Posted on 12/12/2013 6:41:52 PM PST by reaganaut1
WASHINGTON — With many Americans still foiled in their efforts to buy insurance under the new health care law, the Obama administration moved Thursday to give them more time to sign up and pay premiums, and it extended a program for people with cancer, heart disease and other serious illnesses.
The administration strongly encouraged insurance companies to let new subscribers go outside their networks of doctors and hospitals and refill prescriptions for drugs not on their lists of approved medications.
Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services, said these steps would ensure that consumers have “a smooth transition without any gaps in coverage” or disruption of treatment.
The steps are intended to reduce problems widely expected to occur next month. Hundreds of thousands of people may gain coverage, some for the first time. But insurers say they have no record of many potential customers who believe they have enrolled, so some patients may be disappointed when they seek care at doctors’ offices, clinics and drugstores.
Such disappointment could create huge political problems for the White House, just as President Obama is trying to highlight benefits of the new health care law.
The White House originally required people to sign up by Dec. 15 for coverage beginning in January, when major provisions of the new law take effect. On Nov. 22, the administration gave consumers eight more days, until Dec. 23.
Ms. Sebelius went further on Thursday, urging insurers to provide “retroactive coverage for people who sign up after Jan. 1.”
Republicans in Congress expressed surprise. They said the administration was essentially telling companies like Humana and WellPoint to insure people before payment and change the very nature of their networks and coverage on a case-by-case basis.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
perfect!
Fundamental change. It's what the people voted for.
Obama broke it but he wants everybody else to fix it.
Did I hear the IRS is going to play by the same rules at tax paying time?
"but I've got a pre-existing condition"
Obama should be under this law under president Cheney!!! But, Cheney is not evil like Zer0 and would not demand a late term abortion.
In other words, a threat. Not getting paid? Doesn't matter. Extend coverage anyway and if you don't you're excluded from the xchange in 2015. Talk about dictatorial Govt...
The administration had predicted that up to 400,000 people would enroll in the high-risk pool. In fact, about 135,000 did so, but the cost of their claims has far exceeded White House estimates, exhausting most of the $5 billion provided by Congress.
So they got a quarter of projected participants, but money has ALREADY run out?
Looks like that's exactly what they're being asked to do. They are being urged to allow people into the program who pay either nothing or partial payment.
And if they don't, they may not be able to continue on the exchange in 2015.
Heard Krauthammer with Greta talking about Sebelius changing the law/rules today and he said something like “she can’t just change that law”. Well, she did and Hussein has changed it over and over and what the hell difference does ANY law make? If you don’t like “x” law, then do whatever you want. I’ve had it with the whole bunch of nation killers.
With every passing day we get yet another taste of this crap sandwich that is 0bama(doesn’t)care.
Keep your doctor? Nah.
Keep your plan? Nah.
Sixty year old man? You need maternity care.
Keep your efficacious medication plan? Nah.
Only have a few more ‘productive’ years per the actuary charts? We’ll have to cut your care options.
I am both amazed and greatly saddened that the American people can’t see this for the hoax that it is. Every FReeper knows this is merely part of Zero’s plan for nationalized health care. But, even with all these stories about lost coverage, sky high premiums, deductibles and copays, there is no march on the DC. There is no outcry from the people.
Perhaps the sheeple are really just lemmings and mindless of the pending precipice that spells the doom of this grand experiment.
Perhaps we are due to write the dirge.
Your “picture” of Hussein with a deteriorating face is proof of what I have thought - HE IS AN INSECT. That is why a fly landed on his lip, a mouse ran across in front of him, bees and mice were in the White House. HE IS ONE OF THEM. All along we had no proof of where he came from, no proof of where he went to college or university, his social security card is really some dead guy’s up north somewhere, and on and on - he is an insect and that’s why we know nothing positive about him.
They’re now talking about forcing doctors to accept medicare and medicaid patients. The AMA supported obamacare. I know that’s only 22% of the doctors but the other 78% weren’t very vocal in their opposition. So they’re all regretting it now.
There's a group in CA who represent 38,000 doctors. They are becoming more and more outspoken in their opposition to O care. 70% of doctors in CA are NOT participating in the exchange.
CA will be interesting to watch. They tout the website in CA as exceptionally successful (probably because they got Silicon Valley's input in designing it). But ACA itself is not popular and if crumbles in CA it will crumble in the rest of the nation.
Unbelievable! They pass laws changing the rules on these companies, give them a short time to comply, and then put public pressure on them to act in a way that is not in their own self interest.
This is clearly statism. It's unconstitutional in many ways.
Now the Gov't is pushing insurance companies to do the same thing.
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