Posted on 12/14/2013 7:49:33 AM PST by John Semmens
While the Government continues to struggle with what seem to be insurmountable problems with the Affordable Care Act's implementation, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius urged insurers to cover whoever claims to have insurance.
We fully understand that under normal conditions insurance isn't effective until the insured has paid a premium for coverage, Sebelius said. However, we aren't dealing with normal conditions. Many who have tried to sign up for insurance haven't been successful. For many of those who have been told they're signed up our system hasn't been able to properly bill them. Some have assumed that the President's Executive Order saying they could keep their old insurance means they're automatically covered. And a distressingly large number of people seem to think that health care is, like the 'Obama phone,' free.
Honestly, it's a total mess, the Secretary continued. We're asking the insurance industry to just pay whatever charges come across their desks until we get it all sorted out. We consider it part of their patriotic duty.
Karen Ignagni, president and CEO of Americas Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), is decidedly unenthusiastic about Sebelius' request calling it an invitation to fiscal insolvency. The whole premise of insurance is that everyone pays a premium to cover contingencies that may occur in the future. It doesn't work if we let people wait until the contingency occurs before they pay.
Sebelius tried to allay industry concerns by reminding Ms. Ignagni that the President has promised that any losses insurers may incur as a result of a proactive stance of covering whatever claims are submitted will be reimbursed, no questions asked.
Ironically, on the same day that Sebelius was endeavoring to entice industry compliance with this promise, politifact.com announced that President Obama won 2013's award for the biggest lie of the year for reassuring people that If you like your health care plan, you can keep it, period.
In related news, Sebelius asked her Department's Inspector General to investigate the colossal failure of the website. We need to find out who authorized the extraordinarily expensive, yet massively malfunctioning programming. Who chose the contractor? Who oversaw the work? Who approved payments without verifying that the work was satisfactory? I am both angry and mystified as to how this could have happened.
if you missed any of this week's other semi-news/semi-satire posts you can find them at...
http://www.freedomsphoenix.com/Opinion/146931-2013-12-13-semi-news-a-satire-of-recent-news-december-15-2013.htm
Should wave Obamacare... b-by...
You may want to have a meeting with either Bank of America or Wells Fargo executives before you do your patriotic duty.
Where is the satire?
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