Small business employees react to life changes necessitated by Affordable Care Act - Channel 4 Action News anchor Wendy Bell goes inside a McKeesport business to find out what happens when workers learn how the Affordable Care Act will affect them. “I don’t know how President Obama thinks that he’s helping us because we can’t afford this. We can’t afford to pay these co-pays, to pay these deductibles.” (WTAE; 1/29/14)

Ivy Tech President: ObamaCare Mandate Harms Our System - The president of Ivy Tech Community College says part of President Obama’s health care law could force the two-year college system to either raise prices or limit access to college classes for students who can’t take them elsewhere.  “The Affordable Care Act has caused us to reevaluate teaching hours for our adjunct faculty,” said Thomas Snyder in testimony to the House Ways and Means Committee in Washington. “We’ve done this with very limited guidance. Like most community colleges, our funding does not provide for unfunded mandates,” such as the rule that employees who work at least 30 hours per week must be provided health insurance. (WIBC; 1/28/14)

FACT CHECK: Obama again misleads about ObamaCare in the State of the Union – This claim has long been thoroughly debunked. For starters, the 9 million number includes 3.9 million people who signed up for Medicaid in October and November. But as Washington Post fact checker Glenn Kessler wrote two weeks ago, the administration is claiming credit for everyone who signed up for Medicaid over that period, not just those who signed up for Medicaid as a result of ObamaCare’s eligibility expansion. “But what these figures do not tell you is how many additional people have joined Medicaid because of the Affordable Care Act,” he wrote. “No one really knows, though some have tried to tease out figures from the data that has been presented.” Sean Trende of RealClearPolitics estimates that perhaps fewer than 10 percent of the reported 3.9 million Medicaid sign-ups could be attributed to ObamaCare. (Daily Caller; 1/28/14)

 

U.S. Rep. Bucshon hosts discussion group on Affordable Care Act - Caren Whitehouse considers herself to be pretty computer savvy. The Vanderburgh Medical Society executive director said, though, it took her several attempts to sign up for the insurance exchange under the Affordable Care Act, although she doesn’t qualify… “It was extremely difficult,” she said. (Courier & Press; 1/24/14)

Rep. Bucshon Holds ACA Town Hall - Congressman Larry Bucshon is clear on his position about the Affordable Care Act. “I don’t believe at the end of the day this is going to be the end of the solution to meet our goals,” Rep. Bucshon said. But that didn’t stop him from hearing from those who support it. “I’m optimistic, I’m very optimistic. Much like you Doc, I think that we will figure this out. This is a way of evolving to a better place,” Mary Ann Conroy, CEO of Terre Haute Regional Hospital. And those who find the law flawed. “It’s frustrating. I think it was implemented without care and concern, too quickly,” Danny Tanoos, VCSC Superintendent said.  (WTWO; 1/24/14)

Rep. Bucshon Says Voters are Concerned over the Affordable Care Act - “Concerns over coverage and cost.” That’s what Congressman Larry Bucshon says he’s hearing the most from constituents regarding the Affordable Care Act. Indiana’s 8th District Represenative held a bipartisan roundtable discussion tonight at Ivy Tech. He invited a wide spectrum of participants, such as local officials, business owners, and taxpayers, to talk about the impact they’ve seen from the federal healthcare law. (News 25; 1/24/14)

The Young and the ObamaCare-less - But ObamaCare’s regulations require younger and healthier people to be overcharged in the name of equity and income redistribution, and if they don’t report for duty then rates will surge over time. Age is a crude actuarial proxy for health status, and merely 24% of enrollees are between ages 18 and 34. ObamaCare’s economics needs that to rise to about 40% to achieve a critical mass. Enrollment also skews heavily to people 55 to 64 years old, at 33%. Insurance policies plunge into a “death spiral” when premiums don’t cover the cost of claims, causing rates to surge year over year and more and more beneficiaries to drop coverage. This “adverse selection” already appears to be underway in eight states including Maryland, Washington, Ohio, Texas and Indiana. (WSJ; 1/20/14)