Parsing The Health Law’s Winners And Losers, And Its Chances For Survival
The AP reports on some of the measure's unexpected beneficiaries and The Christian Science Monitor details how it could be dismantled. Also, California Healthline follows the money that is lobbying to preserve the measure.
The Associated Press: Obama Health Care Law Has Unexpected Beneficiaries
President Barack Obama's health care law created a $5 billion fund to shore up coverage for early retirees, and some of that money is flowing to places you might not expect. Two Texas public employee programs are among the top 25 recipients of the federal subsidy despite Texas Gov. Rick Perry's opposition to the law Republicans derisively call "Obamacare." And records show the Huntsman family business, where GOP presidential candidate Jon Huntsman sharpened his executive skills, received about $1 million. It highlights the gap between dire Republican rhetoric about the health care overhaul and the pragmatic impulse to cash in on a new government benefit (Alonso-Zaldivar, 11/2).
Christian Science Monitor: Piece By Piece, Will Obama's Health Care Reform Law Be Dismantled?
The Obama administration's acknowledgment that the CLASS numbers don't add up is only fueling the GOP narrative that the entire health-care law is a boondoggle and won't provide the cost savings to government that Democrats had promised. ... The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which backed the overall health-care reform law, is also calling on law-makers to repeal CLASS, saying it will never benefit taxpayers and could yet be revived by regulators. Democrats, though, still want to find a way to make the CLASS Act work (Chaddock, 11/1).
California Healthline: Follow the Money: How Industry Is Lobbying To Preserve Reform Law
One group continues to remain quiet on repeal: the health industry. If anything, health insurance companies, device manufacturers, and many provider associations have strong financial motives to keep PPACA in place — and the sector continues to put its lobbying dollars where its pocketbook is. The Center for Responsive Politics on Monday reported that the health industry remains atop its lobbying charts (Diamond, 11/2).
