Posted on 02/28/2011 12:10:34 PM PST by mdittmar
Speaking to the National Governors Association at the White House today, President Barack Obama endorsed legislation by Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Scott Brown (R-MA) that would allow states to request waivers from some Obamacare mandates in 2014 instead of the existing 2017 date. President Obama claimed: “It will give you flexibility more quickly while still guaranteeing the American people reform.” Has President Obama even read the legislation? Because that is just plan false. Heritage Foundation Center for Policy Innovation Director Stuart Butler explained in the New England Journal of Medicine:
One [problem] is that it still locks the states into guaranteeing a generous and costly level of benefits. True, a state could propose alternative benefit requirements if they had the same actuarial value as those in the ACA. But the requirements go well beyond basic coverage, and the HHS secretary is the one who defines “at least as comprehensive” benefits.
…
Another major problem with the bill is that since ultimate waiver authority rests with the HHS secretary, the waivers granted would probably reflect the administration’s preferences. Senator Wyden claims that his legislation would allow conservative states to opt out of much of the ACA and implement consumer-driven coverage. But he admits that the secretary, not the state, has the final word over what is permitted.
As long as the HHS Secretary, whether it is Kathleen Sebelius or the next occupant of the office, has the final say on granting Obamacare waivers, then there is no real flexibility for states under Obamacare. All 50 of them would still be at the mercy of the whim of the HHS. The only real way to give states true flexibility on health care reform begins with the full repeal of Obamacare.
UPDATE: Politico confirms that Wyden-Brown has nothing to do with offering Obamacare critical states “flexibility” and everything to do with advancing single payer health care:
[A] White House conference call with liberal allies this morning says the Administration is presenting it to Democrats as an opportunity to offer more expansive health care plans than the one Congress passed.
Health care advisers Nancy-Ann DeParle and Stephanie Cutter stressed on the off-record call that the rule change would allow states to implement single-payer health care plans — as Vermont seeks to — and true government-run plans, like Connecticut’s Sustinet.
The source on the call summarizes the officials’ point — which is not one the Administration has sought to make publically — as casting the new “flexibility” language as an opportunity to try more progressive, not less expansive, approaches on the state level.
“They are trying to split the baby here: on one hand tell supporters this is good for their pet issues, versus a message for the general public that the POTUS is responding to what he is hearing and that he is being sensible,” the source emails.
Sounds to me like a way for the president to blackmail our States.
The right thing to do would be to scrap this monstrosity, but no....everyone wants to “compromise.”
BTW, Scott Brown was a bad idea. Hope he is a one-term senator.
It is the quick way to get around the judges rulings in Florida and Virginia on the mandate issue. If the states or congress let this happen. Then we have Obamacare by default
Hey Obammy- Wasn’t this thing declared unconstitutional?
....why did all the news media, including FOX break coverage when questioning began????.....I wanted to see if anyone had the guts to question his statements that Obamacare will save a trillion dollars over 10years
He was better than Martha Coakley, but by an amount which seems to be diminishing rapidly from the original estimate.
Without Scott Brown, we would have had a single-payer (government lead) system.
Scott Brown was elected to make sure that that didn’t happen.
He did his job. Now he needs to leave.
I have no personal knowledge on this event, but many times they all use the same feed. Fox may not have broken coverage, it may have been broken before they picked it up.
He won’t even get one term. He’ll be gone in 2012. I can’t stand the guy.
Get rid of the bill now. If the Republicans wimp out; they will go home.
“Without Scott Brown, we would have had a single-payer (government lead) system.”
***
Actually, this sounds like it advances single-payer health care. Whatever....it’s some effort at compromise, and I don’t want compromise. I voted Republican so we could not compromise, but rather, bring back conservativism.
Several Lefty states (most notably Vermont) are itching to implement single payer. Obama is apparently willing to gamble that this will prove what a wonderful idea it is (everyone will be covered, healthcare costs will go down, businesses will start moving to Vermont and hiring because they’ll be free of employee healthcare costs, etc.)
Personally I think it would be a huge failure and would immunize the American public from wanting to mess with healthcare again for at least a generation.
This in a nutshell is Obama’s strategy for the next two years.
It also is something that may require Mitt to come up with another rationale for Romneycare.
Classical trickery presupposing the “made up fact”.
Sir , can you tell me when you stopped beating your wife?
Obama may exempt some states from certain requirements of Obamacare, but he’s not going to exempt them from the taxes associated with it. His exemptions are probably going to force ‘equal protection’ lawsuits at some point as well. This whole thing is going to be one big clusterfark that will take many years to undo.
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