“Health care reform in the United States” on The Daily Caller

Republicans have said it over and over again: it’s time for Washington to focus on the economy and jobs. (more)

Last month, John Chikos of Illinois suffered a massive heart attack — the kind so severe that it is often called a “widow maker.” (more)

1.) Desperate Dems attempt to rebrand the Obamacare repeal effort — House Republicans politely declined to remove the word “killing” from the “Repealing the Job Killing Health Health Care Law Act,” so Democrats decided to come up with a phrase of their own. “The Patient’s Rights Repeal Act” is what they settled on. Incidentally, the GOP’s name is pretty accurate: In June, the Boston Globe reported that “a 2.3 percent excise tax on companies that supply medical devices like heart defibrillators and surgical tools to hospitals, health centers and ambulance services will cost medical device manufacturers an estimated $20 billion in new taxes over the next decade. And they say that will force them to lay off workers and curb the research and development of new medical tools.” A report released by Senators Coburn and Barasso in October found that the outlook was equally bad in other industries. Meanwhile, “patient’s rights” is pure hogwash–as any depressed owner of a now useless health savings account will tell you. (more)

T-mobile gets better reception than Obamacare. Support for the law cratered to just 43 percent — an all-time low — in last month’s Washington Post poll. And since two more provisions took effect on January 1, repeal ought to be Republicans’ top priority — come Hell or high water. (more)

There was no way that they would fail. Their bonds were rated AAA, they were managed by the chairman of the stock market, they were America’s seventh largest company, and expert accountants confirmed their long-term fiscal viability. But still, AIG, Madoff Investment Securities, Enron, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac all went bankrupt. (more)

Despite efforts by Senate Democrats to severely restrict the use of the filibuster, it seems as though they will use any tactic, including the filibuster, to see that the effort to repeal Obamacare never makes it to this president’s desk. It’s clear that House Republicans’ repeal efforts are just the first step in a long process. Republicans and conservatives understand and accept this, which is why a strategic plan is needed. (more)

In the coming days, the House of Representatives will take up and overwhelmingly pass a bill to repeal the health care bill signed into law last year. The repeal bill will then languish in the Senate; Democrats simply have the numbers, and the president’s veto. Yet, this doesn’t mean that more subtle reforms to the bill are off the table — in fact, they’re likely to see implementation, presidential signature and all. (more)

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made clear Thursday that as long as he’s in charge, no effort to repeal the health care law will see the light of day beyond the House, but Senate Democrats said they are open to changing parts of the law over the next year. (more)

Americans have a love/hate affair with health insurers. We like that they provide coverage for expensive things like hospitalization and surgeries, but get annoyed when they deny coverage for medications or other services we think should be covered. We are sometimes annoyed with the high compensation level of their executives, but we like the fact that some 80+ percent of us have coverage through our employer, so we don’t have to spend time shopping in the individual market to make sense of complicated policies. Of course, getting coverage through group plans at work naturally limits the number of available options, so we tend to bitch and moan about this as well. Hence, our attitudes about health insurance companies are often contradictory and ambivalent. (more)

Today marks the day that Members, some returning and some new, will be sworn into the 112th Congress. In our oath of affirmation, all Members will vow to support the Constitution. Committed to protecting and abiding by the Constitution, I will work hard to restore the trust the American people have in their government. (more)

Rep.-elect Joe Walsh, a Republican from Illinois, will make good on a campaign promise and forgo government provided health care for himself and his wife in protest of the Obama’s health care plan — in spite of his wife’s a preexisting condition. (more)

House Republicans are wasting no time making good on their campaign pledge to repeal President Barack Obama’s health care reform law: Floor debate on repeal will begin Friday, with a final vote scheduled for Jan. 12. (more)

Happy New Year, right?! Hugs and kisses for all! Let’s all hold hands and sing “We are the World”! (more)

A top House Republican said Sunday that he expects “significant” bipartisan support for a proposed repeal of the health care overhaul — a vote he said would be held before President Obama’s State of the Union address. (more)

If grandma narrowly escaped being run over by a reindeer this Christmas, she may still suffer a worse New Years Day fate. (more)

WASHINGTON — When a proposal to encourage end-of-life planning touched off a political storm over “death panels,” Democrats dropped it from legislation to overhaul the health care system. But the Obama administration will achieve the same goal by regulation, starting Jan. 1. (more)

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) just announced a three-month delay of the implementation of new rules for face-to-face encounters for home care and hospice patients and their physicians. The National Association for Home Care and Hospice commends CMS for recognizing the need to delay implementation and is grateful that CMS listened to our concerns and has given a reprieve in the enforcement of the face-to-face encounter requirements. This is a serious issue and it is important to protect the care provided to patients. While this is not a total solution to the issues, it is an important first step. (more)

Calling Obamacare a government takeover of health care is the “lie of the year,” according to the self-proclaimed oracle of all things true and untrue in the political debate. That outrageous proclamation from PolitiFact shows that its editors need a Truth-O-Meter of their own. (more)

“Death by a thousand cuts,” a slow form of torture and execution that originated in Imperial China, could aptly describe what appears to be happening to the recently enacted health care reform law. (more)

For the first time since Democrats in Congress passed the health care bill in March, a majority of U.S. voters believe the measure is likely to be repealed. (more)