by Andrew Walden
Obama advisor Al Sharpton on Fox News tonight: “Americans voted for socialism when they elected Obama.”
GOP Chair Michael Steele: “We intend to do everything in out power to reverse this.”
Hawaii voters will be among the first to pass judgment--Honolulu Special Mail–in Congressional Election: May 1-22.
Both Ed Case and Colleen Hanabusa are pledged to support Obamacare. Charles Djou has pledged to oppose it.
General Election Day: November 2. Republicans would have to win a 2/3 majority in both houses to have the votes to overturn Obamacare and override Obama’s veto of the overturn. This is possible in the US House if public opinion stays consistent as it did after the Democrats failed 1993 effort to institute Hilarycare. But in the US Senate, this is a much more difficult goal.
What is more likely is that Republicans would be able to mitigate the destruction of private insurers by amending some aspects of the law. This would weaken the government’s ability to manipulate the market place with the intent of destroying private insurers to force acceptance of a ‘single payer’ socialist system. As long as consumers have choices between competing private insurers, even within the framework of a federal mandate to every US person, then a marketplace can be maintained and the worst aspects of socialist health care can be thwarted. Privatization of the bankrupt—and now expanded--Medicaid system would be a key element of these plans. Tort reform would be a key to making such plans work financially.
The Senate Obamacare Bill approved by the House now goes to President for his signature. Thirty-seven states have indicated an interest in filing suit to have part or all of the bill declared unconstitutional. Because of the massive increase in Medicaid spending brought about under Senate Obamacare, states will be burdened with billions in new spending to cover the states’ share of Medicaid. Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle has indicated that Obamacare will punch a $350M hole in the State budget. Many doctors and some pharmacists refuse Medicaid patients because of the low and slow reimbursements. This problem cannot be fixed without the so-called “Doc Fix bill which requires and additional $300 Billion in new spending.
All of this new spending is funded by federal borrowing. US Treasury bonds are on the verge of being downgraded by ratings agencies which will sharply increase the cost of additional debt service making it all the more difficult for America to climb out of the debt hole Obama has dug.
Some jobs will be created. Over 19,000 new IRS agents will be hired to enforce the requirement that all US persons buy health insurance.
House will vote on separate bill to ‘fix’ al the politically problematic aspects of Senate Obama care bill they just approved--this bill faces an uncertain future in the Senate as it undoes the political deals Obama needed to win Senate approval. Republicans have accused Senate Democrats of concealing their intent to kill the House “Fixes” in order to assist Speaker Nancy Pelosi in winning support for the Senate bill from House Democrats.
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