This figure comes as a surprise to many, especially Republican critics of the policy, as figures had sign-ups at around 6 million about a month ago. This led the President to again bash Republicans by claiming that the debate to repeal the act should be over.

However, of this eight million, it is unclear the exact breakdown of how many have actually paid premiums to officially enroll in the exchange.  In addition, the law depends on a large percentage of the younger population to be enrolled in order to offset the costs of elderly people that require more service from healthcare.

The White House has the percentage of enrollees that are between ages 18-34 at around 28%, which is a promising figure but not one that is completely high enough to curb rising premium costs. However, if young people continue to sign up that should lead the costs to remain fairly stable.

The White House is remaining vague on how many people who were previously uninsured now have health insurance under the new plan, as Republicans criticize that the enrollment figures are skewed by people that are being forced to switch their plans due to the law.

Despite these facts, the proponents of the law now have a little more of a cushion in which to deflect criticism, as they can site the fact that if sign ups are exceeding expectations that must mean the law is working.

While many Democrats, including the President, like to claim the debate is over; the fact of the matter is that Obamacare’s success is still yet to be seen. When insurers are forced to announce the new rates under the law, we could see premium hikes that will devalue the President’s argument.

It will also be a telling figure when businesses are forced to switch over to plans that comply with the new healthcare standards implemented by the law.

Just last week, republican Governor of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal, proposed a new healthcare plan that would replace Obamacare and remake it with more focus on the power of private insurers.

Jindal argued that Republicans must act to propose concrete healthcare plans that are viable alternatives if anything is to be done.

One thing is for sure. The healthcare debate is far from over. Costs may go up, alternatives proposed, and citizens could gain coverage, but only time will tell.

The post Obamacare Marches On: 8 million signed up according to White House appeared first on Follow My Vote.

This proposal comes with much attention being placed on the increasing federal debt and federal spending increases that have been a staple of President Obama’s second term, as his focus continues on the funding of the Affordable Care Act and entitlements.

The focus of Mr. Ryan’s spending proposal was most likely not to actually pass, as the Republican plan doesn’t stand a chance of passing the Democratic-led Senate; but, it does send a message about his vision for spending and the federal debt in the upcoming years.

The Congressman’s plan would cut about $5 trillion in spending with these cuts coming mostly from entitlement programs such as Medicaid, as well as lowering the subsidies that are currently provisioned under the Affordable Care Act.

The proposal focuses on the goal of eventually balancing the budget within the decade. Many Democrats have lashed out at the plan and cited its leniency on corporations and the wealthy but plans to cut entitlements for the poor.

The budget proposal comes after Mr. Ryan and Democratic Senator Patty Murray settled on a bipartisan bill to finance the government this year.

Many see Ryan as a potential candidate for the White House in 2016 and this proposal gives a blueprint of his vision for government spending, should the control of the White House shift to the Republican Party.

The Congressional Budget Office reported that under current federal spending trends, the amount of money spent on programs such as Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid will grow faster than the economy itself in the coming decade and could equal as much as 23% of the total Gross Domestic Product, should these patterns continue.

Mr. Ryan has pushed for a proposal that sharply differs from that of Democratic proposals, as their support for entitlements remains a top priority.

The post Ryan Budget Proposal Lays Blueprint for a GOP Balanced Budget appeared first on Follow My Vote.

It seems only fitting to take a deeper look into entitlement spending in the United States and its ever-growing presence as part of the Gross Domestic Product. The upward trends of entitlement spending show continuous and seemingly unstoppable growth in the coming years, causing alarm from spending hawks and many economists that argue of its unsustainability.

The Congressional budget Office has reported that there is only one facet of the U.S. federal spending that continues to take up a larger share of the economy; and, that is healthcare. Currently, entitlement spending and Medicare and Medicaid account for approximately 40-45% of government spending.

Entitlement spending is 100 times higher than it was in 1960, as the umbrella for which people are qualifying for entitlements is expanding, as well as the programs themselves.

Economists predict that with the introduction of “America’s last entitlement” or Obamacare will add an additional $206 billion in spending on top of the already massive entitlement and Medicare/Medicaid spending already in place.

Obamacare is on track to add $1.8 trillion in federal spending by 2023, which has many economists predicting that entitlement spending will soon overwhelm government spending as a whole with its continued growing rates.

Add this to the fact that more Americans are living on entitlements from the government and the trends do not point to a comfortable situation for government spending and debt in the coming years.

If the current trends continue, mandatory spending on programs such as Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid will grow from being only one quarter of the budget in 1963 to over 60% by 2023.

With entitlement spending ramping up and Obamacare growing in size and scope, the spending trends in the U.S. government suggest a future where these facets of our economy take up a larger and larger focus, inhibiting our ability to spend in other much needed areas of the government.

One must also realize that soon these entitlements will become such a large part of American lives that they will not be able to be scaled back and that is a scary thought for economists concerned about the federal debt and government spending, as well as the entire American economy’s ability to function.

The post Up, Up, and Away: Entitlement Trends in the Obamacare Era appeared first on Follow My Vote.

Ukraine: With both the Senate and House unable to reach a conclusion on a policy on how to move forward with the Ukrainian situation and how to combat Russia’s aggression in the Crimean region, there has been little intervention by the US into Russia’s aggression in the region.

The Senate seeks a comprehensive package that invokes an aid package for Ukraine as well as sanctions. They call for shifting billions of dollars from the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) crisis account into the general fund to help Ukraine, which many Senate and House Republicans oppose. They also argue that payment for this bill comes at the cost of the Pentagon and Sate Department’s budgets.

The House has come up with a less comprehensive plan that focuses more on an aid package to the country without shifting the funds in the IMF.

A plan has yet to be voted on.

Obamacare: The administration states that numbers for sign-ups into coverage plans through the Affordable Care Act are at approximately 4.2 million, which is well short of its six million person sign-up goal, by the end of March. The administration needs more people to sign up in order to balance out and pay for the lower income and elderly families that are currently signed up for coverage under Obamacare.

Obama took to comedy in his latest effort to promote the new healthcare act in an interview with Zach Galifianakis on his show “Between Two Ferns.”

This show by the president has many critics screaming desperate, as participation numbers continue to grow at a much slower rate than needed. The administration is standing behind their hopes of the magic six million number being attainable by March 31st; but many remain skeptical.

Approval Ratings: President Obama’s approval rating has sunk to the lowest of his presidency with his rating dropping to around 41% approval. Many criticize his handling of the crisis in Ukraine and the rollout of Obamacare even with over 20% of Democrats now showing unfavorable ratings.

The Congressional approval rating is sitting at 15% approval, which is a March record low in a midterm year, as the public continues to show gross dissatisfaction in the way they haven’t been able to compromise on important issues and roll out legislation.

WE at Follow My Vote want to know. What are you most concerned about with the way Congress and the administration are handling these important issues?

The post Obamacare Delays, Approval Ratings, and Comedy Acts appeared first on Follow My Vote.