<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/526583ba6bb3f7c82634d4b0-1200-800/ap567401689186.jpg" border="0" alt="Barack Obama Mitt Romney debate" /><p class="source"><span>AP</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>Eight years after then-Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney signed the landmark health-care legislation known as "Romneycare" into law, <a href="http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=1867050" target="_blank">a new study</a> says it has saved thousands of lives. </p>
<p>According to new research published this week in the <span>Annals of Internal Medicine, the expansion of health insurance in Massachusetts has resulted in more than 300 lives saved per year since its enactment - a 4.5% reduction. </span></p>
<p><span>The law - which expanded Medicaid coverage, offered subsidies in private insurance, and established a mandate to purchase health insurance - is considered the model for the Affordable Care Act.</span></p>
<p><span><span>To conduct the study, the researchers - <span>Benjamin Sommers, Sharon Long, and Katherine Baicker - </span>compared Massachusetts counties with similar counties across the United States that did not have a health insurance expansion program. </span></span></p>
<p><span><span>Specifically, they looked at conditions "amenable to health care," screening for information </span></span><span style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">on different types of cancer, cardiovascular disease, infections, and other situations in which a person would be more likely to survive with better medical care. </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em; color: #000000;">Certain types of cancer, for example, can often </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">be prevented with earlier screening </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">or treated more successfully with early detection.</span></p>
<p><span><span>Overall, the researchers found that "h</span></span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">ealth reform in Massachusetts was associated with </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">significant reductions in all-cause mortality and deaths from causes </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">amenable to health care." As <a href="http://theincidentaleconomist.com/wordpress/health-insurance-saves-lives-that-means-it-improves-health-too/" target="_blank">Adrianna McIntyre points out at The Incidental Economist</a>, the effects of health reform were more pronounced in counties with comparably lower incomes and with low pre-reform insured rates.</span></p>
<p>Here's a chart from the study showing the comparison. The gap in deaths between Massachusetts and counties in other states grows wider after 2006, when the law championed by Romney started to be implemented:</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5368e38569bedde624fa86ae-733-478/screen shot 2014-05-06 at 9.26.56 am.png" border="0" alt="Romneycare study" /><p class="source"><span>Annals of Internal Medicine</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p>The study could lead to some debate over the Massachusetts law's costs - and the costs of the Affordable Care Act - going forward. The study found that for every 830 adults who gained insurance per year, one fewer person died.</p>
<p>According to the <a href="http://www.masstaxpayers.org/sites/masstaxpayers.org/files/Health%20Reform%20Report.pdf" target="_blank">Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation</a>, the state spends about $91 million more per year on health costs compared to the years prior to enactment of the law.</p>
<p>According to projections released by the Congressional Budget Office, the net cost of Obamacare in its first year will be about $36 billion, a number that is expected to grow exponentially as more people gain coverage through federal and state exchanges and through the law's expansion of the federal Medicaid program. The Obama administration <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/obamacare-enrollments-by-state-2014-5" target="_blank">said last week that more than 8 million people had enrolled through the exchanges</a> in the law's first open-enrollment period, and about 4.8 million more have gained coverage through the Medicaid expansion.</p>
<p>The authors warned that their study cannot be completely drawn to demonstrate causality. Compared with the nation as a whole, too, Massachusetts differs demographically and has more physicians per capita than any other state. But the authors wrote it will be important to monitor not only the coverage effects from the Affordable Care Act, but also the effects on mortality and other health provisions.</p>
<p><span>"Although this analysis cannot demonstrate causality, the results offer suggestive evidence that the Affordable Care Act - modeled after the Massachusetts law - may impact not only coverage and access but also mortality," the authors wrote. </span></p>
<p><span>"<span>The extent to which our results generalize to the United States as a whole is therefore unclear, which underscores the need to monitor closely the Affordable Care Act's effect on coverage, access, and population health across all states."</span></span></p>

