Just as predicted – We said this would happen today:
(Via Chuck Todd of NBC News)  President Obama said Thursday that he is “sorry” that some Americans are losing their current health insurance plans as a result of the Affordable Care Act, despite his promise that no one would have to give up a health plan they liked.

“I am sorry that they are finding themselves in this situation based on assurances they got from me,” he told NBC News in an exclusive interview at the White House.
“We’ve got to work hard to make sure that they know we hear them and we are going to do everything we can to deal with folks who find themselves in a tough position as a consequence of this.”
Obama’s comments come 10 days after NBC News’ Lisa Myers reported that the administration has known since the summer of 2010 that millions of Americans could lose their insurance under the law. (more…)

This one has the potential to launch like a rocket.   It depends of whether Trenkle will spill the beans…..     The Chief Information Officer for the Obamacare website, Tony Trenkle, never approved of site security before launch.  Instead, his boss, Marilyn Tavenner, gave the authorization to proceed.   Mr. Trenkle quit yesterday so you can only imagine what the backstory is to this political decision, forward at all costs.
Just guessing –  My hunch is the guy knew what was coming, was sending warnings, told his boss this is “NOT” ready;  our platform is NOT secure etc. and she just told him they had no choice.   These were political decisions. 

CMS administrator Marilyn Tavenner (left) – HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius (right)

[CBS NEWS]  Tony Trenkle, the Obamacare official in charge of HealthCare.gov security efforts announced his resignation Wednesday, effective next week.
CBS News has learned that Trenkle, the Chief Information Officer for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), was originally supposed to sign off on security for the glitch-ridden website before its Oct. 1 launch, but didn’t. Instead, the authorization on September 27 was given by Trenkle’s boss, CMS administrator Marilyn Tavenner.
As CBS News reported Monday, security assessments fell behind and the website never had the required top-to-bottom tests. (more…)

First watch the video:

Prediction: Today, President Obama will come out with another politispeak correction *of sorts*, where he tacks toward the American People, saying that: “HHS’s efforts to improve the quality of healthcare” -has resulted in- “insurance companies choosing to *transition* plans“.
The slow and subtle goal will be to position HHS, not him, as the perceiver-in-origin of the misleading information. Kathleen Sebelius has already been determined to be expendable – her release/discharge will come as soon as the website is working correctly. The end of the newly nuanced (McDonough/Jarrett directed) statement will be summarized around: “we must overcome any potential flaw or glitch, accepting the motive was pure, and demand everyone participate in getting things moving forward”.
Using his traditional approach of divide and conquer, if you do not support the forward looking goal of successful implementation – you are a hateful, selfish non-patriot who does not care about the poor or afflicted.

Someone tell me what exactly is the U.S. value, or interest, in this Obama-doctrine again?   Concessions for Iran and Disparagement for Israel ?    Seriously.

GENEVA – On the eve of a new round of nuclear talks between Iran and the six world powers, a U.S. official said Wednesday that the powers want Iran to halt its nuclear program for six months in exchange for temporary sanctions relief.
The American official added that imposing any new sanctions on Iran at this stage would seriously undermine the negotiations.
During the three weeks since the last round of talks in Geneva, Iranian experts have been meeting in Vienna with counterparts from the six powers – the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany – to discuss the technical aspects of this first step, including how Iran’s nuclear program will be suspended and which sanctions would be eased.  (read the update)

Meanwhile: (more…)

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Nice compilation video by the folks at Washington Free Beacon:

A week ago we posted the story which aired on CNN and outlined the White House threatening insurance companies to keep their mouths shut and don’t talk bad about Obamacare.
When we shared the story we included the following paragraph:

Whenever you see the words “threats” and “directly from the White House” in one sentence or phrase, you can be intellectually confident President Obama’s Chief of Staff, Denis ”The Fixer” McDonough, is the source of the pressure.

Some people took exception, a few even emailed pointing out that Denis McDonough is now the President’s Chief of Staff and would not be the one “out of the office and pressuring anyone”.   It’s simply “not his job to protect policy” and “he doesn’t have time to fill that role” was the essential framework.
Well, we don’t think Treepers are stupid.   Nor will we obfuscate by not pointing to things which -while they might break from traditional framework- are more than likely to be the reality of what’s going on:
If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, sounds like a duck, looks like a duck – it isn’t a flippin’ swan that waddles.
(more…)

… “and MSNBC let you say that sh!t with a straight face”?

The below paragraphs are excerpted from a larger article available at American Commitment.Org Explaining the changes to all Americans under Obamacare structural standards testing, “Essential Health Benefits”:

According to HealthPocket: “The data shows that there will be a near complete transformation of the individual and family health insurance market starting in 2014. Less than 2% of the existing health plans in the individual market today provide all the Essential Health Benefits required under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).”
Even the best of the best plans are being canceled in the individual market. Bob Laszewski, a top industry analyst, described his cancelation:

“I have been in this business for 40 years. I know junk health insurance when I see it and I know ‘Cadillac’ health insurance when I see it. Right now I have ‘Cadillac’ health insurance… The new plan would have a deductible $500 higher than the one I now have and a lot more if I go “out-of-network” inside the rest of the Blue Cross national network… And, wait all you people telling me rate shock does not exist, the new far more restricted plan costs 66% more than our current monthly premium.”

Not in the individual market?  Scott Conover did an extensive analysis on Forbes showing that there are also changes in the small-group market – where only five percent of plans offered required pediatric dental check-ups – and the large-group market.  He found that overall 129 million Americans will no longer have the health plan they had, including millions whose previous employer coverage will be outright dropped.  (read full article)

CNN obtains White House internal communication (memo) sharing the Obama administration’s anxiety that if the website actually begins working people will find out Obamacare costs more with less coverage and fewer options. 

In our estimation there will be roughly  “NINE stages” of national outrage.  The high pricing and limited coverage options are only “stage THREE“.

Washington (CNN) – Officials expressed concern that the next shoe to drop in the evolving story about the Affordable Care Act would be disappointment from consumers once they are able to get on the troubled HealthCare.gov website – disappointment because of sticker shock and limited choice, according to a new document obtained by CNN.
(more…)