Marathon Pundit: April 2010

Friday, April 30, 2010

British ObamaCare update: Fighting waste is not so easy

One of the most tired selling points of ObamaCare is that by weeding out "waste, fraud, and abuse," we can afford to insure 30 million additional Americans.

Great Britain's National Health Service has had six decades to work on that. Tonight I'm looking only at the first one, waste.

From the BBC:

Patients in Herefordshire are being urged to cancel unnecessary repeat prescriptions which cost the NHS at least £1m ($1.5 million) a year.

The county's primary care trust said returned pills and creams have to be incinerated as they cannot be reused.

The trust said £1m could fund 140 heart bypass operations or 30 more community nurses.

It is urging hospital patients to bring prescribed drugs with them to cut down on waste.

Sue Hickman, a pharmacist with the trust, told BBC Hereford & Worcester: "That £1m could be used to buy more useful things rather than just burning it.

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Rasmussen poll on Ill. guv race: Brady 45 percent, Quinn 38

Capping off a great day for Illinois Republicans, according to another Rasmussen Reports poll, Land of Lincoln voters prefer GOP candidate Bill Brady for governor, over Pat Quinn, the Democratic incumbent who gained the job after his running mate, Rod Blagojevich, was removed from office.

Forty-five percent of Illinoisans prefer Brady, 38 percent want Quinn, while 11 percent are undecided. A Rasmussen poll taken earlier this month yielded the same results.

Quinn's 15 months in office have been dominated by his call for a 33 percent increase in the state income tax, as well as his pandering to public-sector unions. Brady is a traditional conservative, the type of governor I don't believe we've had during during my lifetime.

Related posts:

Rasmussen on Ill. Senate race: Kirk 46, Giannoulias 38

Tough mom fights back against unions and Pat Quinn

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ObamaCare's “Largest middle class tax cut in history” actually going to insurers

The more you learn about ObamaCare, the worse it looks.

The Senate Republican Communications Center:

PRESIDENT OBAMA: "It's Also Important To Note That The New Health Reform Law Includes The Largest Middle Class Tax Cut For Health Care In History, and once it's implemented; millions of Americans will finally be able to purchase quality, affordable care and the security and peace of mind that comes with it." (President Obama, Weekly Radio Address, 4/10/10)

IRS: "The Health Care Subsidies Will Go Directly To Insurers, Not Taxpayers” “The IRS does a poor job of managing social programs. … In tax year 2006, the latest year available, IRS made $10 billion to $12 billion in erroneous EITC [Earned Income Tax Credit] payments, according to a study by the Treasury Department's inspector general. IRS officials argue that the two programs are vastly different. The health care subsidies will go directly to insurers, not taxpayers, giving individuals little incentive to cheat, says IRS spokesman Frank Keith." ("IRS Lacks Clout To Enforce Mandatory Health Insurance," USA Today, 4/29/10)

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Judge denies Blago motion to subpoeana Obama

Last week lawyers for disgraced former Governor Rod Blagojevich filed a motion to subpeona President Obama to testify at his corruption trial.

But U.S. District Judge James B. Zagel denied the motion this afternoon.

Because of some sloppy editing of an Adobe PDF document, redacted portions of the motion were readable, which revealed that then-President-elect Obama may have been disingenuous about his role in the process of choosing his successor.

Related post:

Fed "redactions" of Blago motion reveal embarrassing accusations about Obama

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Rasmussen on Ill. Senate race: Kirk 46, Giannoulias 38

In the first poll since the failure of the Giannoulias family's Broadway Bank, Rasmussen reveals that in a telephone poll of likely Illinois voters, 46 percent support Republican Mark Kirk, 38 percent back Democrat Alexi Giannoulias.

They are running for the Senate seat once held by President Obama. Democrat Roland Burris, a Rod Blagojevich appointee, chose not to run for a full term.

Prior to the release of this poll, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, who heads the Republican Senate electoral operations, speculated that the White House may force Giannoulias off the ticket. Cornyn admitted he had no evidence, but stated, "I don't know. Giannoulias is a flawed candidate and they are realizing it and I think they are worried. . . . I hope they respect the choices of Democratic primary voters and don't engage in some sort of back-room shenanigans."

White House advisor David Axelrod, a Chicagoan, denies there is a drive afoot to dump Alexi.

But if that does occur, Giannoulias would be the second victor in February's Democratic primary to quit the ticket. Pawnbroker Scott Lee Cohen, was forced off after a series of embarrassing revelations about his private life, including an arrest for assaulting his then-girlfriend, a prostitute, were revealed.

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