A New Study Says Romneycare Has Saved Thousands Of Lives

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/51fa7093eab8ea8474000009-583-437/mitt-romney-110.jpg" border="0" alt="mitt romney" /><p class="source">AP</p></div><p></p></div></div>Ahead of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-obamacare-romneycare-boston-speech-2013-10" target="_blank">President Barack Obama's trip to Boston on Wednesday</a>, former Republican presidential candidate and 2012 Obama opponent <keyword id="156887" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Mitt-Romney">Mitt Romney</keyword> released a statement blasting the President on the troubled rollout of the Affordable Care Act. </p>
<p>As governor of Massachusetts, Romney signed into law a health-care overhaul that closely mirrors the Affordable Care Act on a state level, including the "mandate" to purchase health insurance. But he maintained during the 2012 campaign that he never thought the overhaul should be applied nationally.</p>
<p>And in his statement Wednesday, amid <keyword id="6579869" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="ObamaCare">Obamacare</keyword>'s troubled rollout, Romney re-emphasized that position. He also criticized Obama for not "learning the lessons of Massachusetts health care." </p>
<p>Here's his full statement:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span>In the years since the Massachusetts health care law went into effect nothing has changed my view that a plan crafted to fit the unique circumstances of a single state should not be grafted onto the entire country. Beyond that, had President Obama actually learned the lessons of Massachusetts health care, millions of Americans would not lose the insurance they were promised they could keep, millions more would not see their premiums skyrocket, and the installation of the program would not have been a frustrating embarrassment. Health reform is best crafted by states with bipartisan support and input from its employers, as we did, without raising taxes, and by carefully phasing it in to avoid the type of disruptions we are seeing nationally.</span></p>
<p><span>When he visits Boston on Wednesday, expect Obama to highlight the successes of "<keyword id="1920741" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Romneycare">Romneycare</keyword>" in Massachusetts - and also highlight some of the flaws in its rollout that are similar to the ones the Affordable Care Act are experiencing right now. </span></p>
<p><span>The <keyword id="6356037" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="white-house">White House</keyword> held a conference call on Tuesday afternoon to that effect <span>with two former Massachusetts officials who were instrumental in the development and implementation of the Massachusetts health law - Jonathan Gruber, who is considered the law's "architect," and Jon Kingsdale, who Romney hired to implement the law.</span><span><br /></span></span></p>
<p>"We have to recognize that relevant mandate deadline for the national law is next March. So the fact that people aren't signed up now for a policy they can't get until January - and which they're not mandated to have until March - is not at all interesting or important," Gruber said. "What matters is that it will ramp up over time.</p>
<p>"And really, the bottom line is that the success of health care reform needs to be measured in months and years, not days and weeks."</p>

Mitt Romney Releases Statement Blasting Obama Ahead Of His Trip To Boston On Obamacare

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image on-image"><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/527030d269bedda5328e42f4-1200-924/mitt-romney-ted-kennedy.jpg?maxX=800" border="0" alt="Mitt Romney Ted Kennedy" width="800" /><p class="source">AP</p></div><p></p></div></p>
<p>When President <keyword id="15962" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Barack-Obama">Barack Obama</keyword> travels to Boston on Wednesday, he'll deliver remarks at<span> Faneuil Hall, the same spot where then-Gov. Mitt Romney (R) signed the nation's most sweeping attempt at health-care reform into law in 2006. </span></p>
<p>Obama's message will be simple, at a time when his own signature <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-obamacare-website-glitches-mandate-2013-10" target="_blank">legislation is suffering from website outages</a> and broken promises: Remember how bad <keyword id="1920741" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Romneycare">Romneycare</keyword> was upon its launch?</p>
<p>Obama has said, dating back to the 2012 election, that Massachusetts' health-care law was used as a model for the Affordable Care Act. That's a message the <keyword id="6356037" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="white-house">White House</keyword> pushed once again on Tuesday, with press secretary Jay Carney calling it the "blueprint."</p>
<p>And later on Tuesday, the White House held a conference call with two former Massachusetts officials who were instrumental in the development and implementation of the Massachusetts health law - Jonathan Gruber, who is considered the law's "architect," and Jon Kingsdale, who Romney hired to implement the law.</p>
<p>"It's a marathon - not a sprint," Kingsdale said. </p>
<p>The message from the White House on the conference call: People need to be patient. In Massachusetts, the officials said, only .03% of the share of Massachusetts residents who eventually enrolled for health insurance signed up in the first month the law went into effect. In the final month of enrollment, before the mandate to purchase insurance kicked in, more than 20% of the final tally signed up. </p>
<p>Gruber talked about the "dire predictions" on what the health-care law was supposed to mean to the private-insurance industry in Massachusetts. In fact, he said, employer-sponsored insurance grew about 10% after the law was passed. At the same time, premiums in the individual-insurance market fell by double-digit percentages. <span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">And competition was introduced into the market. </span></p>
<p>"Perhaps what bothers me most is the notion that this is a socialized takeover of our health care system," Gruber said. "Nothing could be further from the truth."</p>
<p>Gruber also emphasized the fact that the law "ramped up slow" - it wasn't overnight perfection. Individuals signed up slowly, he said - only 123 signed up in the first month. By the end of the year - as the mandate deadline came up - it was 36,000 people. </p>
<p>"We have to recognize that relevant mandate deadline for the national law is next March. So the fact that people aren't signed up now for a policy they can't get until January - and which they're not mandated to have until March - is not at all interesting or important," he said. "What matters is that it will ramp up over time.</p>
<p>"And really, the bottom line is that the success of health care reform needs to be measured in months and years, not days and weeks."</p>
<p>There is a flaw in this argument - in Massachusetts, individuals had 10 months to sign up for insurance before being hit with a penalty. Under the Affordable Care Act, they only have six months - until the end of March - to sign up, something that has been made more challenging without a functional website.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, that was the key theme pushed by Kingsdale as well - buying insurance, for nearly everyone, is not like buying a car.</p>
<p>He said that a study well into the implementation of the Massachusetts law revealed that only one customer for every 100 people who visited the website ended up purchasing insurance. And only one out of every 18 customers who engaged with the website for a while ended up committing to a plan.</p>
<p>"Nobody goes down to their broker on a Saturday morning to smell the leather and test drive this baby," Kingsdale said. "It's a grudge-buy, and so there's going to be a lot of browsing."</p>

