The Largest Healthcare Provider

 UnitedHealth Group, Inc. has announced today that they are considering pulling out of Obamacare.

They are expecting losses as high as $500 million on the plans in 2016. It’s almost as if ignoring the economics of legislation and focusing on how good it makes you feel about yourself leads to bad policy…

It has been 5 years. Is patience still supposed to be a virtue?

VA GOP Caucus

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McAuliffe's Home State Shutters Obamacare Co-op

Regulators in New York announced recently that Health Republic Insurance, the cooperative established to bring Obamacare to the Empire State, must close. The large co-op posted losses of almost $24,000 per day in its first year and a half, totaling $130 million. It also brings the number of failed Obamacare exchanges to 12.There is also the (not-so) small matter of the $265 million government loan to establish the co-op.

Reality is not being kind to Governor Terry McAuliffe. No, just on the heels of failing to grasp the Senate, even as he is preparing his Charge of the Legislative Light Brigade on Medicaid Expansion, Obamacare’s corpse follows him.

VA GOP Caucus 

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The Reporting Period Ends on September 30th

Issues just keep coming up for the McCollum Campaign. There have got to be a lot of furrowed eyebrows at Cox Headquarters right now.

One has to wonder whether Cox will be able to get the balance of their in-kind donations on the books in time...

VA GOP Caucus

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Gary McCollum is Unfit for Office

Gary McCollum has been lying to the public about his military record. 

The Virginian Pilot 

WAVY

And That (Ms. Clinton) is Why You Fail

For all intents and purposes, in 2014 Hillary Clinton was looking at smooth sailing into the Democrat nomination for President. She would be the first woman President, she had a long (though often spotted) record in politics, and enjoyed the backing of several VERY rich people. Not to mention a close, almost creepy relationship with the most prolific fundraiser the DNC has ever seen in Terry McAuliffe.

So why does it look more every day like this Titanic candidate is sinking? 

"NO! I WANT THE PRESIDENCY THIS MUCH! I WANT IT!" (Photo courtesy of: Media Research Center)

The answer is two-fold. Either the Clinton campaign thought they had it in the bag, they are incompetent, or, as I hypothesize, both. Some of the soundbites beg the question "Is she just winging it?"

Her steadfast refusal to talk about her email server scandal kept the embers warm enough to warrant a federal investigation. Now that the FBI is involved, her email server could end up sinking far more than just her.

Not to mention her inability to shake off what should have been a cupcake opponent in Socialist fossil Senator Bernie Sanders, who is gaining in Iowa and showing a lead in New Hampshire. I mean what kind of monumental screw ups have to take place for the tax-you-into-oblivion crazy left wingers to choose a 74 year old never-was over the "anointed one"?

How many times is she going to not be able to get it done before the Left gets the joke? Because right now she is going down in history as Hillary "Also Ran" Clinton.

VA GOP Caucus

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Is McCollum's Report Missing Something?

Should Gary McCollum be reporting some in-kind donations?

It seems Mr. McCollum’s campaign has found a sympathetic ear in his employer, Cox Communications. Gary has taken a leave of absence as the Vice President and General Manager of Cox in Virginia (a pretty big pair of shoes to fill) to focus on his campaign. Is Gary still being paid by Cox?

Seems like paying someone to campaign full-time should be reported, right?

VA GOP Caucus

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Where Do They Go From Here?

Barack Obama will leave the Democrats in a very poor position...now. Apparently, presiding over the most gridlocked and partisan administrations since the Great Depression is not what builds long-term political success...

Even Jeff Greenfield, a liberal Politico writer, and a former Robert Kennedy staffer, realizes the damage being done to the Dems. A few quotations from Mr. Greenfield's excellent piece in Politico: Democratic Blues. 

'When Obama came into the White House, it seemed like the Democrats had turned a corner generationally; at just 47, he was one of the youngest men to be elected as president. But the party has struggled to build a new generation of leaders around him. Eight years later, when he leaves office in 2017 at 55,he’ll actually be one of the party’s only leaders not eligible for Social Security. 

“It’s almost a crime,” Democratic Party Vice Chair Donna Brazile says. “We have been absolutely decimated at the state and local level.” 

The party’s record over the past six years has made clear that when Barack Obama leaves office in January 2017 the Democratic Party will have ceded vast sections of the country to Republicans, and will be left with a weak bench of high-level elected officials. It is, in fact, so bleak a record that even if the Democrats hold the White House and retake the Senate in 2016, the party’s wounds will remain deep and enduring, threatening the enactment of anything like a “progressive” agenda across much of the nation.'

