Commentary

The battle is now pitched in Washington over whether and how to repeal ObamaCare. The whole question of repealing and replacing this disastrous take-over of health care is a vital pro-Life matter.  From the beginning of life, to how we deal with Americans facing end-of-life medical questions, the legislative battle is marbled with profound issues.

As the political struggle over numbers and special interests rage, it is important to remember that this fight is about more. It is a reflection on how we view and value human life.

Those central value questions are highlighted by the Congressional Budget Office’s scoring of the proposed Ryan replacement bill. In the midst of its numbers and charts, the CBO takes notes of the bill’s provision to end (at least temporarily) taxpayer subsidy of Planned Parenthood – America’s largest abortion provider.

The number crunchers “warn” Congress that eliminating tax funding of Planned Parenthood will most likely lead to thousands of additional births across the nation each year. This shocking confession is buried in paragraphs about federal budget issues – but the reality is that this official, non-partisan analysis lays bare the nation’s great scandal:

Congressional funding of Planned Parenthood leads directly to the deaths of thousands of innocent babies each year. This horrific reality exists despite the Hyde Amendment and so-called “protections” against direct payment for elective abortion.

The first duty of government is to protect the lives and well-being of its citizens – not destroy us. That must be a central focus of this Congressional action on restoring America’s health care system.  The measure to defund Planned Parenthood is, therefore, not a tangential issue – but a core principle which must be included in any repeal legislation.

We must be in prayer for our national leadership as they wrestle with the exceedingly complex questions presented by trying to replace ObamaCare with a life-affirming, affordable health care system.

The government of France has recently enacted a law which makes it a crime to offer women information about the risks or alternatives to abortion. Persons running Pro-Life websites which post “false” information about abortion could face 2 years in prison and a 30,000 euro fine.

The leftists in control of France’s national government have determined that they are the only appropriate source of information on abortion – and they have officially concluded that abortion does not entail any moral, psychological or physical consequence for the women and girls of France.

French officials also caused a stir when they banned a commercial showing a smiling young child, who also happened to have Down’s Syndrome – an ad that had absolutely nothing to do with abortion. Officials claimed they were acting because some women who aborted Downs babies might be made to feel uncomfortable by the commercial advertising.

The President of the French Conference of Catholic Bishops has written the president, Francois Hollande, objecting to the oppressive nature of the new law. “Is the slightest encouragement to a woman to keep her child qualified as ‘psychological and moral pressure?” Archbishop Georges Pontier asked.

Despite concern over the falling birth rate in France, the government provides free abortions to women and girls in that country as a key part of its socialized program of medicine.

While Americans may find it hard to believe that a western nation could embrace such totalitarian policies, we need to recognize that this is the kind of regime Planned Parenthood and its political minions would impose in this nation if given the opportunity. Another reason to celebrate Hillary Clinton’s defeat.

After pounding the Idaho Legislature to adopt ObamaCare, Blue Cross of Idaho announced last week that it will seek permission to raise premiums by a staggering 25% next year – with some plans increasing by as much as 31%. In a single year!

It isn’t like Blue Cross has been avoiding substantial rate hikes over recent years. It isn’t like we are living in the days of Jimmy Carter – when “stagflation” nearly broke the American economy. And it isn’t like Blue Cross’ customer base has shrunk under the mandatory provisions of ObamaCare.

These kind of insurance rate increases are simply not sustainable.

Idaho families and businesses are about to get a double whammy: Not only will their direct bills from Blue Cross increase, but, as taxpayers, we will be watching every level of Idaho government scramble to find the extra millions to pad Blue Cross’ reserves as they try to provide coverage for public employees.

Of course, Blue Cross is not the only villain in this story. And corporate greed at their palatial headquarters in Meridian is not the only explanation for these staggering increases in insurance rates. Much of this pending crisis goes back to the irrational demands of ObamaCare itself. (But, then again, the insurance industry was up to its throat in the conspiracy to impose ObamaCare upon America).

Another prime culprit in this outrage is the medical industry itself. Endless expansion and empire-building is being conducted by the big hospital conglomerates around Idaho – exemplified by St. Luke’s. All of those cool, shiny buildings and take-overs have to be paid for by someone. And it won’t be the shareholders in these health care behemoths 

That will fall to the poor, largely silent working stiffs and taxpayers of Idaho.

Blue Cross’ demand for a 25% rate hike next year is pending before the Insurance Commission, which is now led by Sen. Dean Cameron. Cameron was the principal legislative architect of the state insurance exchange during his time in the Senate. He was a primary cheerleader for the plan to accept ObamaCare in Idaho. It will be very interesting to see what he does, if anything, to impose some economic reality on his friends at Blue Cross and Regence Blue Shield.

If Cameron fails to stop the insanity, we predict there will be tremendous political fall-out as the working stiffs of Idaho finally rebel against a grossly corrupt system teetering on implosion.

Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden is one of eleven attorneys general from around the nation pressing the Secretary of HHS, Kathleen Sebelius, to stop changing ObamaCare through Executive Fiat. A letter signed by the group was sent last week protesting the numerous changes which have been ordered by the federal regime without Congressional approval.

The letter specifically called-out the regime around Obama’s decision to allow policies which are prohibited by the federal statute to be re-issued. The executive branch cannot simply change duly-enacted laws by itself.

A key portion of the letter reads:

“We support allowing citizens to keep their health insurance coverage, but the only way to fix this problem-ridden law is to enact changes lawfully: through Congressional action. The illegal actions by this administration must stop.”

Submission of the letter is seen as a precursor to potential legal action.

The attorneys general also urged the Secretary to properly deal with widespread concerns over the security of private information being collected by government websites as part of the ObamaCare application process.

In the midst of the heated struggle in Washington, D.C., the ObamaCare Exchanges have ducked scrutiny by the media. Of course, there have been stories about the websites and technical “glitches”. But those are not the important questions.

First among the critical questions: How much will policies cost Idahoans?

Just yesterday, the Heritage Foundation published data on premiums under the new Obama Insurance Company. It is not pretty.

For a single person, age 27, premiums are expected to rise by a whopping 86%. A single Idaho adult, age 50, will see premiums increase 34%. By comparison, an Idaho family of four will see relatively modest increases of “only” 9% in their monthly premiums.

But this is certainly not the end of the story. The Heritage numbers do not include information about the all-important deductibles associated with the new ObamaCare policies. We will continue to hunt for information about this critical component of any family’s financial situation.

Families in 21 states are facing double-digit increases in their premiums next year. Even more disturbing, Heritage projects that in just five states will families see any relief in the already-high cost of providing health care to spouses and children. That means increases are coming for virtually every family in America – despite Obama’s repeated claims that he will save the average family $2500 a year on their health insurance costs.

It is clear from such painful data that Ted Cruz, Mike Lee and Idaho’s senators were right to stage a last-minute struggle to prevent ObamaCare from pounding America’s hard-pressed families. Sadly, they lost the battle, and now we will all pay the price.

Part of that defeat came from a failure of messaging: From the beginning of Cruz’s crusade in Senate, the media characterized his strategy to defund ObamaCare as something extraneous to the grave fiscal and debt issues facing the nation. But, in truth, ObamaCare was/is central to the question of America’s long-term financial health. Obama has doubled the national debt in his first five years in office. And that is without ANY of the insanity of ObamaCare hitting the nation’s bleeding checkbook. By the end of his term, we will all look back at the “good old days” when America was in bondage to a “mere” $17 trillion.

Meanwhile, Idaho’s Obama Exchange continues to plug faithfully along, adding expertise and competence to a disastrous social policy.

Late last night, members of the U.S. House of Representatives passed another version of the government funding authorization, with the proviso that ObamaCare be delayed for one year. The new Continuing Resolution passed by a vote of 231 to 192. (8 members of Congress failed to vote, including Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi who was busy with social priorities back in California).

The last section of the ObamaCare language specifically prohibits the Department of Health & Human Services from enforcing its Contraceptive/Abortifacient Mandate on American employers who object for reasons of conscience.

Both Idaho Congressmen – Raul Labrador and Mike Simpson – voted for the latest attempt by House Republicans to keep the government operating past the September 31st fiscal year deadline.

Democrat leader Harry Reid has indicated that he will not convene the Senate today to even consider the revised compromise language adopted by the House of Representatives.

Due to some excellent reporting by the Idaho Reporter, we learn that the Idaho Department of Health & Welfare has given $385,000 to the insurance exchange to cover operating expenses and start-up costs.  The promise of “free federal money” used by promoters during the legislative session has yet to materialize.

According to the conservative news website, the decision to transfer funds was made unilaterally by the Department’s director, Dick Armstrong. He moved the money earlier this month, in apparent violation of the state law creating the insurance exchange.

The enabling legislation, narrowly approved by the Legislature this last winter, made it clear in two different sections of the law that no state funds would be used in running the ObamaCare Exchange:

IC 41-6105 (2)(a): “The exchange shall be financially self-supporting and shall not request any financial support from the state … or encumber state assets.”

IC 41-6105 (2)(j): “The state of Idaho shall not be liable for any obligations of the exchange ….”

After operating with the money for nearly a month, the Board of the Exchange formally requested an Attorney General’s opinion on the transfer last week, after the Idaho Reporter story went public.

Sen. Dean Cameron, the Legislature’s dominating authority on budgetary matters, seemed relatively unconcerned about the apparent violation of state law – not to mention the appropriation process itself – but did acknowledge to the Idaho Reporter  that other legislators had expressed concern.

We encourage you to read the Idaho Reporter story for yourself and talk with your local legislators about the matter.