Wednesday, January 11, 2012

208 Things in Obamacare that Obama and Democrats Support

Last week, former HELP Committee staffer John McDonough wrote a list of “50 provisions I ask the media to ask Romney et al. if they are committed to repealing as President.”  McDonough noted that “there are [Obamacare] provisions opponents could pick out to create an alternative list for elimination.”

We here at RPC know a challenge when we hear one; our list is submitted below, with sections from the statute duly noted.  Remember when reading this list:  We KNOW that President Obama and Democrats all support these provisions in Obamacare – because they all voted to enact them into law.  So members of the media can readily ask President Obama and Democrat Members of Congress why they supported a law that…

  1. Imposes $800 billion in tax increases, including no fewer than 12 separate provisions breaking candidate Obama’s “firm pledge” during his campaign that he would not raise “any of your taxes” (Sections 9001-9016)?
  2. Forces Americans to purchase a product for the first time ever (Section 1501)?
  3. Creates a board of 15 unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats to make binding rulings on how to reduce Medicare spending (Section 3403)?
  4. Pays over $800 billion in subsidies straight to health insurance companies (Sections 1401, 1402, and 1412)?
  5. Requires all individuals to buy government-approved health insurance plans, imposing new mandates that will raise individual insurance premiums by an average of $2,100 per family (Section 1302)?
  6. Forces seniors to lose their current health care, by enacting Medicare Advantage cuts that by 2017 will cut enrollment in half, and cut plan choices by two-thirds (Section 3201)?
  7. Imposes a 40 percent tax on health benefits, a direct contradiction of Barack Obama’s campaign promises (Section 9001)?
  8. Relies upon government bureaucrats to “issue guidance on best practices of plain language writing” (Section 1311(e)(3)(B))?
  9. Provides special benefits to residents of Libby, Montana – home of Max Baucus, the powerful Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, who helped write the law even though he says he hasn’t read it (Section 10323)?
  10. Imposes what a Democrat Governor called the “mother of all unfunded mandates” – new, Washington-dictated requirements of at least $118 billion – at a time when states already face budget deficits totaling a collective $175 billion (Section 2001)?
  11. Imposes reductions in Medicare spending that, according to the program’s non-partisan actuary, would cause 40 percent of all Medicare providers to become unprofitable, and could lead to their exit from the program (Section 3401)?
  12. Raises premiums on more than 17 million seniors participating in Medicare Part D, so that Big Pharma can benefit from its “rock-solid deal” struck behind closed doors with President Obama and Congressional Democrats (Section 3301)?
  13. Creates an institute to undertake research that, according to one draft Committee report prepared by Democrats, could mean that “more expensive [treatments] will no longer be prescribed” (Section 6301)?
  14. Creates a multi-billion dollar “slush fund” doled out solely by federal bureaucrats, which has already been used to fund things like bike paths (Section 4002)?
  15. Subjects states to myriad new lawsuits, by forcing them to assume legal liability for delivering services to Medicaid patients for the first time in that program’s history (Section 2304)?
  16. Permits taxpayer dollars to flow to health plans that fund abortion, in a sharp deviation from prior practice under Democrat and Republican Administrations (Section 1303)?
  17. Empowers bureaucrats on a board that has ruled against mammograms and against prostate cancer screenings to make binding determinations about what types of preventive services should be covered (Sections 2713 and 4104)?
  18. Precludes poor individuals from having a choice of health care plans by automatically dumping them in the Medicaid program (Section 1413(a))?
  19. Creates a new entitlement program that one Democrat called “a Ponzi scheme of the first order, the kind of thing that Bernie Madoff would have been proud of” – a scheme so unsustainable even the Administration was forced to admit it would not work (Section 8002)?
  20. Provides $5 billion in taxpayer dollars to a fund that has largely served to bail out unions and other organizations who made unsustainable health care promises to retirees that they cannot afford (Section 1102)?
  21. Creates a tax credit so convoluted it requires seven different worksheets to determine eligibility (Section 1421)?
  22. Imposes multiple penalties on those who marry, by reducing subsidies (and increasing taxes) for married couples when compared to two individuals cohabiting together (Sections 1401-02)?
