MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

By Avik Roy, Forbes -“A new survey of physicians has found that 30 percent of doctors in Florida intend to place new or additional limits on accepting Medicare patients, with 27 percent altogether refusing to accept new Medicare patients, because of Obamacare’s impact on the fees that Medicare pays to providers of health-care services. In addition, Obamacare will deeply cut Medicare Advantage for 1.2 million Florida seniors who are enrolled in the program, and drive up the cost of private health coverage, especially for those who buy insurance on their own. Read on for more details…

Obamacare cuts Medicare by $716 billion between 2013 and 2022 in order to pay for part of the law’s $1.9 trillion in new health-care spending for younger people over the same time frame. My co-blogger Robert Book and Michael Ramlet have published a paper for the University of Minnesota showing that Florida’s share of those Medicare cuts is $44.4 billion. This year, Florida has 3,527,830 Medicare enrollees, which means that these cuts amount to $12,584 for every senior in the state.

Robert Book published another paper, this time with former White House budget official James Capretta, detailing Obamacare’s cuts to Medicare Advantage on a state-by-state basis. Robert and Jim found that, in 2017, Obamacare will cut $3,203 in Medicare Advantage services for every Floridian enrolled in the program: a 21 percent cut. 34 percent of Florida’s seniors—1,198,943—are enrolled in Medicare Advantage…

Last month, the Physicians Foundation published one of the largest physician surveys ever conducted in the United States, with 13,575 respondents. They asked physicians a broad range of questions, including several about their views on Obamacare. 67 percent of Florida physicians said that the Affordable Care Act made them ‘less positive about the direction and future of healthcare in America.’ Only 12 percent said it made them feel more positive.

If Medicare fees decrease by ten percent or more—as the Affordable Care Act will require—30 percent of doctors in Florida say that they will place ‘new or additional limits’ on accepting Medicare patients. 27 percent say they’ll stop accepting Medicare patients altogether.” Read more.

How Obamacare’s $716 Billion in Cuts Will Drive Doctors Out of Medicare – “There are 600,000 physicians in America who care for the 48 million seniors on Medicare. Of the $716 billion that the Affordable Care Act cuts from the program over the next ten years, the largest chunk—$415 billion—comes from slashing Medicare’s reimbursement rates to hospitals, nursing homes, and doctors. This significant reduction in fees is driving many doctors to stop accepting new Medicare patients, making it harder for seniors to gain access to needed care.” Read more.

The examples below are a drop in the bucket. Many restaurant employees who voted for Obama are now beginning to develop a sour taste in the mouth. Elections have consequences …

By Kemberlee Kaye – “Business owners nationwide are making preparations for the upcoming Obamacare regulatory tsunami. Citing cumbersome regulations and costs, entrepreneurs are being forced to make very difficult decisions. The stories are becoming all too common. In order to keep their businesses afloat, companies are laying off workers, reducing their hours and in some cases, closing locations.

The problem is not industry specific either. Energy companies, technology companies, retail establishments and restaurants are all facing the economic challenges created by Obamacare. Following the re-election of President Obama, several restauranteurs have gone to the press to express their disastifaction with the President’s hallmark legislation.

Yesterday, Florida restaurant owner, John Metz explained that in preparation for the January 2014 regulatory onslaught, he will be forced to take drastic measures. Metz owns 40 Denny’s locations, several Dairy Queens and the Hurricane Grill & Wings franchise. In order to offset the cost of Obamacare, Metz is considering adding a 5% surcharge to all purchases, effectively passing the cost on to the consumer.

But the consumer would not be the only affected party. According the Huffington Post, Metz plans to meet with employees next month to explain, ‘that because of Obamacare, we are going to be cutting front-of-the-house employees to under 30 hours, effective immediately.’ Metz went on to say, ‘I think it’s a terrible thing. It’s ridiculous that the maximum hours we can give people is 28 hours a week instead of 40. It’s going to force my employees to go out and get a second job.'” Read more.

Zane Tankel, Applebee’s Franchisee, Says He Won’t Hire Because Of Obamacare – “‘We’ve calculated it will [cost] some millions of dollars across our system. So what does that say — that says we won’t build more restaurants. We won’t hire more people,’ Zane Tankel, chairman and CEO of Apple-Metro, told Fox Business Network on Thursday. Apple-Metro, which runs 40 Applebee’s restaurants, employs from 80 to 300 people at each of its locations. Obamacare mandates that businesses with more than 50 workers must offer an approved insurance plan or pay a penalty of $2,000 for each full-time worker over 30 workers.” Read more.

Papa John’s to Reduce Workers Hours Due to Obamacare – “Papa John’s workers will have their hours reduced due to Obamacare, Huffington Post reports Nov. 9. The pizza chain’s CEO, John Schnatter, said now that President Obama has been re-elected he plans to pass the expense of the nation’s new health care plan down to his workers — which means less hours… John Schnatter might be getting a lot of criticism for the prices raised on Papa John’s pizza and reducing his workers’ hours, but people can expect to see more of this in order to support Obamacare.” Read more.