Obama Is Heading To Boston To Remind Everyone How Disastrous Romneycare Was Upon Its Launch

Obama Is Heading To Boston Tomorrow To Remind Everyone How Disastrous Romneycare Was Upon Its Launch

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/562a76909dd7cc14008c4634-2343-1757/rtr3a3ks.jpg" alt="mitt romney" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Mike Segar" data-mce-caption="Mitt Romney." /><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Mike Segar</span></p><p class="caption">Mitt Romney.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the Republican Party's 2012 presidential nominee, <a href="http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2015/10/23/staples-founder-thomas-stemberg-dies/3i4GgQA1zIxieMYAeZFmkJ/story.html?event=event25">appeared to take partial credit</a> for Obamacare Friday.</p><p>The Boston Globe's Taryn Luna quoted Romney praising the late Staples founder, Thomas Stemberg, for pushing him to expand healthcare reform in Massachusetts.</p><p>"Without Tom pushing it, I don't think we would have had Romneycare," Romney said of Stemberg, who died earlier in the day.</p><p>Romney added, "Without Romneycare, I don't think we would have Obamacare. So, without Tom a lot of people wouldn't have health insurance."</p><p>Political observers widely found that to be an eyebrow-raising comment. During the 2012 election, Romney <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/mitt-romney-obamacare-romneycare-obama-boston-speech-2013-10">criticized</a> US President Barack Obama's signature healthcare bill, which is one of the most reviled pieces of legislation among conservative activists.</p><p>But as Romney's critics pointed out at the time, he pushed for a relatively similar healthcare overhaul in his state, including the controversial insurance mandate.</p><p>Friday afternoon, Romney <a href="https://www.facebook.com/mittromney/posts/10153121019326121">clarified on Facebook</a> that he still opposes the Affordable Care Act:</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">Getting people health insurance is a good thing, and that's what Tom Stemberg fought for. I oppose Obamacare and believe it has failed. It drove up premiums, took insurance away from people who were promised otherwise, and usurped state programs. As I said in the campaign, I'd repeal it and replace it with state-crafted plans.</p><h2><a href="http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2015/10/23/staples-founder-thomas-stemberg-dies/3i4GgQA1zIxieMYAeZFmkJ/story.html?event=event25">Check out the full Boston Globe story &gt;&gt;</a></h2>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/pope-francis-arrives-us-united-states-obama-biden-catholic-church-2015-9">Watch Pope Francis meet Obama and Biden to kickoff his first US visit </a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="Jmb3Budzo2GQiEWZcYGO65_SfwYjoiHW" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'Jmb3Budzo2GQiEWZcYGO65_SfwYjoiHW',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

