Obama Administration Admits Obamacare Will Lead to Rationing

From John Hawkins at Right Wing News:

Back when Obama was trying to convince Congress to destroy America’s health care system in the name of expanding government and giving Democrats more power, his administration claimed that there would be no rationing under the program:

“No one here is talking about rationing,” said Peter Orszag, director of the White House Office for Management and Budget. “What we are talking about, look at the source of that 30 percent or so in potential efficiency gains in the health system are from unnecessary procedures, unnecessary days in hospital, unnecessary applications of technology and what have you.”

But now that they’ve forced it through, their tune has changed quite a bit:

Feds vs Salt

The Federal government is now taking it upon itself to regulate how much salt you get in your food.

The Washington Post reports:

The Food and Drug Administration is planning an unprecedented effort to gradually reduce the salt consumed each day by Americans, saying that less sodium in everything from soup to nuts would prevent thousands of deaths from hypertension and heart disease. The initiative, to be launched this year, would eventually lead to the first legal limits on the amount of salt allowed in food products.

Reconciliation, Deem-and-Pass, the CBO, and Obamacare Smackdown

There’s just so much juicy stuff on Obamacare out there, I don’t know where to begin.

Let’s start by looking at that CBO report on Obamacare, and what Obamacare will actually cost. Kevin Glass at Townhall brings up some of the budgetary manipulations that were used in the CBO report to make Obamacare look better than it is:

Health Care Digest: 18 Mar 2010

Senator Tom Colburn, M.D., lays out the problems with the health care bill, and how it won’t do what it promises to do.

Robert M. Goldberg at the American Spectator also comments on the promises versus the reality of health care reform.

Doug Bandow, also at the American Spectator, mentions the restrictions Obamacare will place on alternative medicine, citing a piece at Real Clear Politics.

The Slaughter Solution, Obamacare, and Constitutionality (Updated)

Previously I mentioned that the constitutionality of Obamacare has been under question for a while now, especially with regards to the individual mandate for insurance. The more significant question now seems to be the constitutionality of how it will be passed. Probably due to the unpopularity of the bill, it doesn’t seem  likely that the bill will actually pass an up or down vote at this point. The House has passed one version, and the Senate has passed another, but the two proposals have to be reworked, agree with one another, and then be re-voted on. Since that doesn’t seem likely, especially given that the Senate Republicans can now filibuster the bill, the Democrats are resorting to thuggery to force the bill through.

Here’s how it’s working. The House doesn’t like the Senate bill, but they can still vote to pass it, which would allow it to be sent to the president. The Senate probably won’t be able to pass either version of the bill again, so it comes down to the House. So instead of actually voting on the Senate version — a vote that would likely fail — Pelosi wants to employ what is known as the Slaughter Rule, and simply vote for a resolution that says they already passed the Senate bill.

Only one small problem. That’s kind of in direct violation of the Constitution.

Harry Reid’s Wife Out of Hospital

From Politico:

Reid spokesman Jon Summers said the Democratic senator’s wife was with her family and in good spirits. She’s able to walk short distances with assistance and will be staying in Washington, where the couple lives when Congress is in session, Summers said.

I’m sincerely glad that she’s doing okay.

And wow, she’s already walking? That’s amazing that some could sustain that kind of injury and be mobile so soon afterward — especially at her age. I can’t think of any other country in the world that can offer such great medical care.

And Reid wants to scrap it all …

Dan Riehl: Euthanize Harry Reid’s Wife

Dan Riehl, a conservative blogger who hosts Riehl World View, has stepped in it a bit deep. He apparently has made some rather unpleasant comments regarding Harry Reid’s wife, who was severely injured in a recent traffic accident. The Left-wing blogs and propaganda media sites, which as a matter of course celebrate the death or injury of notable conservatives, have now decided that morality is important, and that Riehl doesn’t have any.

Well, what did Riehl say? Well, he asked a question: “Isn’t it time to euthanize Reid’s wife?”

Sounds pretty bad. Well, I think it was supposed to. You see, the Left has left out something very important: the little part in which Riehl was criticizing leftist positions. To writ: Democrats want to include provisions for government-funded abortion and birth control in the Obamacare bill because if more babies are born, it will cost too much.

Health Care in Cuba

A week or so ago, Humberto Fontova wrote a very revealing article on Cuba’s health care system. He took particular issue with Michael Moore’s propaganda piece Sicko, clips from which were used by CNN last year to promote Obama’s socialized health care plan. For some reason, the Left constantly refers to Cuba when discussing socialized health care, hailing Castro for providing medical care to his people, and glowing about the wonderful statistics that show how great the health care in Cuba is. Fontova shows the lie in all of it.

Tort Reform in Health Care Plan

California Representative Darrell Issa writes an editorial at Politico emphasizing the importance of including tort reform in any health care legislation, especially one that can even be remotely considered bipartisan. Many of my liberal friend like to pretend that tort reform won’t change health care costs, and some pretend that Democrats are actively supporting tort reform already. Neither of these are true, and tort reform is probably the only real issue that can lead to any amount of Republican support on Obamacare.

The Problem of Health Care

Richard Baehr at American Thinker analyzes what he regards at the big problem with health care, not access, but cost.

Since 85% of the population is insured, the primary concern for most of the currently insured is cost control, not expansion of access. The great majority of the population do not believe that the various reform bills are “paid for” (with Medicare cuts, tax increases, and new fees), regardless of what the OMB says and what the bills’ advocates claim.