Obamacare May Force Owner Of ‘Jim’s Restaurants’ To Fire Full-Time Employees – “‘Many of us are left out there hanging, so to speak, in a holding pattern, because we don’t know,’ said Jimmy Hasslocher, the owner of Jim’s Restaurants. His local chain has 1100 employees, which is enough to trigger mandatory health insurance for full-time employees — one of the rules in the Affordable Care Act. Hasslocher said there’s a slim profit margin in food sales, so something’s going to have to give. And it just may be his full-time employees.” Read more.

Look on the bright side. Thanks to Obama’s energy policies, more coal miners out of work means fewer kids will be getting a lump of coal in their stocking for Christmas …

By Geoff Liesik – “EAST CARBON, Carbon County — A Utah coal company owned by a vocal critic of President Barack Obama has laid off 102 miners.

The layoffs at the West Ridge Mine are effective immediately, according to UtahAmerican Energy Inc., a subsidiary of Murray Energy Corp. They were announced in a short statement made public Thursday, two days after Obama won re-election.

The layoffs are necessary because of the president’s ‘war on coal,’ the statement said. The slogan is one used frequently during the election by Murray Energy CEO Robert Murray, who was an ardent supporter of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

In its statement, UtahAmerican Energy blames the Obama administration for instituting policies that will close down ‘204 American coal-fired power plants by 2014’ and for drastically reducing the market for coal.

‘There is nowhere to sell our coal, and when we can, the market prices are far lower,’ the statement said. ‘Without markets, there can be no coal mines and no coal jobs.'” Read more.

Flashback: Obama Planned to Bankrupt Coal Industry and Raise Energy Prices

“WASHINGTON (CBSDC/AP) – As President Barack Obama is set to begin his second term, new statistics on America’s poverty rate indicate that nearly 50 million Americans, more than 16 percent of the population, are struggling to survive.

New figures released by the Census Bureau this week found a spike in poverty numbers last year, going from 49 million in 2010 to 49.7 million last year. The numbers may come as a surprise to Congress, which estimated in September that the poverty rate would drop to 46.2 million. One of the most startling findings showed that almost 20 percent of American children continue to live in poverty.

The Associated Press reports that the new figures are based on an updated formula devised by the Census Bureau to help give the government a better understanding for how to use safety-net programs.

The numbers found that Hispanics and people living in urban areas had a higher chance of struggling to make it financially. Poverty among full-time and part-time workers also saw a jump from its 2010 numbers.

Based on the formula implemented by the Census Bureau, California tops the list as the sate most likely to bring about poverty. The top five is rounded out by the District of Columbia, Arizona, Florida and Georgia.” Read more.

Report Hidden Until After Election Shows Record Surge In Americans Using Food Stamps – “The number of Americans relying on food stamps to stay fed has been steadily on the rise, hitting an all-time record this year, with more than 47.1 million Americans using government assistance to obtain food. The US Monthly Data report, released by the Department of Agriculture (USDA), is normally issued at month’s end. But the most recent report, which shows the record-breaking surge in food stamp dependence, was published on November 9 – three days after the presidential election. About 15 percent of all Americans, or 47,102,780 people, are now enrolled in the federal government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). This is the highest number on record, and surpasses the number of unemployed Americans who found jobs during the same time period.” Read more.

By Perry Chiaramonte – “Medical supply giant Stryker is the latest company to announce job cuts in anticipation of coming costs associated with ObamaCare, even though the man who inherited a fortune from the company’s founder is a fan.

The company will cut 1,170 jobs, or five percent of its worldwide workforce, despite the fact that the founder’s grandson was one of the largest contributors to President Obama’s re-election campaign. Medical tech scion Jon Stryker, whose net worth is currently estimated at $1.2 billion, contributed $2 million to the Priorities USA Action super PAC and has given $66,000 in contributions to Obama and the Democratic Party. Stryker does not run the company.

A ‘medical device excise tax’ included in the mandate imposes a 2.3 percent levy on medical device manufacturers and suppliers, which critics say will raise prices on everything from pacemakers to prosthetics to stents. Companies will be required to pay the tax regardless if they have a profit or loss for the year. The tax is estimated to cost the medical device industry $20 billion.

House Republicans tried to have the tax repealed, drafting a bill called the Protect Medical Innovation Act, but the Democrat-controlled Senate has blocked the measure.

‘The targeted reductions and other restructuring activities are being initiated to provide efficiencies and realign resources in advance of the new Medical Device Excise Tax scheduled to begin in 2013, as well as to allow for continued investment in strategic areas and drive growth despite the ongoing challenging economic environment and market slowdown in elective procedures,’ Stryker spokeswoman Yin Becker told FoxNews.com. ‘The reductions and restructuring activities are expected to be substantially complete by the end of 2012.’

Executives for Stryker have placed the blame squarely on the coming tax ever since it gained more steam in Washington.” Read more.