Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

I Remember My America © d.f. howard

Liberty and Justice for AllI love America! I love MY country! I love what our Constitution stands for and I love it for the dream that our founding fathers imagined for us. I would give my life for my country!

Indeed, I’d give my life for the country that I grew up in and the country that I served while on active duty in the United States Navy from 1979 to 1990. THAT is the country I love! That America~ is the country I pledged to support & defend against ALL enemies, foreign and domestic! My pledges (two pledges taken during my 11 years in the U.S. Navy ) not only bound me with my fellow sailors, soldiers and American citizens but it also bound me to specifically support the Commander(s) in Chief of the United States Armed Forces, no matter what my political preferences were at the time. I Took An Oath! Under God! Twice!

I can attest that during my first year on active duty serving under then President Jimmy Carter, the military was pitiful & morale was at an all-time low. Iran had held 52 American hostages captive after sacking the American Embassy in Tehran 14 months earlier at the time & President Carter’s failure to secure their release through diplomatic means eventually led to the fatal “Operation Eagle Claw” mission that resulted in the deaths of 8 members of the Army’s 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (popularly known as the Delta Force) & Naval Special Warfare Development Group (more popularly known as Seal Team Six) when their helicopter crashed on the night of April 24, 1980. I can tell you first hand that the entire U.S. Navy & our sister services mourned this horrendous tragedy!

Under President Ronald Reagan, we were proud, united and eager to serve! During THE GULF OF SIDRA INCIDENT on Aug. 19, 1981 two U.S. Navy F-14 jets shot down two Soviet-built Libyan SU-22’s about 60 miles from the Libyan coast after being fired on by one of the Libyan aircraft. While stationed overseas, I can tell you that we all went wild when we heard that! Tee-shirts, ball caps, pins etc., were printed up so fast and every Sailor or Marine I ran into on base (including me) had one on that read “USA=1 Libya=0”. What a kick!

Bush 41 carried Reagan’s legacy into the 1990’s but by then, I was a military wife & I observed much of this through my husband’s career which finally ended with his retirement (after serving 21 years) at the end of the Clinton Administration in 1999.

My father, uncles & father-in law all served in World War II. My grandfather(s) served in World War I. I have direct grandfathers, great grandfathers & direct ancestors that served in the American Civil War, the War of 1812  & the American Revolutionary War.  I have served and my husband has served in the U. S. Navy. Hey, I’m a Jersey Girl and I was born in the middle of the “baby boom”!

Over the years, I have watched our country’s military decline. I barely recognize this country anymore and am terribly afraid of where this country is going. Many people I talk to about this are afraid as well. I spit on the leadership (if you can call it that) and the politicians who are currently running this country! And I don’t care what color they are or what race they are or what nationality they are or what religion they are. They are ALL to blame!

Sadly, we have a president and his staff continually peddling bullshit to the American people. Our unemployment numbers are NOT approximately 5% because the underemployment rate is approximately 15% as of February 2016. I’m no financial genius but I’d say if we added those two figures together we’re at about 20% unemployment rate in the U.S. And since when do we include part-time employment in the weekly jobs report? Oh, I forgot~ it’s the hope & change Obama’s Administration & OUR White House has been peddling since 2008! And tell me, please~ what is this so-called “recovery” the White House is still babbling about? What recovery? I don’t see it. Do you? Indeed, once the Affordable Care Act (aka) Obamacare went into effect it’s costing hard-working American families thousands of dollars more every year all the while government employees, Congress, the Senate and ALL their staff(s) get the “Cadillac” plans that many of us once had & paid to have. (Take it from someone who actually pays for health care through employment & has seen her premiums go up over $3000 a year as well as co-pays & out of pocket costs since Obamacare took effect in 2009!)

Regrettably, most insurance companies no longer carry those plans because of Obamacare & due to the high federal taxes being imposed on it! Why can’t insurance companies compete across state lines anyway? Answer: Because Americans were suckered into voting for politicians promising to serve them in Washington but are now being ignored in favor of  big-money donors & lobbyists giving them perks & promising  to get them reelected! Therefore~ the American voter who elected them in the first place is then brushed aside because we’re not needed anymore! Did you know that insurance companies have pulled coverage out of so many states that many states are left with just one? How’s that for a monopoly? I thought monopolies were illegal in this country? Nonetheless, Obama- the Hope & Change Monarch of America- has decreed it is not! (What a creep!) And, Ditto~ for those slimy politicians WE voted for! 

We Americans have been shrouded in darkness by our government. We have been lied to and violated. We have been surreptitiously and methodically stripped of our rights as Americans by the politicians with whom we have voted for and placed our trust in for years! Our politicians are “in” the top 1% of the American “elite” who get rich while the rest of us get poorer. We, the working class (working poor in most cases) are left to eke out an honest living by working hard, paying our bills AND paying federal, state & local taxes in order to provide for our families every single day. It never stops! Have you ever heard the saying; “Death & Taxes”? I have~ and I know that in our country, even our heirs must pay taxes even after our deaths! But there again, it’s double jeopardy because the deceased has already paid taxes on the very money or property that their heir(s) have inherited. It’s mindboggling!