  23. Extends the Medicare “payroll tax” to unearned income for the first time ever, including new taxes on the sale of some homes (Section 1402)?
  24. Impedes state flexibility by requiring Medicaid programs to offer a specific package of benefits, including benefits like family planning services (Sections 2001(a)(2), 2001(c), 1302(b), and 2303(c))?
  25. Requires individuals to go to the doctor and get a prescription in order to spend their own Flexible Spending Account money on over-the-counter medicines (Section 9003)?
  26. Expands the definition of “low-income” to make 63 percent of non-elderly Americans eligible for “low-income” subsidized insurance (Section 1401)?
  27. Imposes a new tax on the makers of goods like pacemakers and hearing aids (Section 9009)?
  28. Creates an insurance reimbursement scheme that could result in the federal government obtaining Americans’ medical records (Section 1343)?
  29. Permits states to make individuals presumptively eligible for Medicaid for unlimited 60-day periods, thus allowing any individual to receive taxpayer-funded assistance ad infinitum (Section 2303(b))?
  30. Allows individuals to purchase insurance on government exchanges – and to receive taxpayer-funded insurance subsidies – WITHOUT verifying their identity as American citizens (Section 1411)?
  31. Gives $300 million in higher Medicaid reimbursements to one state as part of the infamous “Louisiana Purchase” – described by ABC News as “what…it take[s] to get a wavering senator to vote for health care reform” (Section 2006)?
  32. Raises taxes on firms who cannot afford to buy coverage for their workers (Section 1513)?
  33. Forces younger Americans to pay double-digit premium increases so that older workers can pay slightly less (Section 1201)?
  34. Prohibits states from modifying their Medicaid programs to include things like modest anti-fraud protections (Section 2001)?
  35. Includes a special provision increasing federal payments just for Tennessee (Section 1203(b))?
  36. Allows individuals to purchase health insurance across state lines – but only if politicians and bureaucrats agree to allow citizens this privilege (Section 1333)?
  37. Allows the HHS Secretary and federal bureaucrats to grant waivers exempting people from Obamacare’s onerous mandates, over half of which have gone to members of union plans (Section 1001)?
  38. Creates a pseudo-government-run plan overseen by the federal government (Section 1334)?
  39. Removes a demonstration project designed to force government-run Medicare to compete on a level playing field with private plans (Section 1102(f))?
  40. Gives the Secretary of HHS an UNLIMITED amount of federal funds to spend funding state insurance Exchanges (Section 1311(a))?
  41. Creates a grant program that could be used by liberal groups like ACORN or AARP to conduct “public education activities” surrounding Obamacare (Section 1311(i))?
  42. Applies new federal mandates to pre-Obamacare insurance policies, thus proving that you CAN’T keep the insurance plan you had – and liked – before the law passed (Sections 2301 and 10103)?
  43. Prohibits individuals harmed by federal bureaucrats from challenging those decisions, either in court or through regulatory processes (Sections 3001, 3003, 3007, 3008, 3021, 3022, 3025, 3133, 3403, 5501, 6001, AND 6401)?
  44. Earmarks $100 million for “construction of a health care facility,” a “sweetheart deal” inserted by a Democrat Senator trying to win re-election (Section 10502)?
  45. Puts yet another Medicaid unfunded mandate on states, by raising payments to primary care physicians, but only for two years, forcing states to come up with another method of funding this unsustainable promise when federal funding expires (Section 1202)?
  46. Imposes price controls that have had the effect of costing jobs in the short time since they were first implemented (Section 1001)?
  47. Prohibits individuals from spending federal insurance subsidies outside government-approved Exchanges (Section 1401(a))?
  48. Provides a special increase in federal hospital payments just for Hawaii (Section 10201(e)(1))?
  49. Imposes new reporting requirements that will cost businesses millions of dollars, and affect thousands of restaurants and other establishments across the country (Section 4205)?

And instead of including a 50th item on our list, we’re going to include 159 separate items.  These are the 159 new boards, bureaucracies, and programs created by Obamacare.  You can find the list below, or here.

No matter which way you look at it, this list provides 208 easy reasons why the American people still continue to reject Democrats’ unpopular 2700-page health care law.

