health Service Act, enacted by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148) (the “Obamacare” statute), provides … More

Obamacare Ends Medicare (As We Know It)

Alyene Senger — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:15:56 +0000

As budget season approaches, premium support is gaining traction as the only viable option to save Medicare. In a recent Politico article, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D–MD) is quoted as saying liberals will use Obamacare’s new provisions to combat a conservative budget that reforms Medicare using premium support. Hoyer told reporters, “Yes, we need to make Medicare viable. We believe that the health care bill—and very frankly CBO (Congressional Budget Office) believes the health care bill will do something that Medicare very badly needs, and that is to constrain … More

‘The Problem with CLASS Is That It’s Voluntary.’

Michael F. Cannon — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:06:26 +0000

By Michael F. Cannon

As I write, the House is debating a bill that would repeal the CLASS Act, one of two new entitlements created under ObamaCare. It’s hard express just how awful this program is. Here’s my attempt from back in October, when the Obama administration admitted CLASS is a bust: The idea behind CLASS was that the [...]

‘The Problem with CLASS Is That It’s Voluntary.’ is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog

Federal Spending on Health Care Doubles in the Next Decade

Alyene Senger — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:18:05 +0000

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its Budget and Economic Outlook for years 2012 to 2022 yesterday, and as Heritage’s Patrick Knudsen shows, the numbers add up to a dismal fiscal future. As the government continues its fiscal irresponsibility, 2012 will be the fourth straight year of trillion-dollar deficits. This trend is on track to continue as a result of increasing federal spending on health care, which will more than double between 2012 and 2022. The CBO estimates that by 2022, the government will spend $1.8 trillion on health care, … More