ObamaCare: Making History Every Day

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Tara Culp-Ressler: Obamacare Has Reversed A Negative Trend. Researchers Call It ‘Remarkable’

For the first time in a decade, the number of people struggling to pay their medical bills has started to decline, according to a new survey released on Thursday by the Commonwealth Fund. The researchers attributed the historic drop to the number of people gaining insurance under the health care reform law. Between 2012 and 2014 — as Obamacare’s main coverage expansion took effect — the Commonwealth researchers found that the number of people who had issues paying for health treatment dropped from 41 percent to 35 percent. Over the same time period, the people who skipped out on health services because they couldn’t afford them declined from 43 percent to 36 percent

In a press release, the researchers described the declines as “remarkable.” This marks the first time since 2005, when Commonwealth started surveying people on these questions, that the number of Americans struggling to afford medical care hasn’t increased. Commonwealth’s findings, which also documented a drop in the number of Americans going without insurance, track closely with other surveys that have reported declines in the uninsured rate under Obamacare. The number of Americans without health care was reduced by about 25 percent last year, which means that between eight million and eleven million people have gained coverage.

More here

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Thanks to #Obamacare, fewer people are facing financial distress because of medical bills. More from @nytimes: ofa.bo/f2QG

—
Barack Obama (@BarackObama) January 16, 2015

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Margot Sanger-Katz: Signs of A Decline In Financial Distress Connected To Medical Bills

After rising for a decade, the number of Americans experiencing financial distress from their medical bills has started to decline, a new survey has found. The result provides new evidence that the Affordable Care Act, by providing uninsured people with health insurance, is also improving their financial security, a major goal of the law. The large telephone survey, from the New York-based health research group the Commonwealth Fund, has been asking people about their medical bills every few years for a decade. In each survey through 2012, a higher percentage of Americans said they struggled to pay their medical bills, were paying off medical debt or had been contacted by a collection agency.

The most recent installment of the survey, the first since the health law’s major provisions kicked in, shows a reversal in that trend. The survey also found that fewer people were avoiding doctors’ visits because of concerns about cost. But Commonwealth also found that, over all, even people who had insurance before 2014 were having fewer problems with medical bills than they were before. That change may reflect rules in the health law that require individual insurance plans to cover a minimum set of benefits for every customer.

More here

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Obamacare has reversed a negative trend. Researchers call it 'remarkable' thkpr.gs/3611905 http://t.co/YgFonAulJU

—
ThinkProgress (@thinkprogress) January 15, 2015

Early Signs of Another Win for Obamacare immasmartypants.blogspot.com/2015/01/early-…

—
Nancy LeTourneau (@Smartypants60) January 15, 2015

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The New Health Care: Financial Distress Connected to Medical Bills Shows a Decline, the First in Years nyti.ms/156xnI0

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The New York Times (@nytimes) January 15, 2015

Of all the clicks you make today, this one is most important: ofa.bo/i2P0 #GetCovered http://t.co/8VKcCuLyxb

—
Obamacare (@obamacare) January 15, 2015

ObamaCare: Making Medicare Stronger For Future Generations

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White House: Medicare Trustees Report Shows Significant Improvements For Seniors And Taxpayers

Today’s annual report from the Medicare program’s Boards of Trustees brings good news about the program’s financial future: Its Trust Fund will last four more years, to 2030, and projected Part B premiums for 2015 will not increase for the second year in a row. As we celebrate Medicare’s 49th birthday this week, we will recommit to ensuring that the program continues providing health and economic security for the nation’s elderly and people with disabilities through the 21st century and beyond. Today’s news shows that we are on the right track, and we are optimistic that the promising results we’ve seen in recent years can continue into the future. In 2009, the Trustees projected the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund would not be able to pay its bills in 2017 – just three years from now. Today’s new date is 2030, 13 years later than that projection – an improvement that is thanks in part to reforms in the Affordable Care Act (Chart 1).

Spread the word: Medicare is stronger thanks in part to the Affordable Care Act → http://t.co/KbLYX4DsqM #ACAWorks pic.twitter.com/5b965PmecB

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 28, 2014

The law implemented changes to promote value-based payments, reduce waste and fraud, and strengthen the program’s benefits. These changes, for example, have reduced hospital spending on preventable readmissions, helping to lower hospital costs, which constitute a significant portion of trust fund spending. Lower Medicare spending means lower cost sharing and lower premiums for Medicare beneficiaries. For the second year in a row, premiums in Part B are projected to stay the same in 2015 as in 2013 and 2014. This means seniors are expected to keep more of their annual Social Security cost of living adjustment. In fact, the last six years have seen some of the slowest premium growth in the program’s history. Moreover, the Affordable Care Act has saved millions of beneficiaries over $10 billion in prescription drug costs by improving prescription drug benefits and closing the “donut hole.”

