April 2, 2025 #1 Local News, Information and Event Source for the Century City/Westwood areas.

Opinion Piece: Obamacare: Repealed Piecemeal? Repeal the Whole Deal!


From its inception to its passage, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) has become the exact opposite of its professed, entitled intentions. Not protecting patients, the law has consequentially raised health insurance premiums, diminished quality access, and increased taxes, even though President Obama and his supporters staunchly avowed that the law was not a “tax†.

There is nothing affordable or caring about Obamacare, with its tens of thousands of pages of regulations. Health care practitioners are leaving their profession. An unprecedented shortage of health care providers still face the full provisions of the law as they enter into effect in 2014.

What is the sorry history of this sorrowful 2,500 page law, and how will it likely end?

In 2009, President Obama went on a speaking tour throughout the country touting how his signature legislation — the progressive dream of Democratic Presidents from Harry Truman to Hillary, er Bill Clinton — would allow children to remain on their parents’ health coverage until they are 26 years old. The law would prevent insurance companies from removing clients because of pre-existing conditions. The law would also require that everyone own insurance, so that hospitals and taxpayers would not have to pay for those who could not.

Democrats and Republicans in the House of Representatives worried about the massive growth of government to inform and enforce these demands. Liberals like Henry Waxman (D-California) submitted that by requiring everyone to have insurance, the financial resources pooled together would create more coverage and broaden access. Thus, the law would require that individuals purchase health insurance, or pay a fine.

For those who could not afford health insurance, state-sponsored Medicare exchanges would permit them to purchase quality health care coverage at a reasonable price. In addition to requiring individual coverage, the law would force employers with more than fifty employees to provide health insurance for employees working thirty hours a week.

The more that Obama talked about it, the more that Americans balked at it.

Economists exposed the fallacies of this law, which should have lead to its downfall right away. With all third-party arrangements (including health insurance), the consumer and producer never deal directly with the costs of a product or service. If someone pays a set fee for a service, yet has all the access to care, the result is rationing, as more people seek a service without any care for the cost.

Citizens in countries with government run health care, like Great Britain and Canada, contend with long lines, closed health clinics, poor service, and rationing on everything from bandages to operating rooms. A black market for health services has emerged in these countries, as well, often brazenly, as the same governments which enforce “equality and quality†cannot provide either.

Despite the bad press of single-payer models, President Obama pressed ahead. With handouts to wavering US Senators, Obamacare’s hidden provisions purchased their votes for passage. The political meanderings and backroom shenanigans which pushed Obamacare through Congress expose the political immorality and unconstitutional nature of this law. The rapid process of reconciliation through the US Senate to the House, where not one Republican voted for the bill (and some Democrats voted against it), demonstrated the sheer partisan nature of the whole process.

Millions of Americans decried the law then, and they still hate it now. In 2010, the Democrats lost the House. Preparing for 2014, President Obama is walking away from his extra-legal legacy, little by little. One could say that he is repealing Obamacare “piecemeal.â€

Of course, the Supreme Court crippled the law considerably at the outset. To force anyone to purchase anything was a massive rewrite of the Commerce Clause, and thus Chief Justice John Roberts erected an iron fence around that clause for good, yet upheld the law as a tax (or “a mandate enforced by a tax†per double-dealing Henry Waxman). The Court also ruled the Medicare exchanges unconstitutional. As of June 14, 2013, only 26 governors have supported them. Legislators have called for the repeal of the medical device tax in the law (including the US Senators from Massachusetts). The Department of Health and Human Services has acquiesced to corporations of religious standing, and thus will not enforce provision of contraceptives in the insurance mandate.

With the prodding of the House of Representatives, President Obama has also signed legislation to repeal other lesser known yet still exorbitant portions of Obamacare. He removed the 1099 mandate for small businesses, froze the funding to hire more IRS enforcement agents. Obama has enacted cuts and removed subsidies which were unsustainable or unenforceable, including the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS).

President Obama announced that he will delay the Employer Mandate to 2015. Too little, too late: Major corporations have slashed workers’ hours or dumped them off the company insurance entirely. US Senator Max Baucus (D-Montana) labeled the law’s gradual enforcement “a train wreck†, which is slowing down, yet still set to crash. Now House Speaker John Boehner suggested that the President delay the individual mandate, as.

