Thursday, December 11, 2014

Kathleen Sebelius: Obamacare Needs a Name Change



Kathleen Sebelius: Obamacare Needs a Name Change
by Wynton Hall 10 Dec 2014, 10:07 AM PDT
Former Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the deeply unpopular Obamacare program is working but needs a name change. 

"Obamacare, no question, has a very bad brand that has been driven intentionally by a lot of misinformation and a lot of paid advertising," said Sebelius on Wednesday. 

Sebelius added, "I think we may need to call it something in the future different, but it is working." 

Sebelius's Obamacare branding advice comes on the heels of controversial comments she made last week reminiscent of Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber's mocking of the "stupidity of the American voter" being responsible for the Obama administration's ability to ram the law to passage. In an interview with USA Today's Susan Page, Sebelius said Americans' ignorance about health insurance came as a "stunning revelation" to her. 

"A lot of Americans have no idea what insurance is about, and have no idea, even if they have coverage, what it means, you know, what a deductible is, what a copay is, how to choose a network," said Sebelius. "That has been a stunning revelation." 

Sebelius's call for an Obamacare name change due to the brand's unpopularity stands in contrast to comments Obama made in May when he suggested that the only thing that would spark a name change would be the future popularity of the program. 

"In five years it will no longer be called Obamacare, because when something is working, they're definitely not going to--there will be a whole renaming process similar to [Reagan National Airport]. I don't know if it will be 'Reagancare,' but it will definitely be--it will be something different," said Obama.

According to the RealClearPolitics average of polls, just 38% of Americans support Obama's signature legislative achievement.

Obamacare
Barack Obama’s signature policy initiative is Obamacare, and was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP.

Note: R. Eden Martin is counsel at Sidley Austin LLP, and the president of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Newton N. Minow is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.
Dora Hughes is a senior policy adviser for Sidley Austin LLP, and was Kathleen Sebelius’s counselor at HHS.
Kathleen Sebelius’s counselor at HHS was Dora Hughes, and the secretary for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for the Barack Obama administration.
Howard K. Koh is the assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for the Barack Obama administration, and Harold H. Koh’s brother.                                                                                                       
Harold H. Koh is Howard K. Koh’s brother, was the State Department legal adviser for the Barack Obama administration, and was a director at the Human Rights First.
Mark A. Angelson was a director at the Human Rights First, and a partner at Sidley Austin LLP.
James D. Zirin is a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP, and was a director at the Human Rights First.
William D. Zabel is the chair for the Human Rights First, was a trustee at the Foundation to Promote Open Society, and George Soros’s divorce lawyer.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Human Rights First, the Committee for Economic Development, and the Center for American Progress.
George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, William D. Zabel was his divorce lawyer, and the Center for American Progress, and is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations.
Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Human Rights First, the Committee for Economic Development, and the Center for American Progress.
Donna S. Morea was a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development, and the EVP for the CGI Group Inc.
CGI Group Inc. was the Obamacare contractor that developed Healthcare.gov web site.
Obamacare is Barack Obama’s signature policy initiative.
Barack Obama’s signature policy initiative is Obamacare, and was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP.
Andrew Sherry was the SVP for the Center for American Progress, and a deputy managing editor for USAToday.com.
USAToday.com is an online branch for USA Today.

























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