Mitt Romney made a surprising comment about Obamacare - and then walked it back

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58c2d1946e20041a008b5618-1440/undefined" alt="stephen colbert donald trump healthcare plan late show cbs" data-mce-source="&amp;quotThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert&quot;/CBS; YouTube"><p class="source"><span>"The Late Show with Stephen Colbert"/CBS; YouTube</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div>Donald Trump is well-known for splashing his name on casinos, hotels, and private planes, but Stephen Colbert found it funny that he doesn't want his healthcare plan referred to as "Trumpcare."<p>"Trump is all in. He'll pulling out all the stops on this healthcare bill, except when it comes to the name, because the White House is asking, 'Please don't call it Trumpcare,"&#xa0;<span>CBS's "Late Show" host said on Thursday's episode.</span></p><p>This week, several Trump administration spokespeople <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/trump-branding-obamacare-repeal-235831" target="_blank">tried to distance Trump's name from the healthcare plan</a>, which is finding <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/stephen-colbert-donald-trump-trumpcare-healthcare-game-of-thrones-2017-3" target="_blank">opposition from both sides of the political aisle</a>. Then on Wednesday, a White House spokesperson made it clear.</p><p><span>"It's not Trumpcare. We will be calling it by its official name," the spokesperson said Wednesday of the American Health Care Act.</span></p><p><span>"[Trump] just doesn't want you call it Trumpcare," Colbert said. "When it comes to whether you should call it Trumpcare, that is one thing about which Trump care."<br /></span></p><p><span>Clearly, there's a tradition of including the name of the person introducing a healthcare plan in its nickname. There's "Obamacare," "Hillarycare," and when former Massachusetts Governor and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney presented his healthcare plan in 2012, it was called "Romneycare."</span></p><p><span>But while Trump doesn't like his name associated with the plan, Romney's former spokesperson explained that <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/trump-branding-obamacare-repeal-235831" target="_blank">conservatives&#xa0;actually don't like the word "care" either</a>, something Colbert found funny.</span></p><p><span>"Yes, very important, Conservatives don't want to be associated with caring," Colbert said.</span></p><p><strong>Watch the video below:</strong></p><div><iframe width="800" height="450" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/LIjxV9QsYGU?ecver=2?start=380" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/paul-ryan-healthcare-presentation-turns-into-hilarious-memes-trumpcare-2017-3">People on Twitter are turning Paul Ryan's healthcare presentation into hilarious memes</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="9kb2Y4YTE69-NKYpduWJ-8gkGwxG-8Uf" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', '9kb2Y4YTE69-NKYpduWJ-8gkGwxG-8Uf',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

Stephen Colbert mocks Trump for not wanting his name on his embattled healthcare plan

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image on-image"><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/52419aafeab8eaf33422a3a5-1200-924/ted-cruz-16.jpg?maxX=480" border="0" alt="Ted Cruz" width="480" /><p class="source">AP</p></div><p></p></div>The conservative <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324492604579087342347257028.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop" target="_blank">editorial board of the Wall Street Journal blasted</a> Sen. Ted Cruz's (R-Texas) strategy to strip funding of the Affordable Care Act through the continuing resolution to keep the government funded.</p>
<p>The board cast Cruz as a "general" sending his troops out to battle in a losing fight - a "charge into the fixed bayonets." It also blasted Cruz for the main problem with his strategy - calling on House Republicans <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ted-cruz-obamacare-defunding-government-shutdown-boehner-2013-9" target="_blank">to "stand firm" in the face of sure losses in the Senate</a>. </p>
<p>From <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324492604579087342347257028.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop" target="_blank">the editorial</a>:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">When Mr. Cruz demands that House Republicans "hold firm," he means they should keep trying to defund <keyword id="6579869" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="ObamaCare">ObamaCare</keyword> even if it results in a shutdown that President Obama will blame on Republicans. It's nice of him to volunteer House Republicans for duty. The supposedly intrepid General Cruz can view the battle from the comfort of HQ while the enlisted troops take any casualties.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">The Lee-Cruz strategy, to the extent it's about more than fund-raising lists or getting face time on cable TV, seems to be that if the House holds "firm" amid a shutdown, then the public will eventually blame Mr. Obama and the Democrats, who will then fold and defund ObamaCare. Or, short of that, Democrats might agree to delay the health-care law for another year past its launch date on October 1.</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Miracles happen, but it would rank as one for the ages if Mr. Obama agreed to defund his signature Presidential achievement. A year's delay would also be a victory, but Mr. Obama knows that punting the law past the 2014 election is risky if Republicans regain a Senate majority.</p>
<p>The WSJ edit board has been one of the leading critics of Sens. Cruz and Mike Lee (R-Utah) <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/debt-ceiling-government-shutdown-obamacare-gop-fight-2013-9" target="_blank">in a fight that has divided conservative groups</a>.</p>
<p>In its editorial, the WSJ took shots at the Heritage Foundation - which, it pointed out, was an <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2011/10/27/the_heritage_foundation_and_romneycare_cont_d.html" target="_blank">architect and proponent of "Romneycare,"</a> on which Obamacare's individual mandate is based.</p>
<p><span>"These columns opposed ObamaCare before it was known by that name, and we may have even been the first to call it by that name," the editorial reads.</span></p>
<p><span>"We also don't need any lectures about principle from the Heritage Foundation that promoted RomneyCare and the individual mandate that is part of ObamaCare. Or from cable TV pundits who sold Republicans on Mitt Romney despite RomneyCare."</span></p>
<p>A better strategy, the editorial board argued, would be to seek a one-year delay in the individual mandate, pointing out that President Barack Obama <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/obamacare-employer-mandate-delayed-year-2013-7" target="_blank">has already agreed to delay the so-called employer mandate</a>. But the board noted that the only "real way" to fully repeal the law is to "win elections."</p>

The Wall Street Journal Blasts 'General' Ted Cruz For His Strategy To Defund Obamacare

