Fix Health Care Policy

Today former Congressman Ernest Istook testified before the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee about the $105 billion slush fund in advance appropriations liberals tucked inside Obamacare. The $105 billion bypasses the traditional yearly budgeting process and is spread throughout the 2,700 page legislation. It took the Congressional Research Service (CRS) seven months to identify all the disparate funds and it was not until February (11 months after the bill passed) that all of the funds could be totaled up.

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) has been beating the drum to raise awareness of this unprecedented level of advance spending. But the liberal media has been attacking her for calling it “hidden” funding.  (Read the rest at The Foundry…)

Tags: $105 billion slush fund, congressional research service, repeal Obamacare

Yesterday we highlighted two recent Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports (October 14, 2010 and February 10, 2011) that detail how Obamacare bypassed the traditional yearly budgeting process and created a $105 billion slush fund for implementation. As we explained yesterday, if conservatives are serious about stopping Obamacare, they must proactively defund this money program by program.

Today former Congressmen and Heritage Foundation Distinguished Fellow Ernest Istook will testify on this subject before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health. The hearing started at 10 AM and is titled Setting Fiscal Priorities in Health Care Funding.

(Read the rest at The Foundry…)

Tags: congressional research service, defund Obamacare, Ernest Istook, Obamacare slush fund

Two new studies highlight the growing concern that the true cost for Obamacare is greater than originally anticipated. Last week, a new report from the Office of the Actuary at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) revised its estimates—exposing yet again that the new law will mean more health care spending, not less. Plus, the Congressional Research Service released a report that suggests states will face higher costs as a result of Obamacare.

These studies are just two examples of how assumptions, even small ones, in forecast models of Obamacare result in large differences for the total cost of the new law. The CMS study, for example, assumes the scheduled physician payment cuts will continue as planned, resulting in significant savings that will help offset the massive expenses from Obamacare. However, history has shown that these cuts have never gone into effect and aren’t likely to do so in the future. As a matter of fact, the physician cuts for this year already were postponed. The CRS report focuses on the variation in estimates regarding the impact of the new law on the states. (more…)

Tags: Budget Gimmicks, CMS, congressional research service, ObamaCare, true health care costs

As we noted last week, Congress screwed up the language of their health care bill at their own expense. But, thanks to Obama administration lawyers, members and their immediate personal staff might be able to keep their existing health insurance coverage — for now.

The problem, as Heritage and others noted, is that the bill’s language says they have legislated themselves out of their own coverage under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) and into the newly created health insurance exchanges they’re imposing on the states. Without the timely intervention of the administration’s lawyers, the language might require them to do so right away. (more…)

Tags: congress, congressional research service, Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, FEHBP, health insurance coverage, Side Effects