New legislation introduced in the U.S. House yesterday would prohibit the use of federal money for advertisements attacking products like Coke and Pepsi. Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-TN) introduced the bill to counter a growing trend of anti-obesity ads that are funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Scribe reported in October the money was included in President Obama’s economic stimulus law. The federal government has provided $230 million in funding to at least 25 communities for a …
This morning, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held a full committee hearing to investigate claims of gross politicization of a grant process that stripped funding for a group effectively serving human trafficking victims. In late September, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ceased funding for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) work with victims of sex slavery and trafficking. The bishops’ group had been using HHS funds to assist trafficking victims since 2006. While HHS has not specified a reason for denying USCCB further funding, …
Yesterday, the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Health held a hearing asking the question, “Do New Health Law Mandates Threaten Conscience Rights and Access to Care?” Many of the panelists responded with a resounding “yes.” Fulfilling a broader requirement of Obamacare that dictates mandatory coverage of certain “preventative services,” the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released an interim final rule in August that requires nearly all insurance companies to cover contraception, sterilization, and education and counseling regarding such services—without cost to the insured. The rule includes mandatory …
As part of President Obama’s economic stimulus, the federal government has doled out $230 million for communities to combat obesity rather than create jobs or boost the economy. In many cases, the funds are being used to attack American-made products like Coke and Pepsi. Advertisements undermining soft drinks can be found in cities from coast to coast. New York’s “Pouring on the Pounds” campaign used grotesque pictures and misleading information that even the city’s chief nutritionist called into question. The city received $15.5 million in federal funding for its anti-obesity …
On Friday, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius admitted that the CLASS program can’t work. After months of insisting that it could meet a 75-year actuarial soundness test and keep with the statutory requirements, Sebelius acknowledged that “despite our best analytical efforts, I do not see a viable path forward for CLASS implementation at this time.” The CLASS Act was a key provision included to pass Obamacare. It would have established a new, government-run long-term-care insurance program. But it was also used to claim that the health care …
During the health care debate of 2009 and 2010, the Obama administration used a number of accounting tricks to try to get the Congressional Budget Office to score the legislation as deficit neutral. One such trick took the form of a new entitlement: the Community Living Assistance Services and Support (CLASS) program. The brainchild of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), CLASS would provide long-term care insurance to Americans who pay premiums to the federal goverment for five years. In a ten-year window, then, the program looks financially stable. But …
One year ago, when President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, he proclaimed it would lower costs, reduce the deficit, and lift the drag on our economy. Since then, insurance premiums have not dropped; coverage has not increased; over half of the states have filed suit against the Department of Health and Human Services; and two courts have declared the legislation unconstitutional. Shouldn’t a year be long enough for Obamacare to secure a place in our hearts and minds? Not when the bill is an unpopular, unconstitutional …
Once again, Obamacare shows that, when it comes to health care reform, the saying “Hey, it’s the thought that counts” just doesn’t cut it. Proponents of the new law argue that its stringent insurance regulations will help consumers, but these new regulations also threaten some existing employer-sponsored plan arrangements. To avoid a flood of workers losing their health care, two-and-a-half million people have been exempted from the new rules through waivers granted to employers. A hearing held by the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation last week …
Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius testified last week at the House Ways and Means Committee on the fiscal year 2012 budget—although the question period centered on Obamacare. Sebelius opined that the new health care law will increase patient access to physicians and hospitals, provide more choices for Medicare beneficiaries, create jobs, and allow those who are happy with their current plans to keep them. However, reality paints a different picture. First, Obamacare will not increase access to health care for many seniors. For example, as a …
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued its long-awaited decision today on rescinding conscience regulations to protect health care providers from having to engage in medical procedures to which they object on religious or moral grounds. Because a real concern existed that the Obama Administration might repeal these 2008 regulations outright, the partial rescission could be construed as a partial victory for conscience protection advocates. But the accent is on the word partial—because the rescission strictly limits the scope of the regulations and contains plenty of room …
