It is a rare moment indeed when faith denominations of all stripes unite together in common cause, and it is rarer still when that cause is a political one, with a sole piece of legislation as its principal target. But when that law eviscerates the very foundation of religious liberty in America as protected under the First Amendment, it should not be surprising that Catholics and Jews, evangelical Christians, and mainline Lutherans alike find common cause in defense of their liberties. Such is the case with the firestorm of opposition …
The House of Representatives is expected to vote as early as tomorrow on H.R. 1173, the Fiscal Responsibility and Retirement Security Act of 2011. This bill would repeal the CLASS Act, Obamacare’s new long-term care entitlement. The CLASS Act is just another reminder that the entire health care law is flawed and unworkable. As noted by Heritage policy analysts, the CLASS Act is doomed to fail. It was created as a budget gimmick to help Obamacare pass. This is due to the illusion that CLASS produces a short-term deficit reduction …
Monday on The Daily Show, comedian Jon Stewart interviewed Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. The Secretary didn’t escape the hot seat in what turned out to be an interesting discussion regarding the implementation of Obamacare. One notable topic covered during the interview was the surprise proposal by HHS to let states determine their own definitions of “essential health benefits.” Obamacare explicitly instructs HHS to fill in the details of the legislation’s mandatory minimum benefit package, but as the Galen Institute’s John Hoff previously noted in a Heritage …
In a rare scenario in Washington, common sense trumped politics this week as the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) prevented the controversial Plan B drug from being sold to girls younger than 17 without a prescription. On Wednesday, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius overruled a recommendation by the Food and Drug Administration to allow the over-the-counter sale of Plan B, enabling young girls to buy the drug without first consulting a doctor or parent. Agreeing with Secretary Sebelius’s decision, President Obama remarked yesterday: I think it is important for …
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 …
Inefficient programs that don’t solve problems and are passed against the will of the American people seem to be the Obama Administration’s forte. Now their high-minded aspirations of a health care revolution are quickly unraveling as fatal glitches in Obamacare become apparent. Next up for implosion? The Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act, otherwise known as the “CLASS Act,” which creates a government-run long term care insurance program too costly to sustain. At a time when entitlement programs in America have spun out of control, liberal proponents of Obamacare were …
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 …
Wondering how all those businesses in House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s district ended up with Obamacare waivers? The story drew national attention last month, but there’s still little known about the process used by the Obama administration to grant the controversial waivers. That’s prompted more than 30 members of Congress to write Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius seeking “transparency, fairness, and due process” for the department’s waiver decisions. Heritage’s Ed Haislmaier testified in March that “HHS has exceeded its statutory authority in creating this waiver process.” In fact, …
This week marks the first anniversary of Obamacare. In response, Heritage analyst Brian Blase has provided a one-year checkup on the provisions that are already in place and the effects Americans are experiencing as a result. Obamacare’s more popular provisions were supposedly front-loaded, and liberals are taking full advantage of this in the ongoing attempt to build support for the unpopular law. This week, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius testified before the Senate Finance Committee on how, in her opinion, Obamacare is already benefiting Americans. But a closer …
Yesterday, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on the President’s fiscal year 2012 budget and implementation of Obamacare. The Secretary’s remarks highlighted the need for fiscal responsibility and health care reform that gives greater power to individuals and more flexibility to the states. Unfortunately, none of these goals can be achieved under Obamacare. Sebelius told the committee, “We can’t build lasting prosperity on a mountain of debt. And we can’t win the future if we pass on massive debts to …
