Some time in the next few weeks, Paul Ryan, chairman of the House budget committee, is expected to unveil a plan to significantly cut the federal budget for the fiscal year 2012. It will be the centerpiece of a political fight that could eclipse most everything else in Washington. A linchpin of Ryan’s plan will [...]
In case you happened to have avoided seeing the hundreds of articles and press releases announcing the one-year anniversary of the Affordable Care Act/Obamacare: FYI, it’s today. Both sides of this issue have been working hard over the past week to guide the news narrative around this momentous occasion. See here, here, here, here, here, [...]
Reps. Steve King and Michele Bachmann are among those who are really, really, really hoping health reform will be defunded by Congress this year. They’re hoping against hope. The real threat to Democratic health care reform – aside from the court challenges mounted against it – isn’t wholesale defunding. (Democrats in the Senate and President [...]
The New York Times reports today that some members of Congress have offered an early seal of approval to a health care administrator who could succeed Medicare/Medicaid chief Don Berwick. According to the Times, Berwick’s deputy Marliyn Tavenner has emerged as a leading candidate to fill the post before or once Berwick recess appointment expires [...]
1. Yes, a bunch of states have banded together to sue the federal government over the individual mandate in Florida, but in addition, there are more than 20 other Affordable Care Act lawsuits winding their way through the federal court system. 2. The Obama Department of Justice has assigned a team of about a dozen [...]
Roger Vinson, the federal judge in Florida who said in January that the entire Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional, today issued a “clarification” of his earlier ruling. (The Obama Administration had asked the judge to specify what he meant in his original decision – that the law could continue while the issue makes its way [...]
In a speech to governors, President Obama just endorsed a plan to allow states to opt out of major provisions of the Affordable Care Act just as it’s set to kick in. Saying he recognizes that not everyone is a member of the “Affordable Care Act fan club,” Obama said, “I agree with Mitt Romney [...]
Arizona, which passed a controversial immigration bill last year, is again debating measures to discourage undocumented immigrants from living in the state. A series of new bills, championed by Republican Senate President Russell Pearce, would make it illegal for such people to drive in Arizona. It would also require businesses to use the federal system [...]
It’s no secret that Democrats aren’t always great at communicating their message to the public, especially when it comes to health care. Poll after poll has shown this. At the height of the health care debate, Americans remained confident in their work-sponsored health insurance, even though it’s being eroding and Democrats were trying mightily to [...]
As Adam already noted, a third Clinton-appointed federal judge ruled late yesterday that the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate passes constitutional muster. Two federal judges appointed by Republican presidents have said the opposite. Adopting many of the well-worn arguments offered by the Obama Department of Justice, Washington Judge Gladys Kessler wrote yesterday that the decision [...]
