Tag Archives | Obamacare

Michigan Senate lets another day go by without a Medicaid expansion vote

By on June 18, 2013 in Michigan Republicans

Are Senate Republicans just running out the clock before summer recess? Or are they seriously considering Medicaid expansion’s merits?

After a day reportedly spent largely discussing Medicaid expansion, the Michigan Senate adjourned without voting on the issue. There’s no guarantee they’ll vote on it Wednesday or Thursday, when they adjourn for summer recess.

I really have nothing to go on but my gut, here, but the delay is making me anxious. Very anxious. Especially considering that Governor Rick Snyder is in Israel (although reportedly weighing in on Medicaid expansion, which he’s long supported) and Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley is out of town, and therefore unable to cast a tie-breaking vote if needed.…


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UPDATED: Michigan House votes in favor of Medicaid expansion 76 to 31

By on June 13, 2013 in Michigan Democrats, Michigan Republicans

I’ve never been more optimistic. Keep up the activism.

UPDATED with links to a new action tool and a petition to be delivered directly to the Senate. See below.

I was hopeful, then I was nervous and now I’m genuinely surprised — in the best possible way.

I’m thrilled by the number of Michigan Representatives who voted in favor of Medicaid expansion. The margin is especially significant because so many were against it until now.

I don’t have all the particulars yet. But, clearly, common sense prevailed late Thursday night. Even more important, the best interests of Michigan and its citizens took precedence over politics.…


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Tea Party activists turn against Michigan Gov. Snyder for supporting Medicaid expansion

By on June 11, 2013 in Rick Snyder, Tea Party

An open letter urges conservatives to “sit out” Governor Rick Snyder’s re-election campaign.

That’s how much the Michigan Tea Party hates Obamacare. They’d sabotage the Republican Governor’s chances of winning re-election to prove a point.

They published an open letter today railing against Gov. Snyder’s continued efforts to convince the Michigan legislature to accept Medicaid expansion. Never mind the fact that Medicaid expansion would bring more than $1 billion in federal funding into the state to provide healthcare coverage to as many as 730,000 uninsured citizens, along with 18,000 jobs and $2 billion in economic activity by 2016. You can read details of the benefits here.…


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Maintain the momentum: We’re gaining ground on Medicaid expansion

By on June 11, 2013 in Michigan Democrats, Michigan Republicans, Tea Party

The House GOP is dropping demands for a 48-month cap on Medicaid coverage for able-bodied adults.

The Michigan Tea Party can’t be happy about this. There are signs of Republican willingness to compromise on Medicaid expansion, a big step forward in making it a reality in Michigan.

Yesterday, a story in Crain’s Detroit Business reported that House Republicans were abandoning their effort to place a 48-month cap on able-bodied adults’ access to Medicaid under expansion. This proposal had been blasted by Democrats and wasn’t embraced by Governor Rick Snyder. As I wrote here when the proposal was introduced, it would almost undoubtedly have been rejected by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.…


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GOP: Obamacare is evil. Except when it makes me look very, very good.

By on June 7, 2013 in GOP, GOPocrisy, Obama

GOPocrisy at it finest

Lee Fang has a great piece up at The Nation this week detailing new evidence of the unrelenting hypocrisy of Republican legislators on the Affordable Care Act. After spending four years demonizing it, many of them continue reap the political gains from the benefits it brings to their communities.

Click through for more.


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From the repeals to the ridiculous: Lies Republicans tell about Obamacare

By on May 30, 2013 in Republicans, Tea Party

Some Republicans will say anything to see the Affordable Care Act fail. The best defense is the truth.

Now I’ve heard everything. Well, probably not, when it comes to myths the GOP invents about Obamacare. But this one’s a doozy.

On the May 29 edition of The Last Word, I saw Tea Party Republicans leading citizens at a town hall meeting to believe that the IRS will get to make decisions about whether or not they receive healthcare coverage or treatment. I’m paraphrasing, but the gist was, “If they don’t like your politics or your religion, they won’t let you get care!”

Here’s the clip:

It’s so preposterous it’s hardly worth mentioning.…


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Michigan House GOP’s proposal makes a mockery of Medicaid expansion

By on May 10, 2013 in Michigan Republicans

It’s just another end-run around Obamacare that’s almost certain to fail — and could drag Medicaid expansion down with it.

Don’t let the Michigan House GOP fool you. They don’t really want Medicaid expansion in Michigan. They just want you to think they do.

Click through for the full story.


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Time for Dems to Stand Behind Elizabeth Colbert Busch

By on May 6, 2013 in Democrats

Let’s just remember who our opponent is in this race.

The race to win South Carolina’s 1st District Congressional seat in a special election on Tuesday is virtually a dead heat. Former Republican Governor Mark Sanford has closed in on Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch’s early lead, with at least one poll putting him one point ahead.

From what I’ve seen, Sanford has largely achieved this through attack ads and accusations. Although, honestly, I can’t believe voters aren’t shaking their heads over his talking-to-a-cardboard-cutout-of-Nancy-Pelosi stunt. I’m not even going to get into his personal transgressions.

But some Democrats aren’t exactly helping Colbert Busch’s cause, vilifying her for the comments she made about Obamacare during her debate with Sanford.…


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Michigan’s “Religious Liberty & Moral Conscience Protection Act” Isn’t Really About Religious Liberty

By on April 26, 2013 in Michigan Republicans

It’s about opposing Obamacare from every possible angle.

Considering all the shenanigans in the Michigan legislature lately, you might have forgotten about Michigan Senate Bill 136, the “Religious Liberty & Moral Conscience Protection Act.” Well, I haven’t — and I hope you won’t, either. It could come up for a vote in the Senate at any time and we need to let our Senators know this bill does not represent the will of most Michiganders, including many in the healthcare field.

As I wrote here previously, the bill would give healthcare providers, facilities and insurers the right to refuse to provide or cover “objectionable” healthcare services on religious or moral grounds. But the bill is alarmingly vague, opening the door to discrimination and refusal to provide care to almost anyone, for almost any reason.

Worst of all, there are no genuine protections for patients in this bill. Those are even more vague because the bill isn’t about patient care at all. It’s about legislators and a vocal minority who want to put up roadblocks to anything even remotely related to Obamacare, the Affordable Care Act.

Click through for more.


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Michigan Republican Joe Hune doesn’t believe ER use by the poor is driving up health care costs

By on April 15, 2013 in Michigan Republicans

Dude, are you SERIOUS???!

There’s a piece in today’s Livingston County Press & Argus that starts with this statement: “Both those for and against the Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare,” agree on one thing: Emergency room visits by those with little or no insurance are driving health-care cost increases.” The article then goes on to prove that’s not entirely correct. Apparently Republican state Senator Joe Hune DISAGREES with this.

All the facepalming details after the jump.


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