Wendell Potter's Blog, page 20

GOP Opposition to Obamacare Baffles Dr. Sullivan

Commentary: former HHS secretary says Affordable Care Act resembles plan crafted by Republicans in early 1990s. The Republican leadership’s intense opposition to the Affordable Care Act clearly baffles — and disappoints — one of the party’s most admired figures, former Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Louis W. Sullivan. Speaking at the opening session of [...]

March ACA Enrollment Madness?

While media obsess about an exchange enrollment goal of 6 million, that’s likely just a fraction of the Americans who will end up covered. We’re now in the single digits in our countdown to the end of being able to buy health insurance on the Obamacare exchanges, but that doesn’t mean that those exchanges are [...]

The Health Care Industry’s Campaign of Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt

Commentary: insurers use front groups and spin doctors to sow concerns about Obamacare. Yesterday marked the fourth anniversary of Obamacare, but it marked the seventh anniversary of opposition to the concept underlying health care reform. At least two years before the first words of legislation were written, and three years before the Affordable Care Act [...]

Why a Trip to the Dentist Costs So Much Now — And What We Can Do About It

Author’s Note: This is the fourth in a series of articles examining America’s oral health care crisis. Be sure to read part three, “Resolving to Take Better Care of Our Teeth Could Save Our Lives — And Billions of Dollars.” Have you or a member of your family skipped a visit to the dentist because [...]

Enrollment: ‘Beating the Clock’ Isn’t Enough

There are plenty of reasons to rush to beat ACA’s enrollment cutoff. Even more critical? Taking your time to explore your policy options. With just two weeks remaining before the window slams shut on the Affordable Care Act’s open enrollment period, unquestionably, the best advice for the uninsured is to run – don’t walk – [...]

Obamacare Subscribers: Beware of High Deductibles

Coverage ‘not as affordable as many people need it to be.’ House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi last Thursday rejected the notion that Democrat Alex Sink’s narrow loss to Republican David Jolly in last week’s special election in Florida — in a congressional district that Republicans have held for half a century — was a referendum [...]

Exposing Tragic Myths of the World’s ‘Greatest’ Health Care System

Daily Show and Remote Area Medical reveal hardships right here at home. If you want to see a media pundit rendered utterly speechless, reduced to babbling as he tries to justify his claim that Obamacare is leading the United States to third world status, you must watch Daily Show “correspondent” Aasif Mandvi’s Thursday night takedown [...]

Dizzying Array of Options in Obamacare Can Lead to Expensive Mistakes

Too much choice can be a bad thing. With fewer than 30 shopping days left before Obamacare open enrollment ends on March 31, if you want to get coverage through the health insurance marketplace and avoid having to pay a penalty, you should log on sooner rather than later. Although most of the problems with [...]

Small-Screen Coverage Misses Big Picture

NBC News segment blames ACA for small-biz ‘sticker shock’ but the 3-minute report doesn’t have time for critical facts; misses major trend. For months, critics of the Affordable Care Act have been flooding the media with stories about how the health reform law intrudes on the lives of Americans. Some media reports have described how [...]

New Fed Study Says Health Reform Can Reduce Financial Stress

Study of Massachusetts health law cited personal bankruptcy reduction, fewer delinquencies, improved credit scores. One of the great hopes of health care reform is that it will reduce the number of Americans who file for bankruptcy because of medical debt. A new study in Massachusetts is providing evidence that the reform law passed in that state in [...]