The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

Ever since then President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act (AKA Obamacare), the Republican Party has made it their #1 goal to destroy the healthcare reform law before it has the opportunity to achieve success. Congressional Republicans filled the airwaves with lies about the ACA - anything from it including "death panels" to it being a government takeover and beyond. While all these egregious misstatements were called out by fact-checkers, sadly, the GOPers' heated rhetoric, at least temporarily, got the best of Democrats' even-keeled tone and fact-checking. This led to a majority of the country disapproving of the healthcare bill without knowing what was in it. Even today, a decent number of self-described Republicans believe that the Affordable Care Act and Obamacare are different laws, when in fact they're one and the same. This is what misinformation has done to this country, and ironically enough, the largest propagator of fake news is the Republic...

Based on a series of polls that were released last week, one thing's for certain about the Senate's proposed health care plan - the people don't much care for Trumpcare. In a USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll, it showed that just 12% of Americans approve of the Senate's "Obamacare" repeal-and-replace bill. That's not a typo - just over 1 in 10 Americans like the Senate's health care plan. Meanwhile 53% believe we should either keep the Affordable Care Act as it is or make some changes while keeping its framework. In addition to that, 77% believe it's "very important" to cover people with pre-existing conditions, 63% feel similarly about providing Medicaid options to those whom are eligible, and 57% believe it's "very important" to lower premiums. The GOP had 7 years. For 7 years, the GOP ran on the platform that they'd repeal and replace the evil "Obamacare." For 7 years, they tried defunding the ACA. For 7...

In a surprising turn of events, President Donald Trump, with his approval rating at a measly 34%, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) at a record high approval rating of 55%, and Congressional Republicans' seeming inability to pass an ACA replacement bill, decided to take full credit for Obamacare this morning in a series of tweets: Donald J. Trump‏ @realDonaldTrump 1h "ObamaCare here to stay, only better. I'm calling it Better Than ObamaCare (BTO)" Donald J. Trump‏ @realDonaldTrump 49m "I didn't change anything to ObamaCare but Better Than ObamaCare is better than ObamaCare, bigly!" Donald J. Trump‏ @realDonaldTrump 36m "I wasn't pres. when ObamaCare, I mean Better Than ObamaCare was signed, but 20 meelion more people have insurance now bc of me, believe me!" Donald J. Trump‏ @realDonaldTrump 27m "Better Than ObamaCare will be better than ObamaCare in every possible way. I gairentee it!" Donald J. Trump‏ @realDona...

While I think it's quite sad I feel the need to do this, due to some polls, articles, and video clips I've seen in recent days, I thought I'd just send the friendly reminder that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and Obamacare are the same thing. When someone talks about Obamacare, they're talking about the Affordable Care Act, and when someone talks about the Affordable Care Act, they're talking about Obamacare. When someone uses the abbreviation ACA, that stands for the Affordable Care Act, which is Obamacare. The End.

On inauguration day, I decided to meet up with some fellow progressive friends and get plastered. One friend sported a satirical Trump t-shirt I designed for her, while I wore one which said, "Thanks Obama." At this particular bar, we bumped into a middle-aged man who was proudly wearing a Trump/Pence shirt. When I first walked past him, he tapped my shoulder and said something along the lines of, "How's your cell phone? Now that Obama's not president, it's probably not working too well, is it?" He then laughed, I shook my head, and walked away. I honestly had no idea what he was talking about, but after thinking on matters, I figured he was probably referring to the debunked conspiracy that the Obama administration created a program which gave away free cell phones to poor people, because, you know, free cell phones equals votes, even when a third term isn't possible. Later in the evening, after talking with some friends of mine near the Trumpst...

I had a little bit of fun with the trending hashtags #WithoutHealthcare and #WomenWhoVotedForTrump on Twitter yesterday. Here are my posts, ordered from the most popular to the least popular (all my tweets can be seen here - https://twitter.com/CraigRozniecki ): 1) #WithoutHealthcare families would get bankrupted at a higher rate than Trump's companies, and that's saying something... 216 Likes, 94 Retweets 2) #WithoutHealthcare the GOP would be forced to contradict themselves, for it would result in more unwanted pregnancies & more abortions. 100 Likes, 50 Retweets 3) #WomenWhoVotedForTrump have a right to their own voices, yet those voices may result in women being denied rights over their own bodies. 96 Likes, 29 Retweets 4) #WithoutHealthcare pro-lifers may be forced to change their description to f*ck-lifers. 92 Likes, 30 Retweets 5) #WithoutHealthcare simply being born would come to be viewed as a preexisting condition. 100 Likes, 21 Retweets 6) #Witho...

When the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was initially passed, I had mixed feelings. Like a lot of progressives, I had hoped for a more progressive healthcare reform bill, yet was pleased we were showing signs of slowly progressing on the matter, and knew it would have been next to impossible for my "ideal" healthcare law to have passed both houses of Congress on its way to the president's desk for signage. In hindsight, though, while I'd still love to see the ACA become more progressive, I'm thrilled it was passed and signed into law. It's said regardless of a person's age, gender, race, creed, or orientation, we all have baggage. Unfortunately, most of my baggage comes in the form of health problems. I started suffering from seizures at a very young age and had a grand mal when I was 18, at which point the doctors spotted a brain tumor. I underwent surgery to remove the tumor four years later. Between 2009 and 2011 I suffered from a strange virus which last...

