President Obama held a press conference today in which he announced a fix for the mass cancellations of health policies in the private market. He has announced that health insurance companies may continue to offer those policies through 2014 (it is purely coincidental that the extension will cover the next election). If the president only extends it through 2014, won't we find ourselves in this same situation a year hence? Isn't he just kicking the can down the road?
The plan has a problem. There is this law called the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act which was passed by Congress and signed by the President. This law does not allow for the substandard policies that President Obama would like to extend through next year. If insurance companies do offer these policies, they will be in violation of the law. It is the law of the land, I've heard Harry Reid assert on multiple occasions. The only way the president's fix can be instituted is through new legislation. Of course, that didn't stop him when it came delaying the employer mandate, so why should that stop him now?
Let us suppose that the insurance companies do offer to restore those substandard policies, trusting that this latest executive waiver from the law will hold up in court. Will it still be the same price? The economics of health insurance have been altered and that must be reflected in all policies. Sure, it might not be as expensive as the Obama-approved plan but it will still be more expensive than it was.
This is all political theater. The only reason President Obama offered this 'fix' was to prevent Democrats in Congress from legislatively fixing it. If legislation is on the table, the whole thing could unravel quickly. Was this enough to keep the Democrats onboard with Obamacare? Many of those up for election are nervous.
No comments:
Post a Comment