Sep 182013
 

Even after a Supreme Court ruling and a presidential election, Republicans remain fixated on dismantling Obamacare. Their latest strategy is to defund Obamacare by holding the federal budget or the debt ceiling hostage. Jonathan Chait’s recent piece on the ongoing plot to destroy Obamacare provides keen insight into the fears driving this last, desperate rearguard action by conservatives. Despite making nonstop proclamations that Obamacare is already a failure, conservatives rightly worry that Obamacare will successfully provide affordable health coverage to millions at affordable prices. It could redefine the role of government in a key component of both the economy and daily life, a prospect that most conservatives simply can’t abide.

These last-minute hijinks will come to nothing. The President and Congressional Democrats will never agree to anything that delays or defunds the most significant social legislation of the past forty years. It may take a government shutdown or a flirtation with financial ruin to bring Republican leaders to the realization that their Tea Party colleagues must be abandoned in the wilderness for their party to survive.

Sep 092013
 

Minnesota recently announced the rates for health plans that will be offered through the MNsure marketplace and they are the lowest of any state operating its own exchange. This is good news for families and small businesses who are considering purchasing coverage through MNsure and it may encourage more people to do the same. The participating plans deserve some credit for keeping their plans affordable (but let’s be clear—lower premiums should result in more customers for these plans). Whether these rates will remain affordable after three or five years is an open question, but this is a promising start.

But the data I’m really interested in are enrollment numbers, which should begin arriving in another month or so.

Sep 042013
 

In a move that is likely to annoy the suits at the NFL, the Baltimore Ravens announced they would help promote Maryland’s insurance exchange. It’s heartening to see a professional sports team put the needs of the local community before the political concerns of the league and hopefully other teams will follow the Ravens’ lead. Perhaps even the Vikings will be persuaded to partner with MNsure once they’ve convinced state officials they can pay their share for a new stadium.

It’s too bad Wisconsin doesn’t have its own exchange. The Packers have a long history of community outreach and would be great at this sort of thing.

Aug 192013
 

Minnesota has recruited legendary lumberjack Paul Bunyan and his blue ox Babe to be the official representatives of MNsure, the state’s insurance exchange. They’ll be featured in a multimedia campaign that depicts Bunyan suffering various accidents that would require an expensive trip to the ER. The slogan “Land of 10,000 Reasons to Get Health Insurance” seems a little clunky, but it gets the point across. The campaign has a folksy Minnesota appeal that should play well around the state. I noticed a couple MNsure billboards during my drive home today, so it looks like the messaging has already begun.

Aug 142013
 

Like their national counterparts, local opponents of health care reform are resorting to desperate measures to persuade people to avoid purchasing insurance through the exchange. A Minnesota group led by a fervent Tea Party idelogue named Twila Brace has posted an ominous billboard near the Minnesota State Fairgrounds implying that people won’t be able choose their own doctor. It’s misinformation, of course, but what’s more interesting is Brace’s open admission of her desire to sabotage Obamacare:

“We look at the exchange as the Achilles heel of ObamaCare,” Twila Brace, the council’s executive director, told KARE Monday.

“And we know if the Exchange does not move forward, neither will ObamaCare, so that is why our focus is on stopping the exchange through lack of enrollment.”

MNsure will have to work hard to counter this propaganda in the coming months. People are already easily confused when it comes to understanding health insurance and they’ll need reassurance that signing up is in their best interests.

Aug 062013
 

Over at the Amazon Daily Washington Post, Sarah Kliff has a great piece about the young people who are trying to persuade their peers to not sign up for Obamacare. Funded by conservative groups like FreedomWorks, these college kids are doing their best to keep young people out of the insurance marketplaces, which will drive up insurance premiums for everyone else. They are even co-opting a bit of Sixties counterculture symbolism in an effort to drive their message home. They invite people to burn their “Obamacare cards” as a gesture of civil disobedience. But like a lot of conservative attempts to borrow from youth culture, this effort has all the forced awkwardness of Mitt Romney showing up at the Pitchfork Music Festival in a faded Replacements T-shirt.

Let’s set aside the fact that Obamacare cards don’t exist, which requires activists to mock up and print out their own cards for burning. They are trying to draw parallels between refusing to participate in an unpopular war and screwing yourself over by not obtaining health insurance because freedom and stuff. Maybe I’m underestimating the potency of their message and in the fall we’ll see wall-to-wall coverage of people taking a lighter to their fake Obamacare cards. But I’m guessing that most Millennials are smart enough to figure out what’s in their best interest.

Jul 312013
 

Constituent service is one of the more mundane responsibilities of Congressional members, but it’s a vital service for the people they represent. When people have trouble with their Social Security or veteran benefits, they can call their representative or senator and expect to receive assistance. However, some GOP members have decided that they will not assist people who have issues with obtaining health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Here’s a couple choice quotes from Republican representatives:

“Given that we come from Kansas, it’s much easier to say, ‘Call your former governor,'” said Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R), referring to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

“You say, ‘She’s the one. She’s responsible. She was your governor, elected twice, and now you reelected the president, but he picked her.'” Huelskamp said.

“We know how to forward a phone call,” said Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah).

 

Conservatives’ pathological opposition to the ACA is one thing, but refusing to help constituents access a legitimate government program is breathtaking in its nihilism. It’s yet another example of the sabotage mentality that has consumed the Tea Party faction. It’s also another reason for the Obama administration to ensure that it runs an effective outreach campaign that bypasses the intransigence of elected officials.

“Given that we come from Kansas, it’s much easier to say, ‘Call your former governor,'” said Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R), referring to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

“You say, ‘She’s the one. She’s responsible. She was your governor, elected twice, and now you reelected the president, but he picked her.'” Huelskamp said.

“We know how to forward a phone call,” said Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah).



Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/health-reform-implementation/305777-gop-to-constituents-questions-on-obamacare-call-obama?wpisrc=nl_wonk_b#ixzz2aeSGonOn 
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Jul 242013
 

The Strib reports on the initial outreach efforts to spread the word about MNsure, Minnesota’s insurance exchange. The big push will begin closer to the State Fair, which is how we Northlanders mark the end of the summer. This might be a good time to mention that I’ll be happy to help people navigate the MNsure website once open enrollment begins on October 1st. The site should be straightforward to use, but a little guidance never hurts. I’ll repeat this offer as October draws near.

Jul 222013
 

I’m on vacation most of the week, so blogging may be light for a few days. My new wheelchair arrived late last week and I’m still trying to work out some of the kinks. The total pricetag came to $14,000. The tilt function alone is listed at $5,000. The joystick and LCD screen: another $1,500. My insurance covered the total cost, but the massively inflated prices are yet another symptom of our dysfunctional health care system. There’s no good reason a simple joystick and display should cost more than my iPhone.

Jul 112013
 

MPR’s Catherine Richert delivers a must-read on how Minnesota is the only state to implement all three major components of the ACA: a state-run exchange, the Medicaid expansion, and a basic health plan (in the form of MinnesotaCare). Richert notes that Minnesota’s ambitious plans may either earn it accolades as a leader in health care reform if everything goes well. Or it may become a whipping post for reform opponents if things go badly.

Minnesota has a history of leadership on health care access and I expect that to continue long after 2014. Implementation may be a bit rocky in the early going, but that’s to be expected with any major initiative like this. Of course, my position within the state bureaucracy may bias me. Minnesota has too much at stake to allow all this work come to a futile end. The risks to the state are huge, but the payoff should be a healthier, more economically secure citizenry.