Death panels. Hitler. The end of democracy. The sky is falling. Armageddon. Republican politicians and talking heads have pretty much made every over-the-top claim one could possibly think of with regard to the Affordable Care Act (AKA Obamacare). Texas Senator Ted Cruz even shut down the federal government in an attempt to repeal the healthcare reform law. Outside of some troubles signing up for coverage initially on the glitchy healthcare website, however, I can't complain about my experiences with the new law. I haven't needed my new insurance card much since enrolling a year and a half ago, but just having it makes me feel more secure than I had been the previous couple of years after I was let go by my insurance provider and rejected by other health insurance companies due to pre-existing conditions. I've needed my card in recent weeks, however, and it's saved me a good chunk of money to this point. The monthly premium and co-pays have been reasonably priced and ...

Even though Barack Obama got elected to two terms as president, largely due to him being a great orator, he and his administration, and even Democrats in general, have had a huge problem in effectively communicating their message to potential voters. It's sad to say, but it seems as if Obama, his administration, and many other Democrats just don't know how to effectively play the media game and regularly win that battle against Republicans. As filled with BS and hyperbole as many such Republicans' rhetoric is on different media outlets, it's often times effective with voters. This trend started quite early in Obama's first term. Remember when Republicans were having frequent town hall meetings to criticize the Affordable Care Act, spread myths about it, and infiltrate fear about the bill in people's minds? Yes, most of the rhetoric was hogwash, but President Obama and company didn't seem to take the nonsense seriously, would take a while to respond, befo...

It seems like the #1 thing Congressional Republicans (or potential Congressional Republicans) are saying with regard to potentially taking control of the Senate today is, "We're going to repeal Obamacare!" Sorry to disappoint them and their followers, but that's not going to happen. First off, whether or not the GOP attains control of the Senate, they won't have enough members for a filibuster-proof majority. Also, President Obama is still the president, so he will veto any and all attempts to repeal his landmark healthcare law. In order for Congress to override a president's veto, they'd need 2/3 of the vote in both the House and the Senate, which won't happen. So, once again, I'm sorry to disappoint some people, but if you truly believe the "We'll-repeal-Obamacare-if-we-win-control-of-the-Senate," it's not going to happen anytime soon. The soonest it could potentially happen would be in 2017, if a Republican wins the 2016 pr...

When talking to the uber-conservative NewsMax TV on Wednesday, Wisconsin Senator and man voted creepiest potential Boy Scout leader - Ron Johnson - said the following with regard to Affordable Care Act premium increases in the state: "I'm driving around Wisconsin, I'm talking to business owners and I'm talking to health care providers and insurance agents as well and they're seeing that same kind of range [of premium increases for 2015], anywhere from 16 to 60 percent. Kind of with an average of around 30 percent here just anecdotally in Wisconsin." Bob Uecker, would you care to give your two cents regarding Senator Johnson's numbers? "Just a bit outside." Thanks. The fact of the matter is, according to the numbers reported by the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) last month, healthcare premiums will increase by an average of 3% in 2015, and two insurers are actually reporting decreases for the coming year. Medica ...

Ohio Governor John Kasich recently got himself into a bit of a pickle. When speaking with the Associated Press , Kasich said that the repeal of "Obamacare" is "never going to happen." He also said that the "political or ideological" opposition to the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare") - the Medicaid expansion in particular - doesn't "hold water against real flesh and blood, and real improvements in people's lives." After likely receiving some backlash for his statements, Kasich went to the Washington Post to "clarify" his position, when he said: "I don't back Obamacare. I never have. I want it to be repealed. If the House and the Senate [are Republican-controlled] and we have a Republican president, Obamacare will be repealed flat out. Flat out. And it will be replaced." Okay, so Kasich went from saying the Affordable Care Act wasn't going to get repealed and that improving people's lives w...

Just yesterday, Gallup released some rather significant findings with regard to the Medicaid expansion offered via the Affordable Care Act. According to the report, the 21 states which expanded Medicaid and established a state-based marketplace exchange or state-federal partnership have seen their uninsured rates drop to a much greater degree than the 29 states which didn't take advantage of those options afforded to them by the new healthcare law. Based on these latest numbers, the 21 states which expanded Medicaid and established a state-based marketplace exchange or state-federal partnership have seen their uninsured rates drop by an average of 3.97%. These very states hold the top 13 rankings when it comes to a decrease in the uninsured between 2013 and 2014. The 29 states which didn't expand Medicaid and the like have seen their uninsured rates drop an average of 1.95% - less than half that of the 21 other states. These 29 states hold 20 of the bottom 27 rankings when ...