More here

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Sahil Kapur: Obamacare Will Help Medicare Remain Solvent Even Longer, Trustees Report Says

The Medicare insurance trust fund will be solvent until 2030, four years longer than projected last year, according to a trustees report released Monday. The trustees report chalked up the new projection to the recent slowdown in health spending growth and various cost-saving reforms enacted under Obamacare. “In recent years U.S. national health expenditure (NHE) growth has slowed relative to previous historical patterns,” the report read.

It added: “The Board assumes that the various cost-reduction measures … will occur as the Affordable Care Act requires.” (Obamacare has been credited in recent years with extending the life of Medicare beyond 2016, the year it was projected to go in the red prior to the ACA’s enactment.)

More here

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More terrible news!!!! > Obamacare Will Help Medicare Remain Solvent Even Longer, Trustees Report Says @TPM http://t.co/mBedvJSn5P

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) July 28, 2014

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Obamacare boosts Medicare’s financial health, new report says http://t.co/hLotNtpOfn

— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) July 28, 2014

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Amy Goldstein: Medicare Finances Improve Partly Due To ACA, Hospital Expenses, Trustee Report Says

Medicare’s financial stability has been strengthened by the Affordable Care Act and other forces that have been subduing health-care spending, according to a new official forecast that says the fund covering the program’s hospital costs will remain solvent until 2030 — four years later than expected a year ago. The trustees’ forecast said that the trust fund that pays for hospital care — Medicare Part A — has been strengthened significantly,

with the date when it is predicted to start running short of money extended by 14 years since the Affordable Care Act was enacted in 2010. The report also predicted that the insurance premiums that older Americans pay for the portion of Medicare that covers doctors’ visits and other outpatient care would probably remain the same for a third year in a row.

More here

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Medicare is in better financial standing today thanks to the #ACA — a win for seniors and American taxpayers. pic.twitter.com/83B6TVtxMY

— Vice President Biden (@VP) July 28, 2014

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Here’s the graphic from today’s briefing showing that Medicare is stronger due in no small part to #ACA. pic.twitter.com/0Fi2TlTrXd

— Josh Earnest (@PressSec) July 28, 2014

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700K Jobs At Risk? Do Something, Congress

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President Barack Obama speaks about the economy at the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center in McLean, Virginia. President Barack Obama envisions a time when cars will be able to talk with other cars or with America’s roads. He says such technology could prevent crashes, cut down on traffic and save gasoline.

President Barack Obama is given a tour of vehicles equipted with V2I technology by Joe Peters while at the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center in McLean, Virginia

President Barack Obama looks over his shoulder while driving a simulator

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It's time for Congress to reauthorize funding to rebuild our roads & bridges: go.wh.gov/4czkeK #RebuildAmerica http://t.co/BYaPeRZiTB

—
The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 14, 2014

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“This shouldn’t be a partisan issue. Republicans, Democrats, Independents; everybody uses our roads.” —Obama http://t.co/KUdTPapwr9

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The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 15, 2014

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David Yang, human factors team leader, shows President Barack Obama a vehicle simulator during his tour of the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center

President Barack Obama is given a tour of the Saxton Transportation Operations

President Barack Obama greets employees after speaking about the economy at the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center

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"The American people have to demand that folks in Washington do their job. Do something. That’s my big motto for Congress." —President Obama

—
The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 15, 2014

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Good infrastructure has a ripple effect: Job creation ✓ Less road congestion ✓ More reliable travel times ✓ http://t.co/dhzBo2Whfp

—
Vice President Biden (@VP) July 15, 2014

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President Barack Obama shakes hands with Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx

uncorked

TPM: … TPM readers identified the two likeminded conservatives with whom Paul Ryan shared two pricey $350 bottles of Pinot Noir Wednesday night (original story here)

….(they) were Cliff Asness and John Cochrane. Both men have doctorate degrees in economics and are well-known in the conservative media world as die-hard proponents of the free market’s ability to right itself without government bailouts when the crisis hit in late 2008.

Asness, who ordered the wine and who, according to Feinberg was the one who said “Fuck her,” is better known as a high-profile hedge fund manager. Asness founded and runs AQR Capital, which manages an estimated $26 billion in a variety of traditional products and hedge funds, and his life story has been the subject of numerous books and articles about the rise and fall of Wall Street. He’s also grabbed headlines for being one of the most voluble opponents of President Obama’s economic policies.

ABC’s Jake Tapper ran an illuminating piece on Asness in May of 2009 after he wrote an angry open letter to Obama – “Unafraid in Greenwich, Connecticut” – in which he blasted the President’s attacks on hedge fund owners refusing to go along with his administration’s plans for Chrysler.

“Who came up with the title for the letter?” Tapper asked parenthetically in his piece. “Axelrod? Perhaps ‘Bold and on My Yacht’ was too subtle.”

….In May 2009, Asness served as a guest host on CNBC’s Squawk Box and defended the $450 million in bonuses AIG executives received, arguing that President Obama and the Congress are responsible for the economic crisis and should pay the execs the bonuses themselves…..

