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Ken Cuccinelli on Health Care
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Opposes ObamaCare and opposes delaying its implementation
Cuccinelli reiterated his opposition to President Obama's health-care plan, but he also criticized Obama for not following his own law by postponing the legislation's employer mandate for one year.
McAuliffe, meanwhile, made clear that he still supports the law and stressed that he thinks Virginia should accept the measure's invitation to expand the state's Medicaid program, which Cuccinelli opposes.
Source: Washington Post on 2013 Virginia governor debates
, Jul 21, 2013
Government out of healthcare decisions: focus on competition
I believe strongly that healthcare decisions should be made by doctors and families, not by the government. Our healthcare system is bloated with rules and regulations that make health insurance more expensive and care less accessible.
To combat these problems, I support harnessing market competition, consumer choice, and the power of better information for patients.While states are severely constrained by federal law,
I believe that state governments can reform their markets in ways that allow more competition and better choices for consumers. As Governor, I will pursue changes to open up Virginia's markets, attract the nation's best medical professionals,
improve patient safety by modernizing the health care information systems, and get timely, accurate information to families and businesses to empower them to make the best possible health care decisions.
Source: VA Governor 2013 campaign website, cuccinelli.com, "Issues"
, Mar 23, 2013
ObamaCare forces citizens to make purchases
In March 2010, Pres. Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress did to the people what the tyrant we rebelled against in 1775 couldn't even do when we were merely subjects: they declared that they suddenly had the unprecedented power to force Americans
to purchase private products in the name of whatever "public good" the federal government deemed appropriate.In March 2012, that product was private health insurance, and the mandate to buy it was the centerpiece of the new federal health care law,
the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also dubbed ObamaCare.
But this new power Congress and the president claimed for themselves had the potential to go far beyond the ability to force Americans to purchase just health insurance. The power
could be used to force them to buy cars to prop up the ailing automobile industry, to buy gym memberships and vegetables to promote healthy lifestyles or to buy virtually anything for whatever Congress and the president declared was the public good.
Source: Last Line of Defense, by Ken Cuccinelli, p. 1-2
, Feb 12, 2013
ObamaCare is costly at both federal and state levels
I had to look at [the ObamaCare legislation in our lawsuit] solely from a legal perspective. I thought the law was terrible policy, but we targeted the health care law's individual-insurance mandate. However, I'll briefly mention some of its more
controversial aspects.- The massive jump in regulatory requirements resulted in most insurance premiums actually going up.
- The law is costly at the federal level: $1.76 trillion between 2012 and 2022.
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The law is also costly at the state level, encouraging the states to expand their already costly Medicaid welfare programs to allow more low-income people who can't afford health insurance to get into those programs.
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The law is unbelievably costly for the private sector, requiring companies with more than 50 employees to provide an "affordable" employee health insurance plan or face an annual tax of $2,000 or $3000 per employee.
Source: Last Line of Defense, by Ken Cuccinelli, p. 50-51
, Feb 12, 2013
Repeal ObamaCare as a tax, by simple majority
Since the Supreme Court reclassified ObamaCare as a tax, it suddenly became easier to repeal.
Unlike its original passage, which took 60 votes to overcome a filibuster in the US Senate, a bill to repeal a tax is a revenue bill, which can't be filibustered.
A repeal bill only needed a simple majority in the Senate--51, not 60, votes and a Republican president to sign it. The House had already passed a repeal bill in 2011, but the measure could never get enough votes in the Senate.
Unfortunately, in November 2012, President Obama won reelection and the Democrats retained control of the Senate. The chance for repeal was likely over.
Source: Last Line of Defense, by Ken Cuccinelli, p.163-164
, Feb 12, 2013
Allow cross-state purchasing & health savings accounts
If ObamaCare is someday repealed, Congress needs to come up with a replacement that addressed our real health care problems while getting government mostly out of the way. Reforms should:-
Allow the purchase of insurance across state lines.
- Encourage personal ownership of insurance policies by giving individuals who purchase their own insurance the same tax deduction employers get.
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Incentivize the use of high-deductible health savings accounts (HSAs).
- Reduce the number of mandated benefits that state legislatures require insurers to cover in their policies.
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Require transparency in pricing.
- Put caps on malpractice liability.
Source: Last Line of Defense, by Ken Cuccinelli, p.165-167
, Feb 12, 2013
Challenged & won on Constitutionality of ObamaCare's mandate
No one has fought President Barack Obama's health care reform law more effectively than Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. The Republican is spearheading the legal challenges against the bill, especially the "individual mandate" provision that
would require most Americans to buy health insurance. Cuccinelli won a major victory in Dec. 2010 when a federal judge found that provision of the law to be unconstitutional, and the case is expected to wind up before the US Supreme Court. Asked about
Obama's recent statement that he would support legislation that would allow states to opt out of the mandate if they can find another way to expand coverage without driving up health care costs, Cuccinelli said he doesn't expect much to come from the
president's comments. "They put four enormous conditions on what they call the opting out, and one of them that I would point to first is that it has to be deficit-neutral. You think he's going to let the states do that?" Cuccinelli asked. "I doubt it."
Source: PolitiFact.com on 2013 Virginia governor debates
, Mar 7, 2011
ObamaCare has 6 years of costs vs. 10 years of tax revenue
Ken Cuccinelli said on March 1st, 2011 in an appearance on Fox News that the health care bill has "six years of costs against 10 years of tax revenue." The claim that the health care bill charges 10 years of taxes and for only six years of services is
widely used by Republicans.Two of the highest-profile elements of the bill start in 2014, roughly four years after the law took effect. The virtual marketplaces known as health care exchanges would start that year, enabling those who are uninsured to
buy insurance. In addition, that's the year for a major expansion in eligibility for Medicaid. And a 10-year phase out of the "doughnut hole"--the gap in Medicare drug coverage--began last year. The Republican argument that benefits don't kick in until
2014 is true if you're looking at those big provisions. But many smaller provisions have already taken effect. And many of the major tax changes will be delayed by a few years. We rate this claim Half True.
Source: PolitiFact.com on 2013 Virginia governor debates
, Mar 7, 2011
Page last updated: Nov 28, 2014
