No, you don’t have to sign up for Obamacare

Flopping Aces ^ | 03-12-14 | DrJohn

[Starman417]

Maybe not ever. At least not until after the 2016 election. Obamacare is on double secret probation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0cF2piwjYQ

ObamaCare's implementers continue to roam the battlefield and shoot their own wounded, and the latest casualty is the core of the Affordable Care Act—the individual mandate. To wit, last week the Administration quietly excused millions of people from the requirement to purchase health insurance or else pay a tax penalty.

This latest political reconstruction has received zero media notice, and the Health and Human Services Department didn't think the details were worth discussing in a conference call, press materials or fact sheet. Instead, the mandate suspension was buried in an unrelated rule that was meant to preserve some health plans that don't comply with ObamaCare benefit and redistribution mandates. Our sources only noticed the change this week.

That seven-page technical bulletin includes a paragraph and footnote that casually mention that a rule in a separate December 2013 bulletin would be extended for two more years, until 2016. Lo and behold, it turns out this second rule, which was supposed to last for only a year, allows Americans whose coverage was cancelled to opt out of the mandate altogether.

Oops. Hey wasn't that something the GOP wanted? And gosh, you don't need to prove a thing.

But amid the post-rollout political backlash, last week the agency created a new category: Now all you need to do is fill out a form attesting that your plan was cancelled and that you "believe that the plan options available in the [ObamaCare] Marketplace in your area are more expensive than your cancelled health insurance policy" or "you consider other available policies unaffordable."

Now you can escape Obamacare for having a bad hair day:

This lax standard—no formula or hard test beyond a person's belief—at least ostensibly requires proof such as an insurer termination notice. But people can also qualify for hardships for the unspecified nonreason that "you experienced another hardship in obtaining health insurance," which only requires "documentation if possible." And yet another waiver is available to those who say they are merely unable to afford coverage, regardless of their prior insurance. In a word, these shifting legal benchmarks offer an exemption to everyone who conceivably wants one.

Obamacare is so toxic it's going to destroy the democrat party

HHS is also trying to pre-empt the inevitable political blowback from the nasty 2015 tax surprise of fining the uninsured for being uninsured, which could help reopen ObamaCare if voters elect a Republican Senate this November. Keeping its mandate waiver secret for now is an attempt get past November and in the meantime sign up as many people as possible for government-subsidized health care. Our sources in the insurance industry are worried the regulatory loophole sets a mandate non-enforcement precedent, and they're probably right. The longer it is not enforced, the less likely any President will enforce it.

This was predicted here

And here

And for those with zero long term memory (i.e. liberals) let's fire up the Wayback Machine.

Obama:

[expat2]

OK, that’s good — but where can I find this form?

[publius911]

Bookmark

[berdie]

later

[2ndDivisionVet]

Nope, and you shouldn’t.

[SunkenCiv]

You Might Pay A Lot More Than $95 For Skipping Health Insurance
NPR | 03/12/2014 | Julie Rovner
Posted on 3/12/2014 6:11:03 PM by SeekAndFind
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3132566/posts

[AllAmericanGirl44]

bkmk

[grumpygresh]

It’s now even easier to make a 14th amendment, equal protection under the law argument.

[devolve]

I LIKE MY HEALTHCARE PLAN
- SO I WILL KEEP MY HEALTHCARE PLAN

PERIOD!