How about voting? Do you believe that as an American, voting should be sacrosanct? Isn’t it supposed to be one vote for each LEGAL and LIVING American citizen? I always believed that. Additionally many people have voted several times in several states! Did you know that thousands of dead people, convicted felons as well as dogs & cats actually voted for Obama in the last two election cycles? Amazing!!! How did they do this? It is “Houdiniesque” (my word). Meanwhile, there are several states that want to protect our right to vote under the Constitution by requiring that each voter (ONE vote per person) provide a photo ID and have passed bills into law in their respective state legislatures that require this. Indeed, don’t we have to show an ID to someone almost every single day? Ever try to rent a hotel room or a car without one? How about buying a beer a pack of cigarettes; using a credit card and being asked for a photo ID or cashing a check ANYWHERE without an accompanying photo ID? Ah, what to say about those airlines, huh? Try getting on a plane going anywhere without showing several IDs along with the added (dis)pleasure of a possible cavity search! Yikes!

Regardless, the federal government is currently in the process of spending taxpayer dollars in an effort to sue those states. Now I ask you; what is wrong with that picture? And why are WE AMERICANS allowing the FEDS to spend taxpayer dollars to do so? I believe it’s because they (the feds) figure that very few Americans (accept the state being sued) are actually paying attention. So what happens when we, Americans and the states try to correct this or any imbalance or uphold the constitutional rights promised to us in our constitution? We are sued and called racists. This, my fellow Americans is BULLSHIT!!!

A final thought. Now~ we are in an election year but I’ll reserve my opinions on the candidates of both parties until after the primary is held in my state of New Jersey on Tuesday June 7, 2016. Heaven help us all after it’s all over. Until then, I remain hopeful that America~ the country & land I love, will once again become the country I had always been proud of & that I once unswervingly served. 

For now, I can only remember~ My America!

 

 

 

10 Broken Obamacare Promises

Written by: Alyene Sengerince  December 19, 2013

Since the passage of Obamacare in 2010, many of the President’s famous promises have been routinely broken. As he so ironically threatened in 2009, “If you misrepresent what’s in this plan, we will call you out.” To that end, here are 10 promises of Obamacare that have already been broken.

1. “If you like your health care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health care plan, period.”

Reality:

  • Millions of Americans have lost and will lose their current coverage due to Obamacare.
  • 4.7 million reported health insurance cancellations or changes of existing policies in 32 states.

2. “[T]hat means that no matter how we reform health care, we will keep this promise to the American people: If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor, period.”

Reality:

  • Many Americans might not be able to keep their current doctor without paying extra.
  • Many plans offered on Obamacare’s exchanges have very limited provider networks.

3. “In an Obama administration, we’ll lower premiums by up to $2,500 for a typical family per year.”

Reality:

  • Premiums for people purchasing coverage in the individual market have significantly increased in a majority of states.
  • Family premiums for those with employer-based coverage have increased by an average of $2,976 from 2009 to 2013.

4. “[F]or the 85 and 90 percent of Americans who already have health insurance, this thing’s already happened. And their only impact is that their insurance is stronger, better and more secure than it was be

Reality: Obamacare imposes certain new benefit mandates on those with employer-sponsored coverage—a majority of Americans.

These mandates increase the cost of coverage. In fact, federal regulations written in 2010 assumed “that the increases in insurance benefits will be directly passed on to the consumer in the form of higher premiums. These assumptions bias the estimates of premium changes upward.”

But higher premiums not only cost people more money; they have other impacts on coverage as well. For instance, as a response to the direct cost increases associated with Obamacare, UPS dropped coverage for spouses of employees if they are offered coverage through their own employers.

Promise #5: “Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase.”

Reality: Obamacare contains 18 separate tax hikes, fees, and penalties, many of which heavily impact the middle class.

Altogether, Obamacare’s taxes and penalties will accumulate over $770 billion in new revenue over a 10-year period. Among the taxes that will hit the middle class are the individual mandate tax, the medical device tax, and new penalties and limits on health savings accounts and flexible spending accounts.

Promise #6: “I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits—either now or in the future.”

Reality: Obamacare’s new spending is unsustainable.

Obamacare was passed into law relying on a wide variety of unrealistic budget projections. A more realistic assessment reveals that it will be a multi-trillion-dollar budget buster. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimated the cost of Obamacare over the long-term if certain cost-containment measures were overridden. Under that alternative scenario, which assumes that “historical trends and policy preferences continue,” the GAO found that Obamacare would increase the primary deficit by 0.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

Senator Jeff Sessions (R–AL) and the Senate Budget Committee staff, who commissioned the GAO report, translated the 75-year percentage estimate into today’s dollar amount, which would be $6.2 trillion over the next 75 years.

Promise #7: “[W]hatever ideas exist in terms of bending the cost curve and starting to reduce costs for families, businesses, and government, those elements are in this bill.”

