Obamacare mandate may be delayed

Market Watch ^ | 10/23/2013 | Jen Wieczner

[Beave Meister]

The Obama administration may give Americans extra time to sign up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, postponing when penalties for failing to buy coverage will go into effect, MarketWatch has learned.

The health care law requires most people to have health insurance by Jan. 1, 2014, but allows for “short coverage gaps” of up to three months before imposing the penalty, which is $95 or 1% of an individual’s income (whichever is greater) next year. That means someone must be covered by March 31, an official with the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed, which is the final day that people will be able to purchase health insurance on the public exchanges, or marketplaces, created by the ACA.

But because the new health policies take effect on the first day of each month, in order to be covered by March 31, people would actually need to have insurance by March 1. And since it takes up to two weeks to process insurance applications, consumers would have to apply by Feb. 15, the Associated Press reported recently. (People must apply by Dec. 15 if they want coverage starting Jan. 1.)

[eaglescout1998]

I suspect the individual mandate will ultimately be delayed. This was probably their plan all along, but they didn't want to give in to the Republicans during the shutdown, so they waited for the GOP to wave the white flag.

Now that the government is back open for business, it's probably only a matter of time before Obama delays the mandate himself (just as he did with the employer mandate). The GOP should probably challenge this on Constitutional grounds, but they're not going to.

[John S Mosby]

obamaumaocare-—”No child left a DIME”

[Ray76]

No delay.

The House offered delay and the Dems said NO. They had their chance, they spurned it and with the most vile insults and spiteful closures.

Hell no. OWN IT DEMS.

Repubs should offer no quarter. After all we "strap bombs on our chest", but now it's ok for the Dems? NO WAY.

[Libloather]

mandate may be delayed

Wouldn't that be illegal?

[CityCenter]

NBC.com has it in breaking news. They are going to try to do this albeit without legistlation.

[Ray76]

Congress must assert their authority and DEMAND Obama obey the law. He CAN NOT be allowed to prevent the execution of Acts of Congress.

[John Galt's cousin]

Suspect you are right Dema will now pivot to jam illegal alien amnesty down our throats.

ithink the Republicans should start a full court press for a budget. We haven’t had one since o’bammy took office

[okie01]

ithink the Republicans should start a full court press for a budget. We haven’t had one since o’bammy took office

The Senate finally did pass a budget earlier this year -- after the House passed the "No Budget, No Pay Act" denying salaries to Senators until they passed a budget.

However, the Senate budget was so bloated with expenditures -- even beyond what the existing CR called for -- that the House didn't even bother to take it up. Or go to Conference with their own bill (already passed).

The simple fact of the matter is that the Democrat Senate doesn't want a budget, preferring to continue to operate on CRs -- which greatly restricts the House's ability to impact spending.

Essentially, Boehner and the House lost the ability to make an issue of the Senate's unconstitutional inaction when they passed a budget in 2011 (for FY 2012) and didn't walk out when the Senate failed to act.

[jilliane]

Is anyone else not buying the story about the magnitude of the site problem? ..the dems are not suddenly being reasonable in their condemnation of the rollout .....gee look at dems agreeing that obamacare site has horrific tech problems ...sounding agreeable to the idea of delaying the mandate because of unacceptable tech problems. When MSNBC talking points put down any of their pet projects...flags should go up. They know people are indeed signing signing up ....but not at the expected conversion rate so they are blaming site glitches for everything...and are covering up an anticipated massive and shocking lack of compliance with the law. They are all too happy to make this a tech issue. BS.

[Travis McGee]

I would make the excrement aspect more aspect, and add some fishhooks. But it’s pretty much perfect.

[Ezekiel]

The Obamaface is particularly unnerving, being that of a stone-cold killer just taking care of “family” business... expeditiously.

And then when he’s finished with his steak and neatly wipes his mouth, he matter-of-factly excuses himself from the table, in order to take his kids out for an ice cream treat.

[Travis McGee]

Yeah, the artist nailed so many elements perfectly. The eye goes around the table noticing one facet after another: the IRS pistol, the note, the peas, the steak, the faces.