<p><div class="image-container float_right"><div class="image"><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/52419aafeab8eaf33422a3a5-1200-924/ted-cruz-16.jpg?maxX=480" border="0" alt="Ted Cruz" width="480" /><p class="source on-image">AP</p></div></div>The conservative <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324492604579087342347257028.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop" target="_blank">editorial board of the Wall Street Journal blasted</a> Sen. Ted Cruz's (R-Texas) strategy to strip funding of the Affordable Care Act through the continuing resolution to keep the government funded.</p>
<p>The board cast Cruz as a "general" sending his troops out to battle in a losing fight - a "charge into the fixed bayonets." It also blasted Cruz for the main problem with his strategy - calling on House Republicans <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ted-cruz-obamacare-defunding-government-shutdown-boehner-2013-9" target="_blank">to "stand firm" in the face of sure losses in the Senate</a>. </p>
<p>From <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324492604579087342347257028.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop" target="_blank">the editorial</a>:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">When Mr. Cruz demands that House Republicans "hold firm," he means they should keep trying to defund <keyword id="6579869" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="ObamaCare">ObamaCare</keyword> even if it results in a shutdown that President Obama will blame on Republicans. It's nice of him to volunteer House Republicans for duty. The supposedly intrepid General Cruz can view the battle from the comfort of HQ while the enlisted troops take any casualties.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">The Lee-Cruz strategy, to the extent it's about more than fund-raising lists or getting face time on cable TV, seems to be that if the House holds "firm" amid a shutdown, then the public will eventually blame Mr. Obama and the Democrats, who will then fold and defund ObamaCare. Or, short of that, Democrats might agree to delay the health-care law for another year past its launch date on October 1.</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Miracles happen, but it would rank as one for the ages if Mr. Obama agreed to defund his signature Presidential achievement. A year's delay would also be a victory, but Mr. Obama knows that punting the law past the 2014 election is risky if Republicans regain a Senate majority.</p>
<p>The WSJ edit board has been one of the leading critics of Sens. Cruz and Mike Lee (R-Utah) <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/debt-ceiling-government-shutdown-obamacare-gop-fight-2013-9" target="_blank">in a fight that has divided conservative groups</a>.</p>
<p>In its editorial, the WSJ took shots at the Heritage Foundation - which, it pointed out, was an <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2011/10/27/the_heritage_foundation_and_romneycare_cont_d.html" target="_blank">architect and proponent of "Romneycare,"</a> on which Obamacare's individual mandate is based.</p>
<p><span>"These columns opposed ObamaCare before it was known by that name, and we may have even been the first to call it by that name," the editorial reads.</span></p>
<p><span>"We also don't need any lectures about principle from the Heritage Foundation that promoted RomneyCare and the individual mandate that is part of ObamaCare. Or from cable TV pundits who sold Republicans on Mitt Romney despite RomneyCare."</span></p>
<p>A better strategy, the editorial board argued, would be to seek a one-year delay in the individual mandate, pointing out that President Barack Obama <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/obamacare-employer-mandate-delayed-year-2013-7" target="_blank">has already agreed to delay the so-called employer mandate</a>. But the board noted that the only "real way" to fully repeal the law is to "win elections."</p>

Wall Street Journal Edit Board Blasts 'General' Ted Cruz For His Strategy To Defund Obamacare

