Barack Obama

The left and the right agree: Scrap ObamaCare’s employer mandate

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
06/13/2014
The drumbeat for eliminating the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate is getting louder. And it is under attack from both sides of the political aisle, according to The Washington Post. The real question is, especially given new opposition from the law’s own supporters: Can it survive? A briefing paper released by the Urban Institute and...

TAGS: ACA: Affordable Care Act, Barack Obama, health care, health insurance

Illinois Corruption Watch, May 2014

By Brian Costin
06/04/2014
In completing our second month of the new “Illinois Corruption Watch” project, we are shocked at the volume of corruption stories being reported across the state. In just two months we have found reports of 101 different corruption-related stories; 45 in April and 56 in May. It’s no wonder Illinois citizens have by far the...

The ObamaCare hard sell in Illinois

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
05/23/2014
President Barack Obama is quick to paint an underdog picture when it comes to his fight to push through the Affordable Care Act. He has claimed that: “We didn’t make a hard sell. We didn’t have billions of dollars to spend on commercials like our critics did.” But the federal government directed almost $155 million...

Chart of the Week: Is ObamaCare “settled?”

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
05/22/2014
In an April 17 press conference on the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as ObamaCare, President Barack Obama called the debate over his signature legislative achievement “settled” and “over.” But according to a recent Politico poll, almost half of those surveyed indicated that they want the law repealed, and more than one-third want the law...

ObamaCare grants in Illinois

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
05/16/2014
According to a recent Gallup survey, Illinois residents have the least trust in their own state government compared to every other state in the nation. That is why Illinois lawmakers should make stewardship of taxpayer dollars a top priority. When revelations of wasteful spending or outright fraud come to light, they only serve ti further...

The case for scrapping ObamaCare’s employer mandate

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
05/13/2014
Experts from both sides of the aisle are now calling on the Obama administration to eliminate the employer mandate from the president’s signature health-insurance law. A briefing paper released by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a liberal-leaning foundation that previously supported former president Bill Clinton’s health-care plan and is now a major supporter of ObamaCare,...

New data show ObamaCare expanded insurance coverage to just 3% of uninsured Illinoisans

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
05/13/2014
Despite the recent back-slapping and self-congratulations from the Obama administration over the ObamaCare health exchange “enrollments,” there is little reason to believe that the health insurance overhaul is going to have a significant impact on expanding private health insurance coverage in Illinois. Based on national survey data, ObamaCare may have expanded private health coverage to...

Chart of the week: Despite enrollment ‘success’ ObamaCare more unpopular than ever

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
05/07/2014
While the president and his political allies have been celebrating ObamaCare’s “success,” not everyone is sharing this sentiment. In fact, most people are now taking the opposite view. According to a recent Pew Research Center/USA TODAY survey, more Americans disapprove of the Affordable Care Act now than when the law was enacted. Americans, now that...

HHS reporting ObamaCare enrollment duplications

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
05/07/2014
In a House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations subcommittee hearing this morning, a major health insurance trade association representative testified that the administration is reporting inflated enrollment numbers. According to their testimony: “Duplicate enrollments: Because of the challenges that surfaced with the launch of the Exchanges in October 2013, some consumers were advised to create a new account and enroll...

ObamaCare’s bailout for health insurers

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
05/06/2014
A little known, but important, provision in the Affordable Care Act, or ACA, is turning into a major point of contention between some policymakers and insurers participating in the ObamaCare exchanges. The ACA includes provisions to pay insurers for their financial losses in the ObamaCare exchanges. In response to lawmaker and public pressure, the federal...