VA GOP Caucus

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ICYMI

Delegate Michael Futrell: 

"Instead of just expressing my support for or against the candidates, I need to also address an elephant in the room that has exposed itself in the midst of this strife. How is it that we are able to simplify the credentials of such an outstanding jurist down to “The Republicans only chose him because he was black?” or dehumanize and address him as I saw one blog site post “this Right-Wing Nut Job.” How is it that we can only see race and ignore all that he has accomplished? How is it that Judge Alston was recommended by all major Bar Associations and even the top choice of the Old Dominion Bar, sitting on the second highest court in the Commonwealth, but was never “in our top 5”?"

Terone Green, Former President of the Richmond Crusade for Voters:

"To the Republicans’ credit, this controversy has shone a spotlight on what it looks like to judge someone, as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. put it, “on the content of their character” rather than the color of their skin. McAuliffe has constantly pushed Roush because of her gender, saying how it would look bad if the Republicans rejected her. The Republicans, on the other hand, had not brought up race or gender in their support of Alston — only his stellar character and qualifications. That is a refreshing turnabout that is well worth noting."

VA GOP Caucus

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Reminiscent of Nixon and Watergate

Veteran Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward says the scandal involving Governor McAuliffe's buddy, and number one priority, reminds him of the Nixon tapes.

We don't know how much cloth Mrs. Clinton has, but it probably isn't enough...

VA GOP Caucus

Making History

From the Richmond Free Press: 

"The elevation of Judge Alston would not only add to African-American influence on the Supreme Court, but also would make history."

"The National Bar Association, which is comprised primarily of African-American lawyers and judges, could find no record of any other state having so many African-American justices on the highest court at one time, even during the Reconstruction period after the Civil War."

"Now on the state intermediate Court of Appeals, Judge Alston would join two other African-American justices, S. Bernard Goodwyn and Cleo Powell, on the seven-member Supreme Court once the General Assembly elects him."

VA GOP Caucus

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ICYMI: Senator Obenshain Joins Walker Campaign

Congratulations to Senator Obenshain! 

His statement on joining Team Walker: 

I am honored to announce that I am joining Scott Walker’s team as his Virginia Campaign Chairman. After eight years with Barack Obama in the White House, the American economy is stagnant and burdensome regulations are crippling small businesses. The Obama-Clinton foreign policy doctrine has left our friends to fend for themselves, our enemies unchecked, and the world a more dangerous place. We simply can’t afford eight more years of irresponsible liberal leadership.

Instead, America needs conservative leadership. Scott Walker is a reform-minded leader with the executive experience to allow him to transform the way Washington works. By winning three elections in four years without compromising his conservative principles in a state that hasn’t voted for a Republican presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan, I am confident that Scott Walker can defeat Hillary Clinton or whoever else the Democrats put up in 2016. What makes me so sure? His record.

Governor Walker inherited a $3.6 billion deficit when he took office in 2011 and quickly turned it into a surplus. But it’s what he did with that surplus that really impressed me. Since assuming office, Governor Walker and Republican leaders have cut taxes by nearly $2 billion, including over $500 million in 2014 alone. In Washington, politicians see budget deficits as an excuse to raise taxes on the middle class. Governor Walker on the other hand has grown the economy, added more than 35,000 new businesses in four years, and cut taxes—returning money back to the taxpayers where it belongs.

Scott Walker has accomplished these things despite relentless opposition from big labor. In 2011, Governor Walker immediately took on the powerful labor unions in an attempt to return power back to the working class. No longer can union bosses forcibly withhold dues from workers’ paychecks. Instead, union membership is now optional—the way it should be.

Despite months of marches and occupation of the capitol grounds with more than 100,000 protesters, organized efforts by national union bosses and liberal activists across the nation, and millions of dollars spent to vilify him and his efforts,Governor Walker won this fight. He did it with a smile on his face, rallying support from across the country, and forging a broad coalition of Wisconsinites who admired his courage and understood the common sense principles undergirding his policies. He refused to give in to the demands of big labor.

On education, Governor Walker has fought for school choice—expanding the nation’s first school voucher system, increasing the number of charter schools, and removing the requirements for tenure and seniority. These reforms are working, improving the quality of public and private schools in the state where graduation rates have increased, test scores are higher, and the best and brightest teachers are remaining in the classroom. Like me, Walker believes that all children should have access to a quality education, regardless of their zip code. It’s this kind of mentality we need in the White House, not more of the failed, one-size-fits-all approach pushed by bureaucrats in Washington.


