Rep. Jackson-Lee: No ‘Penalty’ in ObamaCare, Only an ‘Incentive’ to Buy Health Insurance

CNSNews ^

[Sub-Driver]

Rep. Jackson-Lee: No ‘Penalty’ in ObamaCare, Only an ‘Incentive’ to Buy Health Insurance Thursday, February 17, 2011 By Matt Cover

(CNSNews.com) – Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-Texas) claimed that there was no financial penalty for not having health insurance under the new health care law, saying that it was in fact an “incentive” to get people to do the right thing.

At a House Judiciary Committee hearing about the individual mandate to buy insurance, Jackson-Lee said, “I would make the argument, one, that it [the individual mandate] is an incentive to do right – that it is not penalizing you because a penalty is punishment, and you’re not punished if you have health insurance, in fact.

“And so, you are in fact incentivized to have health insurance rather than take the negative, which is to suggest that because you have a penalty you’re being punished,” she said.

Jackson-Lee is incorrect, however, as the language of the law clearly states the following: “If an applicable individual fails to meet the requirement of subsection (a) [have government-approved insurance]… there is hereby imposed a penalty with respect to the individual, Section 5000A of the law reads.”

[Sub-Driver]

How she gets elected is beyond me........

[Dr. Ursus]

Yes,I said two fried chickens and a coke!

[Cowgirl]

Definitely one of our greatest mysteries.

[Huck]

It’s pretty easy to see how she gets elected. It’s just not polite to say so.

[Huck]

And some dry white toast, please.

[TexasFreeper2009]

a racially gerrymandered district and her skin tone being the right shade explain everything.

[eyeamok]

Funny, She is trying her hardest to unseat Barbara Boxer as the DUMBEST person in Congress.

[Seruzawa]

This is beneath stupid. This is evil.

[aruanan]

How she gets elected is beyond me........

She has enough voters who are even more stupid than she is.

[ZULU]

This woman has the intellect of a fried peanut.

But I guess that eclipses the I.Q. of her constituents.

[jagusafr]

An embarassment and an idiot. ‘Course, my district had Ciro Rodriguez last go-round, and he’s just mean and arrogant.

Colonel, USAFR

[MrB]

Because she IS the “best and brightest” in her district.

Scary, eh?

[animal172]

I was looking at her picture and also a box of rocks sitting outside my window. Couldn’t tell the difference.

[Red Badger]

is an incentive to do right – that it is not penalizing you because a penalty is punishment, and you’re not punished if you have health insurance, in fact.

People are not 'punished' if they don't break the law, so the death penalty is an 'incentive' to not commit murder..................

[Recon Dad]

Suppose you were an idiot and suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.
Mark Twain

[econjack]

Jackson-Lee is incorrect [in saying there is no penalty for not buying health insurance]...

It would have been much more newsworth to find an instance where this idiot has been correct on anything.

[ken5050]

If it's an incentive, then why do we need to hire thousand of IRS agents...?

AHA!!..to "incentivize poeole"..they're gonna be called Incentive Revenue Agents..

[ken5050]

If it's an incentive, then why do we need to hire thousand of IRS agents...?

AHA!!..to "incentivize people"..they're gonna be called Incentive Revenue Agents..

[ken5050]

If it's an incentive, then why do we need to hire thousand of IRS agents...?

AHA!!..to "incentivize people"..they're gonna be called Incentive Revenue Agents..

[Recon Dad]

It’s a shame that stupidity isn’t painful