l****z
发帖数: 29846 | 1 Obamacare: State Dems’ Worst Nightmare
Troubles with liberal states’ exchanges are dragging down their Democratic
governors.
By Michael Tanner
As the bad news about Obamacare’s federal operations keeps on coming, it’s
worth keeping in mind that the law is a mess at the state level as well.
The big question will be whether the failures will hurt Democratic state
politicians as much as Obamacare appears likely to drag down national
Democrats. Most of the 17 states that chose to set up and operate their own
Obamacare exchanges are deep-blue states, where Democratic governors and
legislators see few serious challenges to their power. Yet, the level of
corruption and incompetence — not to mention the cost to taxpayers — is so
outrageous that, even in these Democratic bastions, it might give voters
pause.
Among the most egregious examples:
Colorado
In Colorado, the original director of the state exchange, Christa Ann
McClure, was placed on administrative leave after news leaked out that she
had been indicted for stealing while serving as executive director of the
federally funded Housing Montana. At that agency, she paid herself “
significant sums” for consulting services even though she was already on
the payroll as a full-time employee. The indictment also alleged that she “
made payments to her family and used federal money for personal travel, to
pay family bills and to buy consulting services.”
Meanwhile, Colorado’s exchange struggled to meet minimum enrollment goals.
Undeterred by mediocre performance and prior mismanagement, the exchange
board voted to give new CEO Patty Fontneau a $14,000 bonus last year along
with a 2.5 percent cost-of-living raise, making her the third most highly
paid manager of a state health exchange in the country, behind only
California and Connecticut.
At the same time they’re getting bonuses and raises, exchange officials are
trying to figure out how to squeeze enough revenue from state taxpayers to
finance the exchange when initial federal grants run dry. The Colorado
exchange currently charges customers a 1.4 percent user fee, and it will
likely have to be increased. Some officials want to charge everyone with
health insurance in the state, not just exchange enrollees, to the tune of $
13 million in fees in both 2015 and 2016.
Incumbent governor John Hickenlooper has managed to dodge the fallout so far
. But even a weak Republican — former congressman Tom Tancredo — is still
within striking distance.
Hawaii
Despite a two-week delay in opening, the state’s exchange operated so
poorly that it managed to enroll just 9,217 individuals, after being awarded
$205 million for construction costs. That’s roughly $22,278 per enrollee,
by far the highest in the nation. Things will get a little better: The state
continues to try to process a backlog of nearly 11,000 people who were
unable to sign up by the March 31 deadline. Unfortunately, they’re being
forced to rely on call centers to address the backlog because the computer
system is still not functioning properly.
It may not be a coincidence that former Republican lieutenant governor James
Aiona seems to be leading the incumbent governor Neil Abercrombie in the
polls.
Maryland
Few states made as big a mess of their exchange as the Old Line State. It
spent roughly $120 million to set up its own exchange and then managed to
sign up fewer than 68,000 people for private plans — less than two-thirds
of its goal. More than 80 percent of total exchange enrollment was in
Medicaid.
Things got so bad that the state eventually junked its entire exchange
infrastructure. It plans to rebuild an exchange based on Connecticut’s more
successful design, at an additional cost of about $50 million. And now
there are concerns that this new setup won’t be ready on time. The Obama
administration is thus threatening to withhold additional funds and suggest
that Maryland move to the federal exchange.
Significantly, the man in charge of the Maryland exchange program was
Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown, who is now the front-runner for the
Democratic gubernatorial nomination. Despite the state’s overwhelming
Democratic registration advantage, Maryland did have a Republican governor
as recently as 2007 — expect Obamacare to be a big issue in the fall.
Massachusetts
If any state could get its exchange right, one might think, it would be the
home of Romneycare.
But despite spending more than $134 million, when the law’s exchanges
debuted on October 1, the state was only able to deploy part of its website.
As of mid March, Massachusetts had about 84,000 residents on temporary
health-insurance plans while work continues on the website. The state still
hasn’t been able to transfer another 100,000 people on a state-subsidized
health plan into federally approved plans. Now, the legislature is debating
whether to try to adapt software used by Colorado and Kentucky or to scrap
its exchange altogether and let the federal government step in.
Obamacare remains popular in heavily Democratic Massachusetts, but the
Republican candidate for governor, former insurance executive Charlie Baker,
is running a surprisingly competitive race, within seven points of Martha
Coakley according to recent polls.