Whether it’s growing Wisconsin’s economy, fighting for the working class, or reforming education, Scott Walker has a consistent, proven record of success. America needs bold leadership to get us back on track, and I’m excited to help spread his message of conservative reform. It is a message that resonates not only with Republicans, but also with independents and conservative Democrats, and that’s a message and a coalition that will get him elected as our next president. I hope you’ll join me in this fight!

Best Regards,

 

Mark Obenshain

The Next Domino Falls

Surprise, surprise, another organization spawned by Obamacare is drowning in unsustainable debt, which the taxpayers will have to pay.  

This one is called CoOportunity. The co-op was established as a way to serve customers in Iowa with “affordable” healthcare. They retain 109M in assets, but carry 282M in debts!

They still technically owe their agents for the labor of selling these plans. Is that bait-and-switch-ception?

This is by no means even the exception to the rule, either. 19 of the 23 established co-ops are exceeding their own projections for losses. Tell me again how many economic “benefits” states are receiving after enacting Medicaid expansion?

VA GOP Caucus

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So This Judge Thing...

Governor McAuliffe and his Democratic Party of Virginia mouthpiece Morgan Finkelstein have been saying that Republicans will not support Judge Jane Roush’s elevation to the Virginia Supreme Court, in large part, because she is a woman.

Here's Morgan's take:

"Given their history of respect and inclusion toward Virginia women, it is tough to think of a reason the party of transvaginal ultrasounds, banning birth control and fighting equal pay for equal work would fire a female justice in favor of a male pick," said Morgan Finklestein, press secretary for the Democratic Party of Virginia.

Also, Morgan, you misspelled your last name. 

Well, if that is the case, conversely do Democrats not support the elevation of Judge Rossie Alston to the Supreme Court because he is African-American??

Nah, that's not it. Those are two ridiculous statements. Bringing gender into this is an unfortunate and immature play by the Democrats. 

Republicans simply agree with the Virginian-Pilot. This is an “unnecessary misstep from the governor...which illustrates concerns formed during the 2013 campaign that McAuliffe and his team lacked a grasp of process in state government."

Too bad the legislature aren't all Hillary donors. He would have reached out to them plenty.

VA GOP Caucus

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The Deception of Scale in Obamacare

I would like to draw your attention to a passage from this article concerning states' unpreparedness for expanding Medicaid.

"California has enrolled nearly 2.3 million people so far — almost three times more than the 800,257 the state had anticipated. Enrollment in neighboring Washington more than doubled. Oregon's new enrollments have exceeded estimates by 73 percent.
In Michigan, estimated costs have shot up by 50 percent because of soaring enrollment. Ohio's projected costs more than doubled."

Why, when the Federal government assured us that only 10 percent of the cost would be shouldered by the states, are we seeing this massive collapse of their budgets?

The answer is scale. A puny 10% to the Federal government constitutes an astronomical number on the scale of a state government. This is what opponents have been saying for years. Only now, once the cushy federal money rug is being pulled out, are Governors and legislatures starting to realize the magnitude of their mistake.

Medicaid uses roughly 40% of all new revenue, and has increased by 1600% in the last 30 years. That number would be scary, even completely disregarding expansion.

This year the Republican-controlled General Assembly responsibly budgeted a pay increase for teachers, state employees, and relevant contractors. They identified funding for two new Veterans' care centers, and restored the education budget from shortfall-related cuts by $42 million.

If they had expanded Obamacare to Virginia, those things would not have been possible.

VA GOP Caucus

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Shots in the Arm Becoming Obamacare Addiction

Virginia Dems want you to believe that Virginia is foolishly turning down free money from Obamacare. What they don't want to believe themselves is that this money will start a process which has proven that it can bankrupt states.

Of the below states, Vermont, Oregon, Nevada, New Mexico, Hawaii, all failed, and had to default to healthcare.gov. Translation: that money is basically sunken loss. 

Roughly 900 million dollars, poof. Gone. For nothing. I wonder who is on the hook for that.

Maryland and Massachussetts completely scrapped their programs and started fresh this year. That second chance must be going well, right? 

Massachussetts promptly started lying to the federal government. Maryland's restart was hamstringed by the fact that they misallocated almost 80 million more dollars (through incompetence or design is not clear; though my money is on incompetence). And the fun doesn't stop there. 

this photo is courtesy of the Washington Post

California's exchange, Covered California, is going to run an 80 million dollar deficit in its first year. Their Governor further plans to court another failed exchange in Oregon to merge with them. 

The logic here astounds me, let's take something that we couldn't build right with OVER A BILLION DOLLARS, and take responsibility for a failed program with a sunken cost of 300 MILLION MORE. 

5 billion dollars later, 6 YEARS of focus from the largest bureaucracy IN THE WORLD later, and we are in a worse place than we started. But by all means, keep digging... 