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/554926776bb3f7456bf667e0-1200-924/jim-bob-duggar.jpg?maxX=600" border="0" alt="Jim Bob Duggar" width="600"><p class="source"><span>Andrew Burton/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Jim Bob Duggar supported Rick Santorum in the 2012 presidential election.</p></img></div><p></p></div></p><p><span>Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar</span>, the parents of the reality TV clan from "19 Kids and Counting," have endorsed former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) for president despite their allegiance to former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pennsylvania) in the last presidential election.</p><p>Shortly after Huckabee announced his White House campaign on Tuesday, two separate endorsements from Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar <a href="http://www.mikehuckabee.com/">appeared on the candidate's website</a>. </p><p>The family matriarch hailed Huckabee as a "<span>man of faith who is very wise."</span></p><p><span>"He will help get our national back on track," she said in praise.</span></p><p><span>Her husband also posted a rave review of the former Baptist pastor, turned governor, turned FOX News host, turned presidential candidate.  </span></p><p>"America needs Governor Huckabee for president! Governor Huckabee has the communication skills of Ronald Reagan, and a common sense business approach to government," Jim Bob Duggar wrote.</p><p>Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, who are parents to 19 children, are also from Arkansas. They are deeply religious and embrace conservative political views. Their oldest son, Josh, now works in <keyword id="6358883" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Politics">politics</keyword> as the executive director at the lobbying arm of the Family Research Council. </p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The family supported Huckabee in his 2008 presidential run. </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Even though the family "begged" Huckabee to run for president in 2012, he declined and instead they settled on</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pennsylvania).</span></p><p>They even brought 12 of their 19 children to Iowa in 2012 to campaign for Santorum ahead of the Iowa Caucus.  </p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/55492c756da811bf14347b37-1200-750/ap070802046212.jpg" border="0" alt="Duggar family with 17 chlidren" width="600"><p class="source"><span>AP Photo/ Beth Hall</span></p><p class="caption">The Duggar family, in 2007 celebrating the birth of their 17th child, have endorsed Huckabee in the 2016 race.</p></img></div><p></p></div></p><p>Back in 2012, family patriarch, Jim Bob, called Santorum "<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">someone with a proven track record to stand up for what's right, for lower taxes, less government intervention in our lives."</span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">"He's always been an advocate for the unborn. He's somebody that he authored the bill that banned partial birth abortion. That's something that nobody else can say. Whereas Mitt Romney, when he was governor of Massachusetts, he set up a Romneycare program, and included a program where any girl could go in and get an abortion for $50."</span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">This election cycle, Santorum is expected to enter an already crowded field of candidates vying for the Republican presidential nomination b</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">ut the Duggars seem to be already staunchly on Team Huckabee this time around.</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> </span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The family didn't respond to a request for comment on what they thought about Santorum as a candidate in the 2016 race. </span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/secret-grand-central-train-tunnel-presidents-fdr-2015-3">We went inside the top-secret tunnel under Grand Central that only presidents use</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="FpMDlxczqKJlM6Rvz6ieqdUHOO9OVeSK" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'FpMDlxczqKJlM6Rvz6ieqdUHOO9OVeSK',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

The Duggar family just deserted Rick Santorum for Mike Huckabee 

<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image on-image"><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/52716e88eab8eacd58fb2968-1200-924/barack-obama-270.jpg?maxX=800" border="0" alt="Barack Obama" width="800" /><p class="source">REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque</p></div><p></p></div></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Speaking in </span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Faneuil Hall, the same spot where then-Gov. Mitt Romney (R) signed the nation's most sweeping attempt at health-care reform into law in 2006, President <keyword id="15962" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Barack-Obama">Barack Obama</keyword> said that critics of the Affordable Care Act have been "grossly misleading" on the latest controversy involving the law's rollout.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Obama addressed "the latest flurry in the news" - that some people are getting cancellation notices on their health insurance because of <keyword id="6579869" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="ObamaCare">Obamacare</keyword>. He defended a claim that he repeatedly made during the run-up to the Affordable Care Act's passage - that if "you like your plan, you can keep it." </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/obamacare-should-change-your-health-plan-2013-10" target="_blank">That claim isn't proving true</a>, but Obama said he wasn't lying when he made that promise. He blamed insurance companies for changing their policies and not complying with basic minimum requirements of the health-care law. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"><span>"One of the things health care reform was designed to do was to help not only the uninsured, but the underinsured," Obama said.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"><span>House Speaker John Boehner released a statement, in turn, that accused Obama of being misleading.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">"It's beyond disappointing that, despite the evidence, the president continues to mislead the American people about his health care law," Boehner said. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">"The president promised that if you like your health care plan, you can keep it. It wasn't true when he said it years ago, and, as millions of Americans are finding out, it's not true now. All across the country, cancellation notices are hitting mailboxes because of the train wreck that is the president's health care law."</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Obama also promoted the success of "Romneycare" on a state level in Massachusetts, hailing it as a "model" for the nation that offers a preview into the Affordable Care Act's benefits. He argued that the similarities between the two laws - <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-obamacare-romneycare-boston-speech-2013-10" target="_blank">including somewhat rocky rollouts for both</a> - should inspire confidence that the disasters that have come with the Affordable Care Act's launch would soon disappear.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">He did acknowledge that the implementation of the health-care law has been less than smooth. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"></span>"There's no denying it. The website is too slow. ... And I'm not happy about it," Obama said.</p>
<p>"<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">I take full responsibility for making sure it works ASAP."</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Obama's speech in Boston came a few hours after his top health-care official, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/kathleen-sebelius-hot-mic-dont-do-this-to-me-obamacare-testimony-2013-10" target="_blank">faced a grilling from Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill</a>. Sebelius apologized to the American people <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/kathleen-sebelius-testimony-obamacare-website-debacle-2013-10" target="_blank">for the rollout of a dysfunctional website</a> that has left many unable to purchase health insurance.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">During Obama's speech, he was interrupted twice by hecklers opposed to the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. He took it in stride.</span></p>
<p class="p1">"That is the wrong rally! We had the climate change rally back in the summer. This is the health care rally," he joked.</p>

