Obamacare Schadenfreude - Back At It

First, the now traditional weather report.  It's 30 F and snowing to beat hell right this instant, but the radar, as well as the forecasts, suggest it won't last too long, or amount to much.  I may need to make another pot of coffee, though.

We've been away for a couple days, and I didn't have the chance to pore over the internet and collect examples of Obamacare Schadenfreude, but we're back now, and the Schadenfreude continues:

Even the usually reliably pro-adminstration "fact checker" at the Washingtoon Post couldn't talk himself into believing Preznit Obama's claim that Obamacare has put 7 million people into insurance.  I'm going to double up the linkage here by linking to Ace's commentary:

Washington Post Rates Obama's "7 Million Have Signed Up for ObamaCare" Claim... Four Pinnochios, the Highest Rating for Deception

No one believes these numbers, because Obama refuses to parse the numbers to determine how many people were already eligible for Medicaid, and how many became eligible due to Obamacare.

Even Politico raps Obama for deeming this basic question an "unreasonable" one which Obama's team refuses to offer answers to.

Two different groups have estimated the extent to which ObamaCare has expanded Medicaid to the uninsured. One is Acela, which estimates the figure at between 1.1 million and 1.8 million. Kessler also quotes Charles Gaba, who puts the number at 2.6 million. Both are far below Barack Obama’s claims, and also far below what the administration expected to see by this stage. The most motivated of all the uninsured should have been those eligible for Medicaid, and yet we haven’t seen a rush to enroll — and those who are motivated to do so probably already have. That means there won’t be a big spike coming in the next couple of months.

Omelets and eggs.

In the same post, Ace also deal with the unusual case of the anti-Obamacare (and anti-him) advertisement that Rep. Gary Peters (D), running for Senate, is trying to get banned by the FCC:

The Washington Examiner notes that Rep. Gary Peters, D, the target of this ad (who is running for Senate this year), is having his attorneys go after the television stations running the ad on the grounds that the precise situation with her insurance is unclear and her claims here are debatable. It appears that after a period of uncertainty and difficulties navigating the HealthCare.gov website, she did eventually get insurance, and although the precise figures are unknown (even to the woman in the ad, apparently), it may cost her roughly the same amount per year.

Of course, the uncertainty, the broken promise, and the fact that at least one drug she needs may no longer be covered all remain reasons members of Congress who voted for Obamacare should be scared about 2014.

Wow, democrats should be proud; joining the war on women and the war on freedom of speech simultaneously.

After relating her story publicly in an ad produced by the advocacy group Americans for Prosperity (AFP), Peters dispatched lawyers to prevent the spot from running on local television stations. Boonstra, who says she is now struggling to pay out of pocket for her rising healthcare costs, told the Washington Free Beacon she is stunned by Peters’ efforts to censor her story.

“I’m appalled. I’m appalled as a mom, as a woman, and as a cancer patient, as someone living with cancer … who has stood before this nation to say, ‘I cannot afford that out of pocket expense,’” said Boonstra, who said she was given a 20 percent chance of surviving her disease. “As a Michigan resident, to silence my voice, I’m absolutely appalled.”

Peters, who is running for a seat in the Senate, instructed his legal counsel earlier this week to demand that stations stop running the AFP ad until additional evidence of the cancer victim’s claims could be produced.

“For the sake of both FCC licensing requirements and the public interest, your station should immediately require AFP to provide the factual documentation for its claims if you are going to continue airing this advertising,” read the letter from Peters’ lawyers. The letter went on to question Boonstra’s motives and the facts presented in AFP’s ad.

Boonstra said she is “surprised” by what she described as the Peters campaign’s strong-arm tactics. “I’m very surprised,” Boonstra said just hours after she attempted to confront Peter face-to-face at his Bloomfield Hills residence. “I have every right to tell my story and express my point of view and opinion on how Obamacare has affected me.”

Boonstra attempted to confront the congressman at his door, but he did not answer when she knocked.

A real paragon of courage there, Peters.

Governors Struggle with Obamacare:

While governors from Connecticut to Louisiana sparred Sunday over how best to improve the nation's economy, governors of both parties shared a far more pragmatic outlook on the controversial program known as "Obamacare" as millions of their constituents begin to be covered.

"We're just trying to make the best of a bad situation," said Republican Gov. Terry Branstad of Iowa, who called the health care law "unaffordable and unsustainable" yet something he has to implement by law. "We're trying to make it work as best we can for the people of Iowa."

As governors gathered in Washington this weekend, Democrats such as Maryland's Martin O'Malley and Connecticut's Dannel Malloy made pitches to raise the minimum wage, while Republicans such as Louisiana's Bobby Jindal and Indiana's Mike Pence called for more freedom from federal regulations, particularly those related to the health insurance overhaul.

But governors from both parties say a full repeal of the law would be complicated at best, if not impossible, as states move forward with implementation and begin covering millions of people — both by expanding Medicaid rolls for lower-income residents or through state or federal exchanges that offer federal subsidies to those who qualify.

And hot off the presses at the Washington Post, this news that Obamacare will further complicate life for the small business that form the vascular system of the United State economy:

Obama administration: Health law’s new rules will increase costs for most small businesses

Nearly two-thirds of small businesses that currently offer health insurance to their workers will pay more for coverage as a result of new rules in the health care law, as will millions of small-business employees and their family members, according to new estimates released by the Obama administration.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which has spearheaded the implementation of the law, has acknowledged that new rules requiring insurers to offer guaranteed coverage and renewal options to small employers will likely drive up the price of insurance for some companies. So will rules banning insurance companies from varying their rates based on factors like a company’s industry or the age of its employees.

As Hillary explained when told her health care plan would bankrupt many small businesses:

'I can’t be responsible for every under-capitalized small business in America'!" -- Tony Snow reporting on Hillary's health care plan.

At least she explained it. Obama just went golfing.