Is the average family saving $2,500 dollars on premiums yet? 

VA GOP Caucus

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Why Be a Doctor Anymore?

Monday, USA Today reporters Laura Ungar and Jayne O'Donnell published an article dealing with just one of the broken paradigms that Obamacare assumes will solve America's healthcare crisis. The ACA's assumption was that if people had insurance, they would go to general practitioners (GP's), taking pressure off of hard-pressed ER's.

As it turns out, ER congestion is actually rising.

Who could have seen this coming?! As it turns out, everyone. America's lack of GP's is older than the ACA itself.

There are fewer GP's to assume the Obamacare's burden, because medical students would stay perpetually underwater on their virtually-necessary med school loans if they chose to be a GP. Further, the few GP's that are out there cannot dig their financial hole any deeper by opting into a Medicaid program that has a history of low reimbursement rates.

Essentially, Obamacare mandates doctors who don't exist to accept low and unreliable payment for services in the one profession least able to absorb the cost.

VA GOP Caucus

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Medicaid: The Pac-Man of State Government

A report, released today by the University of Virginia's Miller Center confirms what Republicans have been saying for over a year. Medicaid is out of control.

"Nationally, Medicaid spending accounted for less than 10 percent of state-sourced funds 30 years ago. In fiscal 2013, the share grew to more than 15 percent"

"In Virginia, Medicaid’s share of total state spending was 11 percent in fiscal 2013, while higher education’s share was 14.1 percent. By 2024, higher education’s share is projected to be 13.5 percent and Medicaid would account for 14.3 percent."

"BUT!" cry the Democrats, "WHAT ABOUT IF WE EXPAND MEDICAID BY OBAMACARE?!"

Well, I am glad you asked...

"If Virginia opts in [to Medicaid Expansion], higher-ed’s share of state spending would be 13.5 percent in 2024; Medicaid’s would be 14.9 percent."

Even with the federal government footing part of the bill, Medicaid's cost increases are on a completely different scale. 

Kind of disrupts the whole moustache-twirling villain image that House Democrats would have you believe, doesn't it? 

VA GOP Caucus

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Will Tomorrow Be Awkward?

Spring is here, and the General Assembly is now preparing their return to Richmond once more to discuss the Governor's recommendations and vetoes, among them an ethics bill which doesn't meet his newly raised standards on ethics.

The upcoming showdown on ethics may make it a little awkward in the hallway though, as McAuliffe is now going another round with his on-again-off-again scandal, the EB-5/Greentech issue.

We have been aware that investigations were open on a number of fronts involving the Governor, including his involvement in Gulf Coast Funds, investments in Greentech, as well as his *ahem* dubious use of the sell-a-visa program called EB-5. 

"Why don't we talk anymore, Terry?"

What we didn't know was that McAuliffe must have been going for a clean break this time, as he was ignoring the very institution he is accused of harassing on behalf of wealthy foreign investors. You can't make this stuff up...

After finding DHS good enough to berate repeatedly to get his way over the years, Terry McAuliffe, the Governor of a state...ignored a federal Inspector General questioning his own (alleged) wrongdoing! 

VA GOP Caucus

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Would You Like Ads With That?

It appears that the website that 316,584 Virginians have used to buy health insurance is quietly sending their sensitive data to third party advertisers. 

It isn't just unidentifiable information either. They are sending IP addresses. The tech savvy will understand, but an IP address can be used to tremendous effect by these large companies. It can give names, physical addresses, and even more far reaching data to those inclined to look.

Wow...seems like only yesterday that the administrator in charge of Medicaid and Medicare was saying “There’s no higher priority than protecting consumer information and maintaining trust for the consumers,”. 

What happened? 

VA GOP Caucus

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A Democrat's Solution

As suspected, the Dilemmacrats are pulling out the same old song and dance for this year's Session. Fairfax Senator Barbara Favola took those tired talking points earlier this week to join Bruce DePuyt on News Talk. You can view the full video here.

A few highlights:

"Certainly I [think] that we need to look at tax credit measures...but I can't say that we should just  return those dollars through tax cuts...Virginians aren't over-taxed" -Senator Barbara Favola

She goes on to dismiss the $300 million price tag of Obamacare's Medicaid Expansion on Virginians, calling it "only 10 percent". -Senator Barbara Favola

Riiiight...Just 10 percent. That will be a comforting thought while Virginians have to watch taxes skyrocket or budgets get slashed to pay what she judges to be such a paltry sum. Unlike the Federal government, we cannot simply print more money.

Play me out Steven...

VA GOP Caucus

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