Yesterday, Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell gave a speech in which he refused to implement the Affordable Care Act. Citing a recent Florida court ruling that the law is unconstitutional, Parnell said, “We will not proceed down an unlawful course to implement it.” Here’s Parnell:
In its daily health care e-mail newsletter, Politico …
Shirley Sherrod, the former USDA official sacked after a deceptively edited video of her appeared online, has filed a lawsuit against Andrew Breitbart, the man who posted the footage on his web site BigGovernment.com. In a complaint filed on Feb. 11, Sherrod claims Breitbart harmed her reputation and caused her emotional distress and …
If Don Berwick’s first appearance before a hostile congressional committee is any indication, there is no way the Medicare/Medicaid chief will ever earn the support of enough Republicans to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Berwick, installed via recess appointment last July, gave testimony and took questions from members of the …
In a speech that aired worldwide, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak just reiterated that he will remain in office until September. Protesters had demanded – and some news outlets, including NBC News, had reported today – that Mubarak would step down in the face of massive resistance to his tenure. Mubarak’s defiance has enraged a huge …
For presumed GOP presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty, health care is a signature cause. The former Minnesota governor hopes to use the topic against opponent Mitt Romney, who supported health reform in Massachusetts similar to the national plan. Pawlenty has also garnered attention by spearheading the effort to resist the Affordable Care …
Ezra Klein of the Washington Post has said a version of this already today, but it’s worth repeating. There is only a very, very slim chance that the individual mandate will be repealed by Congress, despite Politico’s contention that the policy might be on the ropes thanks to four Democratic senators.
As Ezra points out – and …
Back in September, I tipped my hat to the Kaiser Family Foundation for its rather outstanding way of explaining the Affordable Care Act via a nine-minute cartoon video. Now Jonathan Gruber, the economist most associated with health reform, wants to top that. According to the Boston Herald, he has a contract to write a graphic novel …
It’s been a disheartening week for supporters of Democratic health care reform. On Monday, a second federal judge ruled that their signature health reform law is unconstitutional. Democrats maintain that the Affordable Care Act – including its individual mandate – is perfectly legal. They point out that two other federal judges …
Ben Smith makes a good point today about how yesterday’s health care ruling might affect 2012 presidential election landscape. Mitt Romney is leading the field, but is believed to be highly vulnerable in the primary season because he ushered in health care reform in Massachusetts while he was governor. That reform plan is extremely …
In a big blow to the Obama Administration, a second federal judge has declared that the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate is unconstitutional. The mandate is a central provision of the health reform law that will, beginning in 2014, require nearly every American to maintain health insurance coverage.
Florida Judge Roger …
Yesterday evening, the Obama Administration announced it was renominating Dr. Donald Berwick to be head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The White House formally nominated Berwick last year as well, but installed him via recess appointment to avoid a contentious Senate confirmation hearing. Berwick has been on the …
Depending on which side you’re listening to during this phase of the health care debate, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is either a deficit-slashing, job-creating wonder or a deficit busting, job-killing disaster. It’s easy to get confused, especially when lawmakers are throwing around numbers that don’t exactly depict reality. The …
Yesterday, six states – Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, Wyoming and Maines – joined the Florida lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. The federal suit, in which a ruling is expected within weeks, now includes 26 states. In addition, Virginia is pursuing its own case and Oklahoma’s attorney general has …