Reality: Health spending is still rising and is projected to grow at an average rate of 5.8 percent from 2012 to 2022.

While growth in health spending has been slower recently compared to the past, that is largely due to the sluggish economic recovery. Indeed, Obamacare’s new entitlements will help drive greater health spending in 2014 and beyond.

Promise #8: “I will protect Medicare.”

Reality: Obamacare cuts Medicare spending.

Obamacare makes unprecedented and unrealistic payment reductions to Medicare providers and Medicare Advantage plans in order to finance the new spending in the law. The cuts amount to over $700 billion from 2013 to 2022. If Congress allows these draconian reductions to take place, it will significantly impact seniors’ ability to access care.

Promise #9: “I will sign a universal health care bill into law by the end of my first term as president that will cover every American.”

Reality: Millions of Americans will remain uninsured.

Despite spending nearly $1.8 trillion in new spending from 2014 to 2023, the law falls far short of universal coverage. Indeed, Obamacare is projected by the CBO to leave 31 million uninsured after a decade of full implementation.

Promise #10: “So this law means more choice, more competition, lower costs for millions of Americans.”

Reality: Obamacare has not increased insurer competition or consumer choice.

In the vast majority of states, the number of insurers competing in the state’s exchange is actually less than the number of carriers that previously sold individual market policies in the state. And at the local level, for 35 percent of the nation’s counties, exchange enrollees will have a choice of plans from only two insurers—a duopoly. In 17 percent of counties, consumers will have no choice—a monopoly—as only one carrier is offering coverage in the exchange.

—Alyene Senger is a Research Associate in the Center for Health Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation.

Original article: http://blog.heritage.org/2013/12/19/top-10-broken-obamacare-promises/

 

OBAMACARE & THE MEDIA

I used to enjoy the news but not so much anymore. After ignoring the story for months, if 20gce3onot years, the mainstream media is finally focused on the diabolic law that is Obamacare, also known as the Affordable Care Act. However; now because of the multitude failures with the website and implementation problems with  Obamacare in general, the fallout from millions of policy cancellations, doubled and tripled costs of new insurance plans, rising co-pays and deductibles; some liberal pundits are calling anyone uses the name “Obamacare”, racists! Are they kidding? This seems to be the way of the liberal Democrats. When they don’t have a good answer for problems that they caused, they immediately use the race card. And why not? It’s worked before in their favor. That’s how Obama got elected… and reelected!

However; enough about Obamacare. I’m getting sick to death of it and it’s too bad because at the rate the insurance industry in this country is going, most of us might actually die from the lack of care from the Unaffordable Care Act! Regardless, I’m getting a little sick and tired of the media in general! Our U.S. Congress people, the drunken mayor in Canada, knocking the Tea Party, the media all but ignored honoring December 7th, Pearl Harbor Day while lauding the death of Nelson Mandela, the ex-communist who once happened to have done away with apartheid in South Africa. Who cares? The guy began as a communist with communist support & brought together a country worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize. It occurs to me that they don’t know squat about history and are too cowardly to tackle the real issues like the growing Muslim victories of indoctrination in our public schools, Common Core including fuzzy math without explanation, graphic sex education and Kindergarten children getting punished for pointing a finger at another kid. Watch out that finger might be loaded!

The media has also ignored, Obama’s firing of hundreds of military generals because they make sound suggestions or dare to question his exalted position as president! And what about the persecution of Christians in the military while the Muslims and Gays get their way on everything! Our military is currently being weakened and demoralized by this president and so-called commander-in-chief whose weakness and failure to lead properly has increased the chaos in the Middle East and allowed thousands of Christians to be tortured and murdered there.

His failure to uphold our own laws regarding our borders has led to even more murders from the illegals crossing our borders and Mexico into Texas New Mexico Arizona leading to the murders of farmers Americans and border agents. This president is a disgrace! And all the while he’s doing this they are systematically confiscating our guns and trampling on our Second Amendment rights!

When was the last time you heard a report on ABC CBS or NBC news regarding anything having to do with Benghazi and the four brave Americans (including our US Ambassador) that were murdered there while the Obama and Hillary Clinton pretended nothing was wrong (it was only a video) and did nothing for seven hours!  All the while our people were crying and begging for help that never came! Shameful!!! What about the other scandals that are NOT being reported? The IRS, NSA, and Fast and Furious scandals… what about that? Are we supposed to forget all the scandals; all these Obama scandals? Or is the media just hoping these things will go away on their own? Let me clue you in. Americans are not stupid! We will remember come Election Day!

Why it is now after 3 years, the media is so refocused on the failing Obamacare? Is it because they don’t want report on the real news happening here and abroad? Or is it because Obamacare is a good distraction from so many of the other important issues that are plaguing this nation presently? I don’t know what’s going on with the media but I do know that there ARE patriotic Americans in this country and they like me would fight to our last breath to protect & defend our God, Our Family, our US Constitution & our Republic.

GOD BLESS AMERICA!