 

Obamacare’s 159 New Boards, Bureaucracies, Commissions, and Programs

  1. Grant program for consumer assistance offices (Section 1002, p. 37)
  2. Grant program for states to monitor premium increases (Section 1003, p. 42)
  3. Committee to review administrative simplification standards (Section 1104, p. 71)
  4. Demonstration program for state wellness programs (Section 1201, p. 93)
  5. Grant program to establish state Exchanges (Section 1311(a), p. 130)
  6. State American Health Benefit Exchanges (Section 1311(b), p. 131)
  7. Exchange grants to establish consumer navigator programs (Section 1311(i), p. 150)
  8. Grant program for state cooperatives (Section 1322, p. 169)
  9. Advisory board for state cooperatives (Section 1322(b)(3), p. 173)
  10. Private purchasing council for state cooperatives (Section 1322(d), p. 177)
  11. State basic health plan programs (Section 1331, p. 201)
  12. State-based reinsurance program (Section 1341, p. 226)
  13. Program of risk corridors for individual and small group markets (Section 1342, p. 233)
  14. Program to determine eligibility for Exchange participation (Section 1411, p. 267)
  15. Program for advance determination of tax credit eligibility (Section 1412, p. 288)
  16. Grant program to implement health IT enrollment standards (Section 1561, p. 370)
  17. Federal Coordinated Health Care Office for dual eligible beneficiaries (Section 2602, p. 512)
  18. Medicaid quality measurement program (Section 2701, p. 518)
  19. Medicaid health home program for people with chronic conditions, and grants for planning same (Section 2703, p. 524)
  20. Medicaid demonstration project to evaluate bundled payments (Section 2704, p. 532)
  21. Medicaid demonstration project for global payment system (Section 2705, p. 536)
  22. Medicaid demonstration project for accountable care organizations (Section 2706, p. 538)
  23. Medicaid demonstration project for emergency psychiatric care (Section 2707, p. 540)
  24. Grant program for delivery of services to individuals with postpartum depression (Section 2952(b), p. 591)
  25. State allotments for grants to promote personal responsibility education programs (Section 2953, p. 596)
  26. Medicare value-based purchasing program (Section 3001(a), p. 613)
  27. Medicare value-based purchasing demonstration program for critical access hospitals (Section 3001(b), p. 637)
  28. Medicare value-based purchasing program for skilled nursing facilities (Section 3006(a), p. 666)
  29. Medicare value-based purchasing program for home health agencies (Section 3006(b), p. 668)
  30. Interagency Working Group on Health Care Quality (Section 3012, p. 688)
  31. Grant program to develop health care quality measures (Section 3013, p. 693)
  32. Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (Section 3021, p. 712)
  33. Medicare shared savings program (Section 3022, p. 728)
  34. Medicare pilot program on payment bundling (Section 3023, p. 739)
  35. Independence at home medical practice demonstration program (Section 3024, p. 752)
  36. Program for use of patient safety organizations to reduce hospital readmission rates (Section 3025(b), p. 775)
  37. Community-based care transitions program (Section 3026, p. 776)
  38. Demonstration project for payment of complex diagnostic laboratory tests (Section 3113, p. 800)
  39. Medicare hospice concurrent care demonstration project (Section 3140, p. 850)
  40. Independent Payment Advisory Board (Section 3403, p. 982)
  41. Consumer Advisory Council for Independent Payment Advisory Board (Section 3403, p. 1027)
  42. Grant program for technical assistance to providers implementing health quality practices (Section 3501, p. 1043)
  43. Grant program to establish interdisciplinary health teams (Section 3502, p. 1048)
  44. Grant program to implement medication therapy management (Section 3503, p. 1055)
  45. Grant program to support emergency care pilot programs (Section 3504, p. 1061)
  46. Grant program to promote universal access to trauma services (Section 3505(b), p. 1081)
  47. Grant program to develop and promote shared decision-making aids (Section 3506, p. 1088)
  48. Grant program to support implementation of shared decision-making (Section 3506, p. 1091)
  49. Grant program to integrate quality improvement in clinical education (Section 3508, p. 1095)
  50. Health and Human Services Coordinating Committee on Women’s Health (Section 3509(a), p. 1098)
  51. Centers for Disease Control Office of Women’s Health (Section 3509(b), p. 1102)
  52. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Office of Women’s Health (Section 3509(e), p. 1105)
  53. Health Resources and Services Administration Office of Women’s Health (Section 3509(f), p. 1106)
  54. Food and Drug Administration Office of Women’s Health (Section 3509(g), p. 1109)
  55. National Prevention, Health Promotion, and Public Health Council (Section 4001, p. 1114)