Minnesota
The state’s exchange, MNSure, cost taxpayers more than $141 million, but
has been in crisis mode almost since the moment it began. State officials
had expected MNSure to enroll up to 1.3 million people for insurance by 2016
, but so far barely 117,000 people have signed up. The exchange is also
facing a significant budget shortfall for next year that could force the
state to raise taxes.
Governor Mark Dayton remains popular in the state, but it’s worth noting
that his lead over Republican challenger Jeff Johnson is down to just six
points in recent polling.
Oregon
The state’s $248 million exchange was so broken from the beginning that it
was forced to rely on manual processing for nearly all of their sign-ups.
Partly as a result, just 68,000 people signed up for coverage. The state is
now planning to switch to the federal exchange, at an additional cost of $18
to $53 million.
Incumbent governor John Kitzhaber has maintained a solid lead against his
Republican opponent, Dennis Richardson, but Kitzhaber remains under 50
percent.
Not every state is this bad, of course. A few state exchanges, such as
Kentucky, New York, and Connecticut have functioned relatively well. Then
again, considering the nationwide wreckage just described, “relatively” is
a pretty low bar.
It’s way too early to get carried away — Democrats will probably still win
most of these races discussed. We are talking blue states after all, and
Democrats do still lead in every race except Hawaii’s. But given the states
in question, the Democratic candidates really should be up by 20 or more
points, not scraping by with single-digit leads.
There are plenty of factors in play, but it’s become increasingly apparent
that for Republicans on the state and federal level, Obamacare is the gift
that keeps on giving.
— Michael Tanner is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and the author of
Leviathan on the Right: How Big-Government Conservatism Brought Down the
Republican Revolution. | t*c
发帖数: 8291 | 2 如果下一届还是民主党总统的话，这个国家就彻底没救了。
奥巴马总统任期还有两年半，要是再有一个民主党八年。
十年时间，足够把弄成二流国家了。
Democratic
’s
own
【在 l****z 的大作中提到】
: Obamacare: State Dems’ Worst Nightmare
: Troubles with liberal states’ exchanges are dragging down their Democratic
: governors.
: By Michael Tanner
: As the bad news about Obamacare’s federal operations keeps on coming, it’s
: worth keeping in mind that the law is a mess at the state level as well.
: The big question will be whether the failures will hurt Democratic state
: politicians as much as Obamacare appears likely to drag down national
: Democrats. Most of the 17 states that chose to set up and operate their own
