Sebelius vs. Gingrich
By Tom Quiner
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Health and Human Services Secretary, Kathleen Sibelius, has issued two major threats to the healthcare industry.
Threat #1: “There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.”
Taking a cue from the Communist Party, Ms. Sibelius asked Americans to turn in their neighbor if they said something “fishy” about the radical legislation her party was promoting. She made this statement last August (’09) as Democrats were getting hammered in townhall meetings by constituents who had turned against the Democrats’ vision of socialized medicine.
Imagine if former President Bush had tried such a stunt. The media would have crucified him.
Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that health insurance companies are being forced to raise premiums because of looming higher costs wrought by ObamaCare. This led to her next threat.
Threat #2: Calling the increases unjustified, the HHS Secretary said, “There will be zero tolerance for this type of misinformation and unjustified rate increases. We will not stand idly by as insurers blame their premium hikes and increased profits on the requirement that they provide consumers with basic protections.”
Ms. Sibelius’ holds a serious club over these private businesses. She can run them out of business by barring them from the coming new state-run insurance exchanges. Obamacare will determine what is fair, not the CFOs of the companies. Many Americans are okay with that until they lose their existing coverage. Health insurance companies may be run out of business if they can’t increase rates to keep ahead of the higher costs imposed by Obamacare.
Former Speaker, Newt Gingrich commented a few weeks ago that “The new healthcare law is one of the largest pieces of legislation ever passed by Congress. It is now apparent that despite good intentions, this law will increase healthcare costs, cut Medicare for seniors and result in many people losing coverage under their current insurance plan.”
Mr. Gingrich points out three specific consequences of Obamacare:
1. It will create a new tax on prescription drugs.
2. It will create new taxes on specialty wheelchairs, pacemakers, and other medical devices.
3. It will cut Medicare benefits for seniors.
This just scratches the surface of the concerns Americans have about this overreach by the Federal Government.
Obamacare is not going to be repealed. It us unrealistic to think that even if Republicans regain both houses of Congress that they can muster the votes to override the certain Obama veto.
Obamacare, with the support of Iowa’s own, Congressman Leonard Boswell, is an albatross we’re most likely stuck with the rest of our lives. For this reason alone, Mr. Boswell deserves to be replaced by Brad Zaun, Republican, who is running for his seat.