Anybody else feel like our health care is being held hostage based solely on an electoral whim?WSJ: ObamaCare's implementers continue to roam the battlefield and shoot their own wounded, and the latest casualty is the core of the Affordable Care Act—the individual mandate. To wit, last week the Administration quietly excused millions of people from the requirement to purchase health insurance or else pay a tax penalty.
This latest political reconstruction has received zero media notice, and the Health and Human Services Department didn't think the details were worth discussing in a conference call, press materials or fact sheet. Instead, the mandate suspension was buried in an unrelated rule that was meant to preserve some health plans that don't comply with ObamaCare benefit and redistribution mandates. Our sources only noticed the change this week.
That seven-page technical bulletin includes a paragraph and footnote that casually mention that a rule in a separate December 2013 bulletin would be extended for two more years, until 2016. Lo and behold, it turns out this second rule, which was supposed to last for only a year, allows Americans whose coverage was cancelled to opt out of the mandate altogether.
Now are folks understanding why health care shouldn't be Washington's concern nor politics? Hope something's beginning to sink in.
Related links: The Quiet Death of the Obamacare Individual Mandate
Wonkbook: Obamacare still short of its enrollment targets
UPDATE: Hold on...didn't HHS Sec. Kathleen Sibelius just tell Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) there'd be no delay in the individual mandate?
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Politico: HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Wednesday that there would be no delay of Obamacare’s individual mandate, the penalty for violating it or the March 31 closing date of the enrollment period, the strongest statement yet that the administration has no plans for more major changes to the law in the final weeks of the first sign-up period.But such is not the case when it comes to described 'hardships'...
Asked by Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) at a House hearing whether the administration would change its policy for enforcing the individual mandate after all the other delays, extensions and adjustments it has made to different provisions in the law, Sebelius bluntly replied, “No, sir.”
So, if there's no mandate, then there's no money. And if there's no money, how do you suppose they pay for this beast? Looks like we found out something they didn't want us to know...besides the fact that this entire monstrosity is unworkable.FoxNews: In what might be the death knell for ObamaCare's most controversial component -- the individual mandate to buy insurance -- the administration has added a mega-exemption that critics say would allow virtually anybody to skirt the rule.
The most recent exemption appears to have been included last week, in an ObamaCare application document. There already had been 13 distinct exemptions, but this document added one more.
The document said that individuals can now qualify for a "hardship exemption" -- meaning they would not have to pay a penalty for not buying insurance -- if they "experienced another hardship in obtaining health insurance."
The document does not define what "another hardship" means, and suggests the administration might not be a stickler when it comes to proof either. It says anyone seeking this exemption should "submit documentation if possible."
Of all the exemptions created so far, this category appears to be the broadest. Prior exemptions were created for people who are homeless, who filed for bankruptcy, who experienced a fire and who dealt with other financial emergencies. Already, the 13 exemptions previously on the books could apply to millions. One created in December would give a pass this year to many of those whose policies were canceled due to ObamaCare and who struggled to find an affordable option -- last week, the administration quietly extended that waiver through 2016.
