Earlier this week we learned that former Obama Administration official Elizabeth Warren is calling for a repeal of one of Obamacare’s many taxes, and today The Hill is reporting that several Democrats in Congress are starting to regret President Obama’s signature health care law. First there’s Representative Brad Miller (D-NC), who is retiring at the end of this session of Congress: “I think we would all have been better off — President Obama politically, Democrats in Congress politically, and the nation would have been better off — if we had …
There are millions of Americans who want to see Obamacare repealed, and with good reason. But it’s a rare day indeed when a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate (and former adviser to President Obama) calls for part of the president’s health care law to be eliminated. But that’s just what happened when Elizabeth Warren, who is campaigning in Massachusetts against incumbent Senator Scott Brown (R), authored an op-ed that calls for the repeal of Obamacare’s medical device tax. Under the law, Obamacare imposes a 2.3 percent excise tax on …
Virginians witnessed an important victory for religious liberty last week. On Monday, Governor Bob McDonnell (R) signed legislation that affirms the conscience rights of the state’s religiously affiliated adoption agencies. The new law protects private adoption agencies from being forced “to perform, assist, counsel, recommend, consent to, refer, or participate in any placement of a child for foster care or adoption when the proposed placement would violate the agency’s written religious or moral convictions or policies.” This “conscience clause” ensures that private, faith-based adoption agencies will be able to continue …
Yesterday was tax day, serving as a special reminder of how big the federal government has become. As Heritage has warned before, Obamacare is on track to makes things a lot worse. The President’s health law will be partially paid for by tax increases and the creation of new taxes. When Obamacare first passed, the Joint Committee on Taxation estimated that its tax hikes would total $502 billion over the next 10 years. But most of the new, higher taxes don’t kick in until later in the decade, which means …
A new poll by Reason-Rupe shows that Americans support the structural reform of a premium support model for Medicare. The current Medicare program has made $38 trillion of unfunded promises to seniors over the next 75 years, and the Part A trust fund is predicted to be bankrupt as soon as 2024. The gravity of Medicare’s fiscal mess makes reform inevitable. With premium support, the government provides a contribution toward the cost of a health plan of the beneficiary’s choosing. Reason states, “For people not yet in the program and …
During the course of Obamacare oral arguments in late March, an interesting exchange between Justice Samuel Alito and U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli illuminated the Administration’s education overreach vis-à-vis national standards. Education Week reports: For the U.S. Supreme Court, the closely watched six hours of arguments last week were all about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. So how did the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, teacher tenure, curriculum, Title IX, and other education topics become part of the discussion? They came up as the justices debated whether the …
Americans who are scrambling to pay their taxes by Tuesday’s deadline are in store for more depressing news: The tax burden on American families has risen dramatically and will continue to climb into the future without action from Congress. This week’s chart outlines the growth of taxes over the past 45 years. Large tax increases are just months away. Jan. 1, 2013, is already being dubbed Taxmaggedon. Seven existing tax policies will end and 18 new taxes from Obamacare will begin, leading to a $494 billion tax increase at the …
This morning, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) published a document titled “Our First, Most Cherished Liberty: A Statement on Religious Liberty.” To Americans who care about and work for religious freedom, the bishops’ statement is a powerful message of solidarity. The bishops argue that, in America, religious freedom is our first and most cherished freedom and, without it, “all other freedoms are fragile.” In giving this important principle due consideration, it is also important to recognize that one of the greatest threats to religious freedom today is …
A study released today by Charles Blahous, one of two public trustees of Medicare and Social Security, once again shows that Obamacare increases federal deficits and significantly worsens the nation’s fiscal outlook. According to the study’s most optimistic scenario, the health law will increase federal spending by $1.16 trillion and increase the deficit by $346 billion between 2012 and 2021. The worst case—and most realistic—scenario: an increase in spending of $1.24 trillion and $527 billion in new deficits. Obamacare’s failure to reverse the federal government’s abysmal financial situation is not …
A trade group representing acupuncturists and practitioners of “oriental medicine” is attempting to convince the Department of Health and Human Services to classify acupuncture as an “essential health benefit” under Obamacare. The American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine established a task force to spearhead the effort, which organized a letter-writing campaign directed at HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. A total of 5,571 letters and emails were sent, according to the organization’s website. “Acupuncture fits all of the criteria for an eligible EHB service,” claims a position paper drafted by the …
