Posted on 11/09/2013 5:18:13 PM PST by Libloather
House Republicans are pouncing on President Obamas apology for cancelled insurance plans to push him into backing legislation that would change ObamaCare.
The president on Thursday said he was sorry that Americans were losing their healthcare plans despite his frequent assurances that individuals with insurance could keep them.
Obama said he was seeking an administrative fix, but Republicans say they have a ready-made solution in the Keep Your Plan bill that they plan to bring up for a vote next week.
A spokesman for Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said the president cant address the problems plaguing the healthcare law through executive action alone. He said Obama should back the House bill, which would grandfather in all health insurance plans that existed as of Jan. 1, 2013.
"We are highly skeptical that there is anything the president can do administratively to keep his pledge that would be both legal and effective," said Boehner spokesman Brendan Buck.
"Thats why he should work with Congress and support bipartisan legislation that fulfills his promise and allows insurance companies to continue offering the plans that so many Americans like and can afford.
The bill puts Obama in a tough spot.
Democrats have stood firm against major changes to the healthcare law since it was passed, fearing it would open the door to a slew of attacks Republicans designed to cripple it.
But Democratic unity is cracking amid the troubled rollout of the healthcare law.
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) has introduced a similar "Keep Your Plan" bill in the Senate with the support of fellow Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.).
Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), who is facing a tough reelection race in 2014, endorsed the Keep Your Plan late Thursday along with Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.), who is also up next year. Other vulnerable Democrats could follow suit.
Obama, for his part, didnt rule out supporting the House bill when he was asked about it on Thursday.
"We're looking at a range of options," Obama said.
The White House might have to reject the House bill because of the impact it could have on ObamaCare.
The legislation could reduce the number of healthy young Americans purchasing comprehensive plans, potentially driving up costs for sicker individuals seeking insurance on the ObamaCare exchanges.
But Republicans sense they have an advantage now that Obama has conceded the healthcare law is in need of repair.
If the president is sincerely sorry that he misled the American people, the very least he can do is support this bipartisan effort, Boehner said in a statement Thursday night. Otherwise, this apology doesnt amount to anything.
The White House has been thrown on the defensive by the fallout from the keep your plan promise, and has been struggling to respond as millions of Americans have received letters informing them that their plans have been dropped.
The issue dogged the president even as he traveled to New Orleans Friday for an event on infrastructure and the economy. New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu (D) told reporters on a White House conference call Thursday that he supported the Keep Your Plan bill.
Obama is clearly looking to repair the damage, and on Thursday said hes assigned my team to see what we can do to close some of the holes and gaps in the law.
But it's unclear where the administration will go from here.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Friday said the administration hopes to assist people whose health insurance is canceled, but has no specific option right now, according to Reuters.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest similarly refused on Friday to detail what type of administrative solutions were in the works.
Sometimes you wouldn’t know wisdom if it walked up to you and cracked you over the head with a copy of Proverbs.
This is a “gracious feint.” God, if not the GOP, knows jolly well that the Democrats are SO brittle over this ego-fed baby. It’s going to get crushed to powder. God is moving here.
For example, I had a plan that cost $330/month for me and my wife. It had normal coverages, but a high deductible. We just got notice that it is being canceled by the insurer. On the Obamacare web site, it seems to say that we would pay $700/month for a similar coverage and the deductible is the same. That is for the "bronze" coverage, which they really should call the "crap sandwich" coverage.
What would this law do, require a private health insurer to reinstate our plan at the same cost and with the same coverages as before? How would such a law even be legal? The company would go out of business before it could do that, it can't absorb the costs of Obamacare and also keep providing me the coverage and rates that existed before Obamacare. So I am curious what this law actually says, and how it thinks it would allow us to keep our plans.
The only way we could keep our plan, that I can see, is if the Government became our insurer and said we could have the same plan for the same cost, and they just took it over. Can you imagine how costly and inefficient it would be for them to step into the shoes of all the insurers who canceled existing plans? So, again, I don't see how this would work. The only way to fix it is to get rid of it.
Actually, you're dead wrong, because the insurance companies have already put the cancellations in and there's no going back. So there is no "free market" to restore.
Doing nothing would be going along with O-care.
I'd rather let ZeroCare run its current course than for the GOPe to once again fumble the ball in its own endzone.
Pull the ACA out by the roots and salt the Earth so there will never be anything like it ever again.
I'm not sure what you're talking about. Going back is exactly what the legislation entails.
He said Obama should back the House bill, which would grandfather in all health insurance plans that existed as of Jan. 1, 2013.
They are going to allow the insurance companies to re-activate the policies.
They can’t make any adjustments to this law, it will fall apart and they know it!
I don’t think the cancelations go into effect until after Jan.1.
Then comprehension isn't your strong point.
Because the cancellations are already in process and insurance companies can't just "walk it back" based on Barry's latest promises.
They are going to allow the insurance companies to re-activate the policies.
Not going to happen bub.
There's this thing that businesses use as a rule of thumb it's called "uncertainty in the marketplace." Businesses don't know how long O'bozo will extend patient's existing plans, or whatever the Hell Congress is going pass. Anyway, Obama can't be trusted on anything since he lied about "keeping your plan/doctor." So, the cancelled insurance plans will remain CANCELLED, regardless of whatever Obama or Congress does short of outright repeal.
They're not. There's so much uncertainty going on right now, that the insurance companies can't just take the plans back. I would say that the private health insurance market is now effectively dismantled, save for plans under employer insurance (and they will be dismantled next Fall when the employer mandate waiver expires).
Well, they're going to grandfather them back to Jan 1 to allow them to re-activate. So the implication is that companies can "walk it back" contrary to your assertion. This would not be according to Obama's "latest promises" as you put it. It would be according to legislation.
Do you think Obama and the Dims will keep the Grandfather clause in effect long after the 2014 elections?
No, they're not. So insurance companies aren't going to grandfather health insurance based on election wishes of panicked Dems. They have no way of knowing if this is going to be a permanent or temporary fix, and it damn sure won't be permanent because that would destroy the cost structure of Obamacare needed to keep it propped up.
These plans are, for all intent and purposes, are wiped out and the patients will have no choice but to log onto the website or go to their state Medicaid for a subsidy. And next year, up to 100 million people on employer plans (including me, I got a stay of execution) will be SOL.
Obamacare is going to implode
I hope that’s true. I think they got to Roberts though.
Right now this is certainly not their intention. It's impossible to predict, though, what will happen as a result of the O-care failures.
No, they're not. So insurance companies aren't going to grandfather health insurance based on election wishes of panicked Dems
It's not just panicked Dems. It's millