Denny’s to charge 5% ‘Obamacare surcharge’ and cut employee hours to deal with cost of legislation

President Obama’s election victory ensured his Affordable Care Act would remain the centerpiece of his first term in power – but that has left some business owners baulking at the extra cost Obamcare will bring.

Florida based restaurant boss John Metz, who runs approximately 40 Denny’s and owns the Hurricane Grill & Wings franchise has decided to offset that by adding a five percent surcharge to customers’ bills and will reduce his employees’ hours.

With Obamacare due to be fully implemented in January 2014, Metz has justified his move by claiming it is ‘the only alternative. I’ve got to pass on the cost to the customer.’

The fast-food business owner is set to hold meetings at his restaurants in December where he will tell employees, ‘that because of Obamacare, we are going to be cutting front-of-the-house employees to under 30 hours, effective immediately.’

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Student Health Care Costs to Skyrocket at Private NC College Due to Obamacare

Guilford College in North Carolina will likely be forced to charge students 75 percent more for health insurance in order to comply with federal regulations under President Barack Obama’s sweeping healthcare law, college administrators told Campus Reform.

The cost for university provided health insurance is expected to increase dramatically from $668 to $1,179 in the 2012-2013 school year, Greg Bursavich, vice president for finance at Guilford College, told students in an email in late July.

“Our student health insurance policy premium has been substantially increased due to changes required by federal regulations issued on March 16, 2012 under the Affordable Care Act,” read the email from Bursavich.

More from the Leadership Institute’s Campus Reform:

In an exclusive interview with Campus Reform, Bursavich further implicated Obamacare for the drastic rise in prices.

“It is directly related – it is only related – to the new healthcare law,” said Bursavich. “There is no reason why it has gone up except the requirements of the new law have forced it to go up. That is the whole story.”

He added that costs were rising because ObamaCare mandates students are covered for certain health services “deemed essential” by the federal government.

“[T]he notion that the health care law wouldn’t cost everybody more money is nonsense,” said Bursavich. “[You can’t] begin adding coverage on things that used to not be covered and just assume that some genie in the sky is going to pay for it. We are all paying for it and this is the beginning.”

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Obama Hit Hillary In 2008 Mailer For Individual Mandate Penalty

GOP House will press ahead with ObamaCare repeal effort

GOP House leaders said Sunday they will forge ahead with efforts to repeal President Obama’s health care law, drawing criticism from Democratic lawmakers who said Americans want them to instead go forward with efforts to improve the economy.

“We’re going to do it one more time,” House Speaker John Boehner said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

The GOP-led House has attempted to repeal the Affordable Care Act numerous times and is scheduled to take up the issue again July 11, less than two weeks after the Supreme Court ruled the law was constitutional.

Boehner, R-Ohio, said House Republicans will take a “practical, step-by-step” approach, compared to the 2,700-page reform bill that has been called a complete government takeover of the insurance industry.

He also said the law “has to be ripped out by its roots.”

The House could hold a repeal vote as early as July 11, but such a measure would almost certainly be defeated in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

GOP Rep. Paul Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee, said Sunday that chamber Republicans will repeal the entire law.

“The stakes could not be higher,” Ryan, R-Wis., said on ABC’s “This Week.”

GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney has vowed that if elected he would repeal the legislation on his first day in the White House.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Sunday that congressional Republicans have an “unrealistic” chance of passing repeal legislation and suggested they have become a “mouthpiece” for the health insurance industry.

“It’s being the mouthpiece of the health insurance industry,” Pelosi, D-Calif., said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” about the proposed repeal effort. “And we’re saying let’s not have them be in charge anymore.”

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‘Nancy Pelosi Is a Dingbat’

Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin called House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi a “dingbat” Friday in response to her celebration over the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act.

“First off, Nancy Pelosi is a dingbat,” Palin said on Fox News’ “Hannity.“ ”She is the perfect spokesperson for this whole agenda of the far left running the Democrat Party.”

Sen. Coburn Repudiates Chief Justice: Did Not ‘Enforce the Constitution’ Today

Conservative analysts and politicians across the country were appalled when they learned on Thursday that Chief Justice John Roberts voted to uphold the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act.

“Members of this Court are vested with the authority to interpret the law; we possess neither the expertise nor the prerogative to make policy judgments,” Roberts wrote in his opinion (page six).

“Those decisions are entrusted to our Nation’s elected leaders, who can be thrown out of office if the people disagree with them. It is not our job to protect the people from the consequences of their political choices [emphasis added],” he added.

Among those who believe Justice Roberts failed in his duty to defend the constitution is Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), one of the foremost critics of the president’s healthcare overhaul. In an exclusive interview with The Blaze, Sen. Coburn had some harsh words for the chief justice.

“Do you think that the Chief Justice fell on the right side in this argument?” The Blaze asked

“No, I don’t,” the senator responded.

“It is the Supreme Court’s obligation and duty to enforce the constitution so that when the Congress gets outside of the enumerated powers, that they slap them back,” he added, implying that by voting to uphold the controversial “individual mandate,” Justice Roberts had failed in his duty.