Most Americans would suggest:

“President Obama: Not a piecemeal repeal, but repeal the whole deal!

in News
Related Posts

Put the Phone Down: LAPD and CHP Targets Distracted Drivers in April Crackdown

April 1, 2025

April 1, 2025

Hands-Free Law Violations Could Now Cost You More Than Just a Fine Throughout April, the Los Angeles Police Department will...

Kim Delaney, Partner Cleared After Weekend Arrest in Marina del Rey

April 1, 2025

April 1, 2025

Emmy-Winning Actress and Partner James Morgan Released Kim Delaney, the Emmy-winning actress recognized for her roles in NYPD Blue and...

(Video) Spending an Afternoon at Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier

April 1, 2025

April 1, 2025

Go To Pacpark.com For Tickets and More Information. Go To https://t.co/HneRcysYh5 For Tickets and More Information. #amusementpark #rides #rollercoaster #summer...

Matū Kai to Debut in Brentwood With Grass Fed Wagyu and Global Flair This Week

April 1, 2025

April 1, 2025

Farm-To-Fork Beef, Wood-Fired Flavors, and Sustainability Meet on San Vicente The team behind Beverly Hills’ acclaimed steakhouse Matū will soon...

Mid-City Freeway Death Under Investigation After Caltrans Workers Find Blanket-Covered Body

April 1, 2025

April 1, 2025

Woman Discovered on 10 Freeway Shoulder Identified; CHP Launches Probe Caltrans workers discovered a woman’s dead body around 9:00 a.m....

Community Support Saves Beloved West Hollywood Café from Closure

March 31, 2025

March 31, 2025

Packed Tables and Emotional Messages Helped Keep the Doors Open Le Petit Four, the popular Sunset Boulevard café known for...

Egg Beaters Recalled Over Possible Chemical Contamination

March 31, 2025

March 31, 2025

Massive Liquid Egg Recall Includes California Shipments Cargill Kitchen Solutions is recalling approximately 212,268 pounds of liquid egg products after...

Los Angeles County’s Measure A Raises Sales Tax On April 1, And It’s No Joke

March 31, 2025

March 31, 2025

Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Culver City, and Malibu Will See Higher Increases Starting April 1, Los Angeles County residents will...

Robbery Boast on Instagram Helps Send Beverly Hills Heist Suspect to Prison

March 31, 2025

March 31, 2025

Flashy Post, Federal Time: Smash-and-Grab Mastermind Sentenced Ladell Tharpe, 39, received an 84-month sentence from U.S. District Judge George H....

Actress Kim Delaney Arrested After Domestic Dispute; Partner Also Charged

March 31, 2025

March 31, 2025

Marina del Rey Police Arrest “NYPD Blue” Actress After Alleged Altercation Actress Kim Delaney, known for her Emmy-winning role on...

Union Workers at UCLA to Strike April 1 Over Staffing Shortages, Labor Disputes

March 31, 2025

March 31, 2025

Healthcare and Research Staff at UC to Strike, Alleging Unfair Labor Practices More than 20,000 healthcare, research, and technical professionals...

School of Rock Students Shine in Winter Performance Despite Widespread Fires

March 31, 2025

March 31, 2025

Summer Camp Registration Opens Now By Susan Payne Wildfire devastation wreaked havoc in areas of Los Angeles this January with...

Full House Creator’s Cielo Drive Estate Returns With Massive Price Drop

March 30, 2025

March 30, 2025

Franklin’s Mansion, Once the Site of the MansonTragedy, Back on Market Full House creator Jeff Franklin is returning to the...

Santa Monica, Beverly Hills See Real Estate Shifts After L.A. Wildfires

March 30, 2025

March 30, 2025

Beverly Hills and Brentwood Listings Triple in Wake of January Fires Home sales and listings have shifted dramatically across Westside...

Deputies Open Fire on Suspect in West Hollywood, Triggering Street Closures

March 30, 2025

March 30, 2025

Suspect Shot by LASD in West Hollywood Domestic Violence Response Authorities are investigating a shooting that occurred Saturday evening in...