Obamacare: Here Comes the Government’s Thuggish Iron Fist

Saturday, September 11, 2010
Wesley J. Smith

The use of government threats wielded as a thuggish means of coercion and control, not surprising given that the Feds have centralized the nation’s health care financing and delivery systems, have begun. With some reports showing that Obamacare will increase costs rather than “bend the cost curve down” (don’t you hate that hackneyed phrase?), HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is warning insurance companies not to blame Obamacare for increased premiums–or else! From the story:

In a two-page letter to industry trade group America’s Health Insurance Plans on Thursday, Sebelius said insurers have been falsely telling their members that the reforms contained in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will cause premium increases in 2011. Sebelius warned the insurers that the administration will have “zero tolerance” for misinformation. “Simply stated, we will not stand idly by as insurers blame their premium hikes and increased profits on the requirement that they provide consumers with basic protections,” Sebelius wrote. HHS will issue a regulation this fall that will order reviews of questionable rate increases by either state or federal officials. Any insurer that shows a record of imposing unjustified rate increases could be frozen out of the federally mandated health insurance exchanges that are scheduled to start operating in 2014, the secretary wrote.
the rest

Gangster Government Stifles Criticism of Obamacare
...But that is not enough for Sebelius and the Obama administration. They want to stamp out negative speech about Obamacare. "Zero tolerance" means they are ready to use the powers of government to threaten economic harm on those who dissent...