Baltimore Ravens to aid Obamacare enrollment effort in Maryland

The NFL may have spiked the White House’s request for Obamacare PR help — but the Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens just called an audible.

The team has signed onto efforts to market the health law to Marylanders, according to an announcement from Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown and officials running the state’s Obamacare insurance exchange, known as Maryland Health Connection.

“Research shows that 71 percent of the uninsured population in Maryland have watched, attended or listened to a Ravens game in the past 12 months,” the announcement said. “The partnership will provide Maryland Health Connection with the opportunity to reach and engage fans while making them aware of the new opportunity they have for health coverage beginning this fall through the health insurance marketplace.”

(PHOTOS: 25 unforgettable Obamacare quotes)

A Ravens spokesman said the team would reveal more details on Wednesday, after a conference call to discuss its role. According to the Maryland Health Connection, the team is expected to assist during a six-month enrollment period that begins on Oct. 1, a few weeks into the start of the NFL season. The partnership is intended “to connect with Maryland residents about the importance of developing a health coverage game plan.”

In Maryland, the partnership with the Ravens is one facet of a broader enrollment effort, which also includes a social media campaign and partnerships with CVS and Giant Food. The stores will provide shoppers with information about coverage.

The White House’s overtures to professional sports leagues have largely gone unheeded, leaving it to individual teams and players to decide whether to partner with their states’ exchanges. The NFL was among the sports leagues that Republican lawmakers warned against participating in Obamacare outreach efforts, and the league responded by insisting it had no plans to do so.

Via: Politico

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[VIDEO] Wasserman Schultz Pushes For Attack On Syria: "As A Jew...The Concept Of Never Again Has To Mean Something"

Appearing on CNN Monday night, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz justified an attack on Syria as moral, because “as a Jew … the concept of never again has to mean something.”

Wolf Blitzer asked the Florida Democrat what President Obama’s next move would be if Congress were to reject a strike on President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

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“Well, I feel confident that our colleagues, my colleagues both on the Republican side of the aisle as well as the Democratic side of the aisle are not going to jeopardize the credibility of the United States,” Mrs. Wasserman Schultz said.

“For me as a mother, to see that searing image of babies lined up, murdered by their own government, innocent children,” she continued. “I mean, as a Jew, Wolf, I have to tell you, as a member of Congress who represents one of the largest Holocaust survivor populations in the country, to me, the concept of never again, has to mean something. And the United States, morally, cannot turn the other cheek. Too many leaders of ours have regretted that decision.”

House leaders from both side of the aisle said Tuesday they’ll back President Obama’s plan for military strikes against Assad.

Via: Washington Times

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Under Obamacare, Hospitals and Courts Overrule Parental Authority

Parents be warned!  Under Obamacare guidelines, doctors and hospitals can usurp your parental authority, dictate what medical treatment your child will get and if you don’t like it, they will have your child taken away from you, and in some cases the courts are siding with the hospitals.

 Jacob Stieler, son of Ken and Erin had cancer as a young boy and was treated.  At age 9 he had been cancer free for a year.  With no signs of cancer on any tests, the state ordered Jacob to undergo another round of strong chemotherapy.  There was no need for the chemo and some doctors even said it could do damage to the boy and possible be fatal, but the state insisted that this was the mandated treatment under Obamacare guidelines.  When the parents refused the dangerous chemo treatments, the state threatened that they would charge the parents with medical neglect.

 Sammy Nikolayev made national news at 5 months of age when he was forcibly taken from the arms of his mother by a squad of armed police.  Sammy’s mother Anna was uneasy when a doctor at a hospital told her that Sammy needed surgery.  She told the hospital that she wanted a second opinion and took Sammy to another hospital to be checked.  The second hospital said that Sammy did not need surgery and prescribed treatment.  Doctors at the first hospital were insulted that Anna would take her son elsewhere and they called social services and the police and had Sammy ripped from the arms of his mother.  Eventually, Sammy was returned to his parents, who will never trust doctors, hospitals, police or social workers ever again.

Via: Political Outcast

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Lawmakers demand Capitol Hill not be shielded from Obamacare

A quartet of Republican lawmakers on Tuesday accused the Obama administration of taking steps to “shield Washington insiders” from financial impacts of the new health care law and said it should reconsider its approach.

Sens. David Vitter of Louisiana and Mike Lee of Utah and Reps. Phil Gingrey of Georgia and Ron DeSantis of Florida said the Office of Personnel Management went beyond the strict text of the Affordable Care Act when it decided in early August to let denizens of Capitol Hill get taxpayer money to cover up to 75 percent of their premiums. The move effectively keeps a traditional subsidy in place although the law forces congressmembers and their staffs to acquire insurance through state-based health exchanges in the coming year and beyond.

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SEE ALSO: Obamacare foes claim 1 million signatures for defunding

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“This proposed ‘fix’ is exactly why the American public has a very negative impression of Congress and Washington,” the lawmakers said in a letter to OPM Acting Director Elaine Kaplan.

They said the health care law states “very clearly” that federal lawmakers and staff must procure their insurance through an exchange.

“Just as clearly, it does not reconstitute government support of their present coverage under the separate Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan (FEHBP) as payment toward the Exchange,” they wrote.

Lawmakers have unveiled draft bills in both the House and Senate that they say would force members of Congress to experience Obamacare the same way many average Americans will — having to pay out-of-pocket for insurance in state-based exchanges

Via: Washington Times

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