Obama Blasts Critics Of Obamacare As 'Grossly Misleading'

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5453a75269bedd0e54bd6af0-1200-924/jeb-bush-26.jpg" alt="Jeb Bush" border="0"><p class="source"><span>AP</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div>During a prominent gathering of conservatives in the first-in-the-nation primary state of New Hampshire, the largest spattering of boos among the crowd didn't come at speakers' frequent mentions of President Barack Obama.</p>
<p>The loudest jeers came when a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/jeb-bush-booed-new-hampshire-conservatives-2014-4" target="_blank">speaker would mention former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush</a>.</p>
<p><span>"You know, I heard Jeb Bush the other day," mogul Donald Trump said during his speech at the Freedom Summit, hosted by the conservative groups Citizens United and the Americans for Prosperity Foundation. He paused in his speech as the boos started.</span><span><br /></span></p>
<p><span>As <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-jeb-bush-would-be-the-frontrunner-in-2016-2014-10" target="_blank">chatter heats up about a Bush possibly running for president</a> in 2016, he faces a potentially significant obstacle - convincing the conservative base to rally around him as a Republican nominee.</span></p>
<p>Conservatives' problems with Bush, the <span>brother of former President George W. Bush and younger son of President George H.W. Bush,</span> are threefold. First, he supports overhauling the nation's immigration system, something that has made some on the right charge he supports "amnesty" for undocumented immigrants living in the US. Bush also has embraced the Common Core educational standards, a policy that is quickly becoming the "Obamacare" of education on the right.</p>
<p><span>And, to a lesser extent, conservatives also agree with the sentiment of Bush over-saturation. They are tired of the Bush name representing the Republican Party, and they want to avoid a potential third Bush in office over the last five presidencies. </span></p>
<p>"<span class="il">Bush</span> as a last name" is an issue, said Erick Erickson, the editor in chief of the conservative news site RedState. "It is the same problems the Democrats have. 'Let's go forward by going backward.' Not exactly a winning slogan."</p>
<p>But the base's problem with Bush begins with his positions on immigration and education. Some conservatives see Bush as pseudo-repeat version of 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney - a candidate they were reluctant to back in the 2012 election, before he became the Republican Party's <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/mitt-romney-delivers-an-epic-rant-about-obamas-terrible-administration-2014-10">go-to surrogate in this election cycle</a>.</p>
<p>Steve Deace, a prominent conservative in the crucial early presidential state of Iowa, summed up conservatives' problem with Jeb Bush: He's everything they hated about Romney, and nothing they liked about him.</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">"</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">I'm saying there's a chance" Bush could win the backing of conservatives and the nomination, Deace told Business Insider in an email, adding, "The same chance I have to </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">look good in a thong."</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5453d8f8ecad04c745be023a-1200-600/mitt-romney-marco-rubio-jeb-bush-2.jpg" alt="mitt romney marco rubio jeb bush" border="0"><p class="source"><span>Getty Images/Joe Raedle</span></p><p class="caption">From left, Mitt Romney, Marco Rubio, and Jeb Bush in 2012.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><br /></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Bush was the target of ire at the Freedom Summit in April because of remarks he made earlier in the week about undocumented immigrants - many of whom, he said, came to the US out of an "act of love" for their families. </span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">In general, Bush supports an overhaul of the nation's immigration laws, and he has <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/04/06/jeb-bush-many-illegal-immigrants-come-out-of-an-act-of-love/" target="_blank">said</a> the bipartisan Senate <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/immigration-reform-senate-passes-bill-path-citizenship-2013-6" target="_blank">bill passed last June</a> was a "good effort" toward accomplishing that goal. The Senate's bill, which garnered the support of 14 Republicans, has been a non-starter in the House amid fierce pushback from the chamber's conservative wing.<br /></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Conservatives' disapproval of both Obama and congressional Republicans on the issue of immigration only heightened this summer, when tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/immigration-border-crisis-photos-2014-6" target="_blank">streamed across the US-Mexico border</a>.</span></p>
<p>Even Mike Huckabee, a fellow potential 2016 Republican candidate who is more sympathetic to immigration reform than other conservative prospects, attacked Bush's April comments.</p>
<p><span>"I think what Jeb was trying to say was that many people come to the United States to look for opportunity," Huckabee said. "I don't personally support amnesty. I think we ought to have a secure border."</span><span><br /></span></p>
<p><span>But an increasingly important issue among conservative activists is the Common Core education standards, which one conservative who spoke to Business Insider called "Obamacore." The activist said it had the potential to be "Jeb's Romneycare," referring to the Massachusetts healthcare law mirroring the federal Affordable Care Act that was passed during Romney's tenure as governor of the state. </span></p>
<p><span>Bush's overall record on education during his tenure as governor is well-admired on the right. His "A+ plan" placed a greater emphasis on standardized testing in Florida, and he instituted broad school choice featuring vouchers and charter schools. However, Bush also took an active role in implementing the Common Core standards and continues to be perhaps their staunchest defender on the right.</span></p>
<p><span><span>"He's the poster-child for Common Core," Deace said.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The Common Core standards were developed by a group appointed by the National Governors Association, the bipartisan organization of the nation's governors. The standards were adopted in mid-2009, intending to foster greater academic achievement and allow for comparable standards across states. One of its goals, </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"></span><a href="http://www.nga.org/cms/home/news-room/news-releases/page_2009/col2-content/main-content-list/title_forty-nine-states-and-territories-join-common-core-standards-initiative.html" target="_blank">as stated by the NGA</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">, was to return power back to states after President George W. Bush's No Child Left Behind law let the federal government play a major role in state education standards.</span></p>
<p><span><span><span>Conservatives began souring on the Common Core law after the Obama administration tied certain grants to states' adoption of the standards. But as the right's opposition has grown, Bush and the group he co-founded, the Foundation for Excellence in Education, have dug in with their support. Bush has even <a href="http://politics.heraldtribune.com/2013/10/17/bush-defends-common-core/" target="_blank">suggested</a> opponents of Common Core are dabbling in conspiracy theories.</span></span></span></p>
<p>"Never under-estimate moms," Erickson said. "The Chamber of Commerce types have spun this as no big deal and no causing harm. But it is only just rolling out. This is becoming an issue and will be an issue with the base that hurts <span class="il">Jeb</span> because of his defense."<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/53908bcf69beddec546ba573-1200-900/bi_mutiplicationgraphic_3x4.jpg" alt="Multiplication Graphic Common Core Box Method Longform" style="color: #000000;" border="0"><p class="source"><span>Skye Gould/Business Insider</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p>How Bush deals with conservative opposition to his stances on immigration and Common Core will likely determine how far he gets in the nomination process, should he choose to run. <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">He has two options. One involves making a very un-Romney-like move and continuing to defend his views on both immigration and on Common Core. </span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">This would represent a contrast from Romney, who entered the 2012 GOP primary open to immigration reform before eventually famously saying undocumented immigrants should self-deport. Romney also moved markedly away from the universal healthcare law he helped design as governor of Massachusetts, even as some supporters touted it as his biggest achievement. But, if Bush adopts this strategy, it could also more firmly alienate a moderate base he needs to win over to win the nomination.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Bush's second potential strategy would involve  gently softening his position on both issues, like Romney did, over the next year. This is what multiple prominent conservatives believe he will do. On immigration, this will include likely pointing to his 2013 book, "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Immigration-Wars-Forging-American-Solution/dp/1476713456" target="_blank">Immigration Wars</a>," in which he came out against a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. On Common Core, Bush will likely emphasize that he only cares about the standards - not the name.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">As Erickson said, "He has Romney's position, and Romney got the nomination."</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">"<span> I think we need someone new to be the party's leader," he said. "It's just no one is sure who that should be, which gives </span><span class="il">Jeb</span><span> an advantage."</span><br /></span></p>
<p><a href="//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/"></a></p>

