New ObamaCare delay to help Democrats in midterm elections

The Hill ^ | 4 Mar 2014 | Elise Viebeck

[mandaladon]

The Obama administration is set to announce another major delay in implementing the Affordable Care Act, easing election pressure on Democrats.

As early as this week, according to two sources, the White House will announce a new directive allowing insurers to continue offering health plans that do not meet ObamaCare’s minimum coverage requirements.

Prolonging the “keep your plan” fix will avoid another wave of health policy cancellations otherwise expected this fall. The cancellations would have created a firestorm for Democratic candidates in the last, crucial weeks before Election Day.

The White House is intent on protecting its allies in the Senate, where Democrats face a battle to keep control of the chamber.

“I don’t see how they could have a bunch of these announcements going out in September,” one consultant in the health insurance industry said. “Not when they’re trying to defend the Senate and keep their losses at a minimum in the House. This is not something to have out there right before the election.”

The White House and the Department of Health and Human Services on Monday both said they had no updates to announce.

Late last year, the administration was grappling with the beleaguered HealthCare.gov and millions of canceled health plans in the individual market.

Republicans noted President Obama had repeatedly promised that no one would lose their health plan if they wanted to keep it.

Obama subsequently called on states and the insurance industry to allow people to keep their existing plans for an additional year. While many states agreed, it left the administration with a dilemma.

A one-year moratorium pushed the deadline beyond the midterm election, but insurers must send out cancellation notices 90 days in advance. That would mean notices in the mail by Oct. 1, five weeks before voters go to the polls.

[mandaladon]

The administration’s decision to pursue another extension was confirmed by insurance sources who predicted a public announcement would be “imminent.” It is unclear how long the extension will be, though one source believed it could last to the end of Obama’s second term, and perhaps beyond. ---------------------Just how many delays are needed?

[Red in Blue PA]

Roll it out! Do delays.

[hal ogen]

Just where is the Rule of Law? These commies just do as they please. Anyone who votes for a DIMocRAT (all the way down to dogcatcher) deserves whatever they get. DIMocRATs hate you and your family but love their “power” and “position”. Pox on them.

[AU72]

So Obama now is fine with continuing so-called crappy sub-standard plans as long as it helps democrats.

A real man of the people.

[Liz]

SIGNING "THE BIG EFFIN' DEAL"
(now known as "The Big Effin' Debacle")

"Those Democrats leering over my shoulder owe me bigtime.
My signature healthcare bill insures a permanent Democratic majority."

" All except those Tea Party types, swallowed hook, line and sinker my promises that Americans could:

(1) keep their existing health plans,
(2) keep their own doctors that they like,
(3) keep 25-year-olds on the family health plan,
(4) never be denied coverage for a pre-existing condition,
(5) sign up instantly on my tech-savvy government Web site,
(6) buy insurance only after becoming seriously ill,"
(7) save $2,500 in annual premiums in the bargain....
(8) all without any new taxes."

"Them sonovagun Tea Partiers will rue the day they criticized my wonderful bill."

===================================================

JUST A FRIENDLY REMINDER TO DEMOCRATS: You voted for all of this: (1) throwing Americans off affordable health plans, (2) burdening Americans w/ ruinous deductibles, (3) nationalizing 1/6 of the US economy, (4) abandoning the elderly and the chronically ill, (5) empowering IPAB's (Death Panels),(6) decimating intergenerational transfers of wealth, (7) pulling $750 MILLION out of Medicare, (8) drug rationing for seniors, (9) new taxes on medial devices........and so on.

====================================================

The Republican-controlled house has passed over 30 different bills amending or replacing O/Care. Sen Harry Reid is the Democrat roadblock who allows no such bill to come before the Senate.

[LeonardFMason]

Shows you what Democrats think about the intellect of voters. WHERE IS JOHN BONER to exploit this?

BTW, where is the Senile Senator from Arizona? McLame(and his butthole buddy Schmuck Hagel) ripped GWB EVERY chance he could. He couldn’t get to a microphone fast enough to rip a Republican. Now? Near total silence. What a disgrace.

[Starboard]

Obamacare has never been about health; its always been about political power. This latest delay is clearly due to political considerations and empitomizes what Obamacare is really all about. It is the biggest hoax every perpetrated on the American people.

[Sooth2222]

"As early as this week, according to two sources, the White House will announce a new directive allowing insurers to continue offering health plans that do not meet ObamaCare’s minimum coverage requirements."

Does anyone know anyone who is actually getting to keep one of those "inferior", non-complying plans? The stories I keep hearing is about people who thought they had pretty darn good plans getting thrown into the shark tank.

[struggle]

If you have to delay this many times, why not repeal?

[ltc8k6]

I don’t think this will work.

It will piss off those who did get dumped, and it will piss off the insurance companies and employers who have already canceled these plans, or already gone a long way towards canceling the plans. They won’t want to reverse course now. They will have already done a lot of work and spent a lot of money changing things around.

[Whenifhow]

Insurance companies are going away....

Obamacare Architect: ‘Be Prepared to Kiss Your Insurance Company Good-Bye Forever’

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/03/03/obamacare-architect-be-prepared-to-kiss-your-insurance-company-good-bye-forever/

Due to Obamacare, “new actors will force insurance companies to evolve or become extinct,” he continues. Instead, new groups called “accountable care organizations” (ACOs) must start competing directly in the health care exchanges for exclusive contracts with employers.

[Milton Miteybad]

Does anyone know anyone who is actually getting to keep one of those "inferior", non-complying plans? The stories I keep hearing is about people who thought they had pretty darn good plans getting thrown into the shark tank.

Probably nobody, because any insurer that offers a non-compliant plan is still in violation of the law, irrespective of whether the administration feels like enforcing it on this particular day or not. The insurers have their legal departments telling them to comply with the law as written, because Obama could wake up tomorrow and decide he's going to enforce it after all.

[Qbert]

For those who are planning on sitting out the primaries for whatever reason, all I can say is, get used to more of this. If Cornyn, Graham, McConnell and the rest of the bumps on logs get re-elected, they’re not going to do anything about this. And the Chamber of Amnesty certainly isn’t going to fight these battles...

[longtermmemmory]

why would they offer something that is less expensive for a few months? There is zero incentive.

theis is a symbolism doublespeak propaganda.

(if you like your health plan you can keep your health plan [if you can still find it])

[anoldafvet]

McConnell is hardly a “bump on a log”. Before the budget deal he was running ads saying how he was working hard to repeal Obamacare. Then came the $3 billion “dam” deal. Now he is running ads (when not attacking Matt Bevin), claiming he working hard for the people of Kentucky to “reform” Obamacare.

[catnipman]

Latest move by Der Fuhrer.

[Vaduz]

Delay = Panic

[Know et al]

Latest move by Der Fuhrer.///

Obama is just practicing line item veto after the fact. Not legal, but who is going to stop him. He knows he has carte blanch.

[RWB Patriot]

“You guys do what you do best! Find something simple and complicate it!”

Michael Gross as Burt Gummer to G-men in Tremors 3: Back to Perfection

I swear Obama is going out of his way to prove that quote correct.

[VerySadAmerican]

Okay, McCain, McConnell, Rubio, Cornyn, we’re waiting for your apology to Cruz. Obama is doing a little at a time that Cruz wanted done now! And you gop elites tried to destroy him.