  56. Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health (Section 4001(f), p. 1117)
  57. Prevention and Public Health Fund (Section 4002, p. 1121)
  58. Community Preventive Services Task Force (Section 4003(b), p. 1126)
  59. Grant program to support school-based health centers (Section 4101, p. 1135)
  60. Grant program to promote research-based dental caries disease management (Section 4102, p. 1147)
  61. Grant program for States to prevent chronic disease in Medicaid beneficiaries (Section 4108, p. 1174)
  62. Community transformation grants (Section 4201, p. 1182)
  63. Grant program to provide public health interventions (Section 4202, p. 1188)
  64. Demonstration program of grants to improve child immunization rates (Section 4204(b), p. 1200)
  65. Pilot program for risk-factor assessments provided through community health centers (Section 4206, p. 1215)
  66. Grant program to increase epidemiology and laboratory capacity (Section 4304, p. 1233)
  67. Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee (Section 4305, p. 1238)
  68. National Health Care Workforce Commission (Section 5101, p. 1256)
  69. Grant program to plan health care workforce development activities (Section 5102(c), p. 1275)
  70. Grant program to implement health care workforce development activities (Section 5102(d), p. 1279)
  71. Pediatric specialty loan repayment program (Section 5203, p. 1295)
  72. Public Health Workforce Loan Repayment Program (Section 5204, p. 1300)
  73. Allied Health Loan Forgiveness Program (Section 5205, p. 1305)
  74. Grant program to provide mid-career training for health professionals (Section 5206, p. 1307)
  75. Grant program to fund nurse-managed health clinics (Section 5208, p. 1310)
  76. Grant program to support primary care training programs (Section 5301, p. 1315)
  77. Grant program to fund training for direct care workers (Section 5302, p. 1322)
  78. Grant program to develop dental training programs (Section 5303, p. 1325)
  79. Demonstration program to increase access to dental health care in underserved communities (Section 5304, p. 1331)
  80. Grant program to promote geriatric education centers (Section 5305, p. 1334)
  81. Grant program to promote health professionals entering geriatrics (Section 5305, p. 1339)
  82. Grant program to promote training in mental and behavioral health (Section 5306, p. 1344)
  83. Grant program to promote nurse retention programs (Section 5309, p. 1354)
  84. Student loan forgiveness for nursing school faculty (Section 5311(b), p. 1360)
  85. Grant program to promote positive health behaviors and outcomes (Section 5313, p. 1364)
  86. Public Health Sciences Track for medical students (Section 5315, p. 1372)
  87. Primary Care Extension Program to educate providers (Section 5405, p. 1404)
  88. Grant program for demonstration projects to address health workforce shortage needs (Section 5507, p. 1442)
  89. Grant program for demonstration projects to develop training programs for home health aides (Section 5507, p. 1447)
  90. Grant program to establish new primary care residency programs (Section 5508(a), p. 1458)
  91. Program of payments to teaching health centers that sponsor medical residency training (Section 5508(c), p. 1462)
  92. Graduate nurse education demonstration program (Section 5509, p. 1472)
  93. Grant program to establish demonstration projects for community-based mental health settings (Section 5604, p. 1486)
  94. Commission on Key National Indicators (Section 5605, p. 1489)
  95. Quality assurance and performance improvement program for skilled nursing facilities (Section 6102, p. 1554)
  96. Special focus facility program for skilled nursing facilities (Section 6103(a)(3), p. 1561)
  97. Special focus facility program for nursing facilities (Section 6103(b)(3), p. 1568)
  98. National independent monitor pilot program for skilled nursing facilities and nursing facilities (Section 6112, p. 1589)
  99. Demonstration projects for nursing facilities involved in the culture change movement (Section 6114, p. 1597)
  100. Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (Section 6301, p. 1619)
  101. Standing methodology committee for Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (Section 6301, p. 1629)
  102. Board of Governors for Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (Section 6301, p. 1638)
  103. Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund (Section 6301(e), p. 1656)
  104. Elder Justice Coordinating Council (Section 6703, p. 1773)
  105. Advisory Board on Elder Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation (Section 6703, p. 1776)
  106. Grant program to create elder abuse forensic centers (Section 6703, p. 1783)
  107. Grant program to promote continuing education for long-term care staffers (Section 6703, p. 1787)
