Waiver Grants Latest Example Of Chicago Way

IBD Editorials ^ | May 25, 2011 | MICHAEL BARONE

[Kaslin]

Question: What do the following have in common?

Eckert Cold Storage Co., Kerly Homes of Yuma, Classic Party Rentals, West Coast Turf Inc., Ellenbecker Investment Group Inc., Only in San Francisco, Hotel Nikko, International Pacific Halibut Commission, City of Puyallup, Local 485 Health and Welfare Fund, Chicago Plastering Institute Health & Welfare Fund, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee, Teamsters Local 522 Fund Welfare Fund Roofers Division, StayWell Saipan Basic Plan, Cigna, Caribbean Workers' Voluntary Employees' Beneficiary Health and Welfare Plan.

Answer: They are all among the 1,372 businesses, state and local governments, labor unions and insurers, covering 3,095,593 individuals or families, that have been granted a waiver from ObamaCare by Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius.

All of which raises another question: If ObamaCare is so great, why do so many people want to get out from under it?

More specifically, why are more than half of those 3,095,593 in plans run by labor unions, which were among ObamaCare's biggest political supporters? Union members are only 12% of all employees but have gotten 50.3% of ObamaCare waivers.

Just in April, Sebelius granted 38 waivers to restaurants, nightclubs, spas and hotels in former Speaker Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco congressional district. Pelosi's office says she had nothing to do with it.

On its website, HHS pledges that the waiver process will be transparent. But it doesn't list those whose requests for waivers have been denied.

It does say that requests are "reviewed on a case by case basis by Department officials who look at a series of factors including" — and then listing two factors. And it refers you to another website that says that "several factors ... may be considered" — and then lists six factors.

[The Antiyuppie]

“More specifically, why are more than half of those 3,095,593 in plans run by labor unions, which were among ObamaCare’s biggest political supporters? Union members are only 12% of all employees but have gotten 50.3% of ObamaCare waivers.

Just in April, Sebelius granted 38 waivers to restaurants, nightclubs, spas and hotels in former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco congressional district. Pelosi’s office says she had nothing to do with it. “

And why aren’t the Republicans pounding on this LOUDLY???

[culpeper]

This entire government is a sham. How does Sebellius have the power to exempt people from a law passed by congress ? Maybe that was part of the law that we couldn’t see. RICO DC.

[unixfox]

This too shall be fixed in the next revolution.

They shall rue the day. Friggin bastards.

[rdcbn]

The whole concept of Universal Care is to socialize the costs of care for every by spread the costs to all Americans uniformly and widely.

These waivers allow favored friends of Obama to shirk their duty to uniformly and equitably carry their fair share of the cost burden of socialized pooling of health care costs.

That means all Americans without waivers pay a LOT more to make up for the fact that Obama’s friends with waivers are not carrying their fair share of the costs of Obama Care