: Obamacare exchanges are deep-blue states, where Democratic governors and
| p**j
发帖数: 7063 | 3 那样的话，就足以证明美国选民完全没有是非判断力了，这才是最可怕的。希拉里有个
屁的政绩，居然有那么多人支持。
【在 t*c 的大作中提到】
: 如果下一届还是民主党总统的话，这个国家就彻底没救了。
: 奥巴马总统任期还有两年半，要是再有一个民主党八年。
: 十年时间，足够把弄成二流国家了。
:
: Democratic
: ’s
: own
| T*********I
发帖数: 10729 | 4 没选Romney已经证明美国人民judgement的问题了。
【在 p**j 的大作中提到】
: 那样的话，就足以证明美国选民完全没有是非判断力了，这才是最可怕的。希拉里有个
: 屁的政绩，居然有那么多人支持。
| t*c
发帖数: 8291 | 5 其实romney说的47%确实是美国问题的针结所在。
随着中南美移民的快速涌入，这个47%会继续扩大。
【在 T*********I 的大作中提到】
: 没选Romney已经证明美国人民judgement的问题了。
| m********8
发帖数: 7463 | 6 再选8年民猪党，过后还会有一众傻逼说“再选。。。美国就如何如何。。。”
美国已经没救了
本版一众ID就是in denial. 鸵鸟。誓死不愿接受现实而已
【在 T*********I 的大作中提到】
: 没选Romney已经证明美国人民judgement的问题了。
| u***n
发帖数: 10554 | 7 will be 74%
【在 t*c 的大作中提到】
: 其实romney说的47%确实是美国问题的针结所在。
: 随着中南美移民的快速涌入，这个47%会继续扩大。
| T*********I
发帖数: 10729 | 8 怎么没接受。都recognize奥巴马是总统，虽然很多方面不认同他的judgement和能力。
泰坦尼克号上的人，试图这里补丁一块，那里补丁一块地救船，还能怎样呢？
【在 m********8 的大作中提到】
: 再选8年民猪党，过后还会有一众傻逼说“再选。。。美国就如何如何。。。”
: 美国已经没救了
: 本版一众ID就是in denial. 鸵鸟。誓死不愿接受现实而已
| c****i
发帖数: 7933 | 9 同意，根本救不回來了。
【在 m********8 的大作中提到】
: 再选8年民猪党，过后还会有一众傻逼说“再选。。。美国就如何如何。。。”
: 美国已经没救了
: 本版一众ID就是in denial. 鸵鸟。誓死不愿接受现实而已
| T*****9
发帖数: 3015 | 10 能见证美帝no zuo no die这辈子也值了 | | | m********g
发帖数: 10469 | 11 这倒是实话，老右们要接受现实。果蝇这条肥蛆说过一句有点用的话，唐人街偷渡的拿
福利免费医保爽得狠爱档妈是真心地爱，跟你们拿paycheck不一条路。
唧唧歪歪人拿福利的会把国家吃垮，没有用。人文化不高，但也明白着你们老右呆美国
工作替主党当好奶妈，他们的好日子一眼看不到头。
老右们还是苦练内功多留后路，没事上来学人辟谣客钱挣得烧手闲了上来操几个左逼奴
才泄泻火才是正道，国是救不了地。
【在 m********8 的大作中提到】
: 再选8年民猪党，过后还会有一众傻逼说“再选。。。美国就如何如何。。。”
: 美国已经没救了
: 本版一众ID就是in denial. 鸵鸟。誓死不愿接受现实而已
| b*****e
发帖数: 53215 | 12 救神马鸡毛国，这又不是我们的国家，吃垮了分行李散伙就完了
【在 m********g 的大作中提到】
: 这倒是实话，老右们要接受现实。果蝇这条肥蛆说过一句有点用的话，唐人街偷渡的拿
: 福利免费医保爽得狠爱档妈是真心地爱，跟你们拿paycheck不一条路。
: 唧唧歪歪人拿福利的会把国家吃垮，没有用。人文化不高，但也明白着你们老右呆美国
: 工作替主党当好奶妈，他们的好日子一眼看不到头。
: 老右们还是苦练内功多留后路，没事上来学人辟谣客钱挣得烧手闲了上来操几个左逼奴
: 才泄泻火才是正道，国是救不了地。
| m********g
发帖数: 10469 | 13 就这道理，救个鸡巴鸟国。加州龟公献了自家的菊花还得献子孙，被档妈操的遍体鳞伤
还为档妈四处奔走，这就不能怪奥巴马和档了。
人不能和大势斗，王朝兴衰历史规律。老右们就心疼挣下的大房子，忍辱负重在美国当
奶妈发发牢骚也是可以理解。
【在 b*****e 的大作中提到】
: 救神马鸡毛国，这又不是我们的国家，吃垮了分行李散伙就完了
| l*******g
发帖数: 27064 | 14 所以说这些票蛆都是白痴，民猪党一直在增加吃福利的基本盘，吃的人多了，美国国债
也一直在增加，总有一天搞的大家都没得吃，既然你已经吃上了，其实选共和党才是能
够保持这个铁饭碗，让这些人能够长期合法吃福利的最佳选择。可惜这些人转不过弯来
【在 m********g 的大作中提到】
: 这倒是实话，老右们要接受现实。果蝇这条肥蛆说过一句有点用的话，唐人街偷渡的拿
: 福利免费医保爽得狠爱档妈是真心地爱，跟你们拿paycheck不一条路。
: 唧唧歪歪人拿福利的会把国家吃垮，没有用。人文化不高，但也明白着你们老右呆美国
: 工作替主党当好奶妈，他们的好日子一眼看不到头。
: 老右们还是苦练内功多留后路，没事上来学人辟谣客钱挣得烧手闲了上来操几个左逼奴
: 才泄泻火才是正道，国是救不了地。
| q*c
发帖数: 9453 | 15 民众不白痴，国家怎么破灭？
【在 l*******g 的大作中提到】
: 所以说这些票蛆都是白痴，民猪党一直在增加吃福利的基本盘，吃的人多了，美国国债
: 也一直在增加，总有一天搞的大家都没得吃，既然你已经吃上了，其实选共和党才是能
: 够保持这个铁饭碗，让这些人能够长期合法吃福利的最佳选择。可惜这些人转不过弯来
|
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