  108. Grant program to improve management practices and training (Section 6703, p. 1788)
  109. Grant program to subsidize costs of electronic health records (Section 6703, p. 1791)
  110. Grant program to promote adult protective services (Section 6703, p. 1796)
  111. Grant program to conduct elder abuse detection and prevention (Section 6703, p. 1798)
  112. Grant program to support long-term care ombudsmen (Section 6703, p. 1800)
  113. National Training Institute for long-term care surveyors (Section 6703, p. 1806)
  114. Grant program to fund State surveys of long-term care residences (Section 6703, p. 1809)
  115. CLASS Independence Fund (Section 8002, p. 1926)
  116. CLASS Independence Fund Board of Trustees (Section 8002, p. 1927)
  117. CLASS Independence Advisory Council (Section 8002, p. 1931)
  118. Personal Care Attendants Workforce Advisory Panel (Section 8002(c), p. 1938)
  119. Multi-state health plans offered by Office of Personnel Management (Section 10104(p), p. 2086)
  120. Advisory board for multi-state health plans (Section 10104(p), p. 2094)
  121. Pregnancy Assistance Fund (Section 10212, p. 2164)
  122. Value-based purchasing program for ambulatory surgical centers (Section 10301, p. 2176)
  123. Demonstration project for payment adjustments to home health services (Section 10315, p. 2200)
  124. Pilot program for care of individuals in environmental emergency declaration areas (Section 10323, p. 2223)
  125. Grant program to screen at-risk individuals for environmental health conditions (Section 10323(b), p. 2231)
  126. Pilot programs to implement value-based purchasing (Section 10326, p. 2242)
  127. Grant program to support community-based collaborative care networks (Section 10333, p. 2265)
  128. Centers for Disease Control Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272)
  129. Health Resources and Services Administration Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272)
  130. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272)
  131. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272)
  132. Food and Drug Administration Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272)
  133. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272)
  134. Grant program to promote small business wellness programs (Section 10408, p. 2285)
  135. Cures Acceleration Network (Section 10409, p. 2289)
  136. Cures Acceleration Network Review Board (Section 10409, p. 2291)
  137. Grant program for Cures Acceleration Network (Section 10409, p. 2297)
  138. Grant program to promote centers of excellence for depression (Section 10410, p. 2304)
  139. Advisory committee for young women’s breast health awareness education campaign (Section 10413, p. 2322)
  140. Grant program to provide assistance to provide information to young women with breast cancer (Section 10413, p. 2326)
  141. Interagency Access to Health Care in Alaska Task Force (Section 10501, p. 2329)
  142. Grant program to train nurse practitioners as primary care providers (Section 10501(e), p. 2332)
  143. Grant program for community-based diabetes prevention (Section 10501(g), p. 2337)
  144. Grant program for providers who treat a high percentage of medically underserved populations (Section 10501(k), p. 2343)
  145. Grant program to recruit students to practice in underserved communities (Section 10501(l), p. 2344)
  146. Community Health Center Fund (Section 10503, p. 2355)
  147. Demonstration project to provide access to health care for the uninsured at reduced fees (Section 10504, p. 2357)
  148. Demonstration program to explore alternatives to tort litigation (Section 10607, p. 2369)
  149. Indian Health demonstration program for chronic shortages of health professionals (S. 1790, Section 112, p. 24)*
  150. Office of Indian Men’s Health (S. 1790, Section 136, p. 71)*
  151. Indian Country modular component facilities demonstration program (S. 1790, Section 146, p. 108)*
  152. Indian mobile health stations demonstration program (S. 1790, Section 147, p. 111)*
  153. Office of Direct Service Tribes (S. 1790, Section 172, p. 151)*
  154. Indian Health Service mental health technician training program (S. 1790, Section 181, p. 173)*
  155. Indian Health Service program for treatment of child sexual abuse victims (S. 1790, Section 181, p. 192)*
  156. Indian Health Service program for treatment of domestic violence and sexual abuse (S. 1790, Section 181, p. 194)*
  157. Indian youth telemental health demonstration project (S. 1790, Section 181, p. 204)*
  158. Indian youth life skills demonstration project (S. 1790, Section 181, p. 220)*
  159. Indian Health Service Director of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Treatment (S. 1790, Section 199B, p. 258)*

 

*Section 10221, page 2173 of H.R. 3590 deems that S. 1790 shall be deemed as passed with certain amendments.