I’m gonna make this a quickie, gotta run soon. I’m sure you’ve read/heard about Barry’s Big Obamacare Fix
(WSJ) President Barack Obama said Thursday that insurers will be able to continue health-insurance coverage next year for current policyholders that otherwise would be canceled under the new health-care law.
The change marks a significant policy retreat by the president, one that he hopes will quell an intensifying protest over his faulty promise that Americans can keep their insurance plans under the new law.
This is only for one year. Doesn’t something happen in November next year? I personally think this is a Bad Idea for Obama and Dems, but, they’ve backed themselves into a corner. No one is really going to be able to get their plans back (Washington state has already said “we won’t comply” and insurance companies are saying this in unworkable), and those who haven’t been dropped will be dropped next fall, right in time for the 2014 mid-terms. It would have been better to take the pain now and hope for the best later. This just gives Republicans more talking points and attack points come 2014.
That said, one thing I noted over at Twitchy
Someone correct me of I’m wrong, but the ACA set out certain minimum coverages, but then left the actual details in the hands of the head of HHS. A lot of the cancellations are due to those rules. So it would seem Obama could do this.
So, Obama might actually have the power to do this, or, more correctly, his subordinate, HHS head Kathleen Sebelius. They would just need to change the rules, which they mostly set in the first place.
Today’s PC was all about Obama, and him thinking that he can fix everything with A Speech. He really couldn’t give a shit, excuse my language, if Dems are hurt nor if Americans are hurt. This is All About Obama.
But, if this is just policy, then this could have been done weeks before? This could have allowed grandfathering in? But if it is law, then as they say, they have no choice? That dates are HARD CODED?
Granted, I didn’t read the bill, nor understand what HHS can and cant do. But, if the baseline limits and dates and other action items are all “shall decide” policy decisions, then why be static on it?
Everything seems to be hard coded to me.
Would you as a hospital or doctor accept any of these Exchange policies or grandfathered policies as payment? Especially when any one of them could be declared illegal by a bureaucrat, or court at any time. Can an insurance company knowingly offer a policy that does not comply with Obamacare law?
Some things are hard coded, some are not. The date for the employer mandate was hard coded as being 1/1/2014. Of course, O is ignoring that. If you go through the ACA, you will see enormous latitude and power put in the hands of, mostly, the head of HHS.
Adding mandatory coverage for substance abuse was hard coded in the ACA. Coverage for contraception, sterilization, and abortifacients was not. Those were done by HHS.
They basically wrote a 2,000 page bill that is more about “guidance” than actual specifics.
Every policy, whether on the exchange or not, must comply with the ACA mandates and HHS developed rules. If you do not go through the exchange, you 100% will not be eligible for subsidies.
A big question is, if you are dropped or cancel your coverage, or were uninsured for whatever reason, can you obtain insurance without going through the exchange? That was a serious concern around the time of passage, and I can find many sources that say yes and many that say no.
That’s the problem when specifics are not bound in law, but only on “guidance” and “latitude’ and “discretion”. There are no firm rules. No firm understanding of where businesses and individuals stand.
Blick, I think you are right in that you mention, businesses will be wary of accepting these plans as payments, never knowing when they will be denied, changed, or repealed. Dangerous ground for America here.
Just offer plans that are illegal on the word of a proven liar?? Any insurance company that does, hasn’t spoken to their legal department.