A letter to the editor over the weekend accuses me of being factually inaccurate in a recent post which pointed out that Obamacare hasn’t made health insurance cheaper and hasn’t, for North Dakota, improved the uninsured rates. It’s an important topic, because Democrats like Senator Heidi Heitkamp are campaigning on the idea that Republicans want…
Congressman Kevin Cramer, Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread, Lt. Governor Brent Sanford, U.S. House candidate Kelly Armstrong, and Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem hold a press conference to discuss Democratic claims about the health insurance issue. Twitter
Insurance Commissioner Says Heitkamp Campaign Claims About Uninsured Are “Irresponsible at Best”
If you’ve been paying attention to North Dakota’s Senate campaign these days – it’s been kind of hard to miss! – you know that Senator Heidi Heitkamp and the Democrats are attacking Republicans over the issue of health insurance. They claim that Republican efforts to overturn the law, legislatively and through the courts, will result…
What Heidi Heitkamp Isn’t Talking About: Obamacare Didn’t Improve the Uninsured Problem and It Didn’t Make Insurance Cheaper
With early voting beginning next month we are fast approaching the zenith in North Dakota’s nationally important U.S. Senate race (or the nadir, depending on how cynical you are). In the home stretch Democrats have turned to a robust defense of Obamacare as a life preserver for their incumbent Senator Heidi Heitkamp who is trailing…
Attorney General Stenehjem Responds to Democrats, Says Lawsuit Challenging Obamacare Is His Duty
Lately North Dakota Democrats have been trying to make a campaign issue out of a lawsuit challenging the legality of Obamacare. The suit was filed by the State of Texas, which is paying for it, and Attorney General Wayne Stenehejm joined North Dakota to the list of plaintiffs. The Democrats – most recently Senator Heidi…
Print Column: Shouldn’t the Law Be Legal?
MINOT, N.D. — As we approach the home stretch of the 2018 campaigns North Dakota’s Democrats are trying to make a campaign issue out of a lawsuit challenging the legality of Obamacare. Former Congressman Earl Pomeroy, not to mention his former employee U.S. House candidate Mac Schneider, have been all but accusing Republicans of wanting…
Podcast: Shouldn’t the Law Be Legal?
On the radio show today U.S. House candidate Mac Schneider joined me for a little debate about North Dakota’s lawsuit challenging the legality of Obamacare. Schneider thinks it’s a bad idea because, if successful, the law would end things like the mandate that insurance companies provide coverage despite pre-existing conditions. But if the lawsuit is…
Minnesota’s Falling Health Insurance Premiums Are Hardly a Sign of Obamacare Stability
“Minnesota health insurers propose lower premiums,” read a headline from the Minneapolis StarTribune late last week. According to the reporting under the headline there will be some premium drops for individual health insurance plans in that state’s market, and supposedly this is a sign of stability. from Obamacare. “Health insurers in Minnesota’s individual market say they…
Podcast: Armstrong Says Schneider Is Campaigning “a Lot More Moderate Than His Voting Record”
On Friday I had U.S. House candidate Kelly Armstrong on my radio show. He and his Democratic opponent Mac Schneider squared off recently in a debate hosted by the North Dakota Newspaper Association. At that event Armstrong said something about voters having a choice between himself, a conservative Republican, and Schneider who is campaigning as…
Podcast: Democratic House Candidate Mac Schneider Declines to Say if He’d Have Voted for Obamacare
We talked about his recent debate with Republican opponent Kelly Armstrong and the impression many observers got (notably myself and columnist Mike Jacobs) that the two candidates didn’t really do much to contrast themselves. Schneider says he disagrees with Armstrong in several areas mentioning the expansion of corporate farming, Trump’s trade tariffs, and the state’s…
Insurance Commissioner: Obamacare Continues to “Destabilize” North Dakota’s Insurance Markets
North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread announced today that his office would be doing some research into reforms for the state’s insurance markets. “As the Affordable Care Act (ACA) continues to destabilize North Dakota’s individual health insurance market and federal health care reform efforts continue to face significant challenges, the Department is studying various state…