More here

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Campaignmoney: Asness is more than just an angry millionaire – he’s a major conservative political player.

Asness was listed as an attendee at retreats held by the billionaire conservative Koch Brothers, according to the document obtained by ThinkProgess last year. Charles and David Koch bring people together at these events to “review strategies for combating the multitude of public policies that threaten to destroy America as we know it”. In January, Ryan spoke at the Koch’s California retreat….

More here

night everyone (second video added)

New York, April 27

“In 2008 I didn’t have all this gray hair. I was kind of fresh and new. Everybody had all these nice posters. It was cool to back Obama. Now I’m older, distinguished, that’s the word, distinguished, and we’ve had some setbacks, some things haven’t happened as fast as some people wanted. … But … when I stood that night in Grant Park, I didn’t say change you can have tomorrow. … I said change you can believe in.”

President Obama speaks at a campaign fundraising event at The Town Hall in New York, April 27

‘health reform to make health insurance affordable for nearly all families’

Commonwealth Fund: Report finds that 90 percent can afford premiums and costs under Affordable Care Act; out-of-pocket costs will still be a concern for some families

Ninety percent of American families living above the federal poverty level will be able to afford health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, according to a new Commonwealth Fund report by Jonathan Gruber and Ian Perry of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

The report finds that new subsidies available through health insurance exchanges established under the law will make premiums affordable for most families. But the authors also warn that high out-of-pocket costs will likely mean some families will still be unable to afford health-related expenses.

“The Affordable Care Act is very good news for millions of Americans who are struggling to afford health care, going without health insurance, or skipping the care they need because they can’t afford it,” said Commonwealth Fund President Karen Davis. “The new law makes health insurance and health care affordable for nearly all families, and introduces delivery system reforms that have the potential to greatly improve quality and efficiency. If implemented well, new entities like accountable care organizations may bring even greater savings and affordability than this report predicts.”

…..”Our analysis is promising, as the vast majority of people will be better off because of the premium subsidies and cost-sharing limits in the Affordable Care Act,” said Jonathan Gruber….

Full article here

Thank you Blackwaterdog – this is magnifcently encouraging news! 😉

a gift from the past….

From the President and First Lady’s tax returns, released today

Wiki: The Henry G. Freeman Jr. Pin Money Fund, is the operating name of an annuity fund of the Henry G. Freeman Jr. Trust, benefiting first ladies of the United States. It began in 1912, as part of the will of Henry G. Freeman Jr., a prominent Philadelphia real estate developer.

Freeman believed that the U.S president was paid a “miserable pittance”, and that a way of increasing his income while avoiding the appearance of political gifts was to institute an annuity to be paid “to the lady termed the first lady in the land; that is, the President of the United States [sic] wife, or anyone representing the president as such, should he not be married or should she die during his administration”.

Freeman’s will specified that the money be for the first lady’s “own and absolute use” and the payments “shall continue in force as long as this glorious government exists.”

The fund became active in November 1989 during the administration of George H.W. Bush, but due to a court dispute the first payments were not made until December 1992.

Barbara Bush received US $36,000.00 retroactively and donated a portion to her charity work, and spent an unspecified amount doing “something nice for my grandchildren”. First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and First Lady Laura Bush have donated the payments to charity. The income is taxable, and the fund is overseen by Wachovia Trust Services.

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There’s another article here on the Pin Money Fund (MSNBC)

Mr Freeman sounded like a pretty cool guy 😉

‘kucinich critique turns into push for funds’

CNN: Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich is transforming his critique of President Obama’s actions in Libya into a fundraising plea, asking supporters to decide whether they like President Obama or the Constitution more.

After calling the president’s decision to act in Libya an “impeachable offense,” Kucinich Monday posted a letter on his website asking supporters for help in “putting together a broad fundraising structure to make sure that I’ll have the resources to continue to be a voice in the Unites States Congress.”

….Stating that he “never failed to stand up” when advocating for the “need to more our economy forward” or “internationally standing up for peace,” Kucinich asked potential donors to shore up his re-election efforts for 2012.

“I’m asking you to really get engaged in this effort to not just make it possible for me to stay in the United States Congress but to make it possible even more importantly for my voice to continue to be heard on your behalf,” he said.

Ohio is set to undergo redistricting following the results of the most recent U.S. Census, a development that may make Kucinich’s road to re-election more difficult….

Full article here

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So, Kucinich suggests the President should be impeached over Libya, then a day later tries to cash in by appealing for money to get himself re-elected? Hoping for some Teabagger dollars too, Dennis?

Wow.

As someone posted on another site, “He’s our very own Michelle Bachmann”.

so, it’s liberals who are exploiting this tragedy? really?

community solutions

First Lady Michelle Obama announces the initial phase of philanthropic commitments to match Social Innovation Fund grant, Thursday, May 27, 2010, in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus in Washington