“What I would tell you is that you can’t find anywhere in reading the constitution, the Declaration of Independence, or the Federalist Papers, any intent that was ever thought about that the federal government would be putting forth this type of legislation and this type of control over everybody’s life,” he added, explaining that the mandate includes a “fine” and “not a tax.”

“You no longer, in this country, have the right to decide that you won’t buy health insurance,” the senator continued, “and I think the Chief Justice came down on the wrong side of this.”

Listen to our exclusive interview with him here.

‘Revolutionary Fervor’ In America

In the wake of today’s historic Supreme Court ruling upholding the key provision in President Obama’s health care act, opponents are spending little time lamenting their loss, vowing to repeal the massive law and help channel a “revolutionary fervor” among voters that will sweep Democrats from office in November.

The head of the Republican Attorney’s General Association declared “the battle isn’t over,” and a veteran conservative activist says that if America thought tea party anger over Obamacare was reflected in the 2010 polls, wait until this fall.

“The 2010 Tea Party wave election was all about the average American’s anger over the individual mandate and the oppressive big government that it represents,” explained Richard A. Viguerie, chairman of ConservativeHQ.com.

“The Supreme Court’s narrow decision upholding the individual mandate has raised that anger to a revolutionary fervor that will sweep President Obama and many other Democrats from office,” he asserted.

Viguerie said Democrats “have now been put in the position of doubling down on the Big Brother mandates and oppressive big government policies that led to their historic defeat in the 2010 congressional elections.”

“The more Democrats defend the individual mandate, the more seats in Congress Democrats will lose,” he said.

Viguerie said it’s worth noting that Obama and the Democrats lost today on the heart of the mandate, the argument that the Constitution’s Commerce Clause could force Americans to buy health insurance.

“But the mandate was upheld on the issue the Democrats were trying to hide: It is a massive tax increase on the American people,” he said.

Viguerie vowed the 63 seats Democrats lost in the House in 2010 “are just the beginning.”

Michael A. Needham, CEO of the nonprofit Heritage Action for America, said in a letter to supporters that the nation’s “system of checks and balances ensures the Supreme Court’s misguided decision will not be the final word on President Obama’s government takeover of healthcare.”

“We still oppose Obamacare,” he wrote, “and conservatives are still united around fully repealing President Obama’s government takeover of our health care system. Today’s decision is not the end of the fight, it is the beginning!”

Read more here.

Obama warns on healthcare ruling

Barack Obama suggested that any decision by the US Supreme Court to overturn his landmark healthcare law would send the country “backwards” and that Americans did not want to “re-fight” the battle over healthcare.

It was the first sign that beyond the White House’s staunch defence of the Affordable Care Act Mr Obama is prepared to use the law as a rallying cry on the campaign trail. It is a risky strategy: about half the country remains opposed to the legislation, although most voters like the consumer protections that are guaranteed under the law.

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Political experts have said it is unclear how the Supreme Court decision will shape the presidential contest; while a move to strike down the law will undoubtedly be a blow to the Obama administration, some believe it will motivate Democratic voters ahead of the November general election.

The high court is expected to announce the fate of “ObamaCare” on Thursday, when it will either uphold the law, overturn it in its entirety or strike some provisions of the controversial legislation.

The White House has said it expects the high court to uphold the law.

In his comments, Mr Obama did not make any explicit references to the court, although he has said in the past that it would be “unprecedented” for the ACA to be overturned.

“The American people fight for what’s right. And the American people understand that we’re not going to make progress by going backwards. We need to go forward,” he said.

To applause, he said that 3m young people had been added to their parents insurance under the law and that it was “the right thing” to give senior citizens discounts on prescription drugs.

Epic Zombie ‘Obamacare’ Horror Video

Catholic Charities denies endorsement of Obama administration’s contraceptive coverage policy

A leading Catholic charity group wants the public to know it has not endorsed the Obama administration’s latest policy requiring free contraceptive coverage for employees, despite “mischaracterizations in the media.”

Catholic Charities USA has occasionally been cited as a supporter of the new policy, after the administration announced last week it would no longer require religious organizations to directly offer contraceptive coverage to workers. That’s almost certainly because the White House listed the group on an official blog that cited “praise from a wide range of individuals and organizations” for the policy change.

Along with statements from Planned Parenthood and other supporters was a brief statement from Catholic Charities. The group said at the time that it “welcomes the administration’s attempt to meet the concerns of the religious community” and looks forward to reviewing the final language.

“We are hopeful that this is a step in the right direction,” the group said.

But the organization has since posted a clarification on its website, after that statement was interpreted by some as an endorsement.

“We have not endorsed the accommodation to the HHS mandate that was announced by the administration last Friday,” the group said.

Rather, the group said it would “unequivocally share the goal” of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to “uphold religious liberty.”

“Any representation to the contrary is false,” Catholic Charities said.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has voiced serious concerns with the new policy.

Read more here.