You Searched For "Romneycare" and got 12 results

A New Study Says Romneycare Has Saved Thousands Of Lives

Brett LoGiurato

Mitt Romney Releases Statement Blasting Obama Ahead Of His Trip To Boston On Obamacare

Brett LoGiurato

Mitt Romney Releases Statement Blasting Obama Ahead Of His Trip To Boston On Obamacare

Brett LoGiurato

Obama Is Heading To Boston To Remind Everyone How Disastrous Romneycare Was Upon Its Launch

Brett LoGiurato

Obama Is Heading To Boston Tomorrow To Remind Everyone How Disastrous Romneycare Was Upon Its Launch

Brett LoGiurato

Mitt Romney made a surprising comment about Obamacare - and then walked it back

Colin Campbell

Stephen Colbert mocks Trump for not wanting his name on his embattled healthcare plan

Jethro Nededog

The Wall Street Journal Blasts 'General' Ted Cruz For His Strategy To Defund Obamacare

Brett LoGiurato

Wall Street Journal Edit Board Blasts 'General' Ted Cruz For His Strategy To Defund Obamacare

Brett LoGiurato

The Duggar family just deserted Rick Santorum for Mike Huckabee

Leslie Larson

Obama Blasts Critics Of Obamacare As 'Grossly Misleading'

Brett LoGiurato

Conservatives Are Already Freaking Out About Jeb Bush's Possible Run For President

Brett LoGiurato