For as consistently negative as the media was with regard to the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) toward the tail-end of last year (and deservedly so), they've been just as consistently positive with regard to it in the past 2-3 weeks (with the exception being Fox News, of course...). Well, the good news continued to pour in yesterday with the release of the latest Gallup poll. This very poll released the following results: - "There has been a statistically significant and meaningfully large decline in the percentage of uninsured U.S. adults. The uninsured rate peaked at 18.0% in the third quarter of 2013, the highest rate measured since Gallup Healthways began tracking in 2008. The uninsured rate has been consistently trending downward since then, falling to 15.0% in March and further to 12.9% for April 1-14 polling. If the rate for the first half of April holds throughout the month, it will be the lowest monthly uninsured rate in 76 months of tracking." - "The...

It was anything but easy, but after four months of sporadically trying, I'm finally enrolled in "Obamacare," and will be saving approximately $1,200 a year due to it (in comparison to my old plan). I created my profile in late December of last year, and while the site was running slightly better than it had been in early October, it still wasn't cooperating with me very well, so I decided to give it up until the new year. Slowly, but surely, I started filling out the application, which was taking a bit longer than I had anticipated. Then, as of March, I had finally gone through all of my 27 healthcare options and made my decision. Unfortunately, after I clicked on my selections for both a healthcare and dental plan, once I clicked "review and confirm," a screen popped up, which said, "$0 premium - click confirm." While I had wished that was accurate, $0 is a far cry from $246, and I knew something had gone awry. When I clicked "confirm,...

Hard-core anti-Obamacare right-wingers have been overjoyed by the news of Kentucky doctor Stephen Kiteck closing his practice "due to the policies of Obamacare." Yes, this goes to show you that Obamacare is bad for everyone, including doctors! The problem is, the doctor is mistaken about his allegation, and his patients may actually be grateful in the long haul for the closing of his office. What's the real reason Kiteck is closing down his operation? He said that switching from paper to electronic records is "too much of a burden to overcome." Why is that exactly? Kiteck described he and his office as "computer illiterate" and that it would take far too many hours of training to get them all up to speed on the crazy device known as the computer. So, since Dr. Kiteck is nearing retirement age anyway, he felt it was in everyone's best interests to close down the practice. First off, I find it just a wee bit scary to think that a doctor is ...

While even the most ardent of Obama supporters can't deny the healthcare.gov website has had its share of problems, a recent report has showcased that right-wing cyber attacks may have played a factor in said problems. When questioned by the House Homeland Security Committee, acting assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Cyber-security and Communications - Roberta Stempfley - claimed that the website had been the victim of at least 16 attacks this year, including one which has been referred to as a DDoS or Distributed Denial of Service attack. A DDoS attack provides a website with more traffic than it can handle, which results in it being non-functional for most users. Unfortunately, a number of right-wingers have spread information about this attack tool, and called it, "Destroy Obama Care!" The right-wing "patriots'" mission includes this note: "This program continually displays alternate page of the ObamaCare...

As many now know, yesterday was the first day people could check out their healthcare options under the Affordable Care Act at healthcare.gov. While there were numerous reports of people experiencing problems on the site, this was largely due to heavy traffic. This will occur on many sites, such as Twitter, on especially busy occasions. So how did some members of the Fox News team and other like-minded individuals take this? Obamacare is unpopular and has failed. Allow me to explain something to Fox News and company - when people are having trouble logging into a site due to heavy traffic, that means the site has an extremely large number of visitors at that moment. This means the site was quite popular yesterday, glitches and all.  With this kind of thinking, Fox News would probably think the following: - "Traffic was bad because of the game? I guess not a lot of people went to the game then, huh? That's disappointing. It really is." - "You had to wai...

Recent analysis shows that the Affordable Care Act is more popular than Obamacare. In recent days, tweets regarding the Affordable Care Act have been 67% positive and 33% negative, whereas tweets regarding Obamacare have been 56% positive and 44% negative. Why do I find this funny? The actual name for Obamacare is "The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act." That's right - they're the same thing! Due to this, Americans probably also share similar feelings about the following: They like... - ...guns more than firearms. - ...sex more than boning. - ...marijuana more than ganja. - ...one Nickelback song more than another. - ...Fox News more than crazy old regulars at a bar. http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-10-02/americans-like-obamacare-less-than-the-affordable-care-act

Run to your basements! Bring some water, food, and a flashlight! Turn on the television for breaking updates! Make certain to bring your children with you, your spouse, and even your fish-tank with the one-eyed albino you call Cyclops Scissorhands! Armageddon is officially upon us! The Affordable Care Act is here! ::silence before the storm:: That's right, ladies and gentlemen, as of yesterday, you can check out your options under Obamacare at healthcare.gov. While there were numerous reports of the typical first-day glitches, it seems as though the site generated more visitors and enrollees than expected, and will be working in the coming days to make the experience smoother for more people. So while it appears as if the Affordable Care Act (::ahem Obamacare::) is off to a grand start and is polling better than Obamacare (don't ask...), some people are still convinced it's the end of the world as we know it (and they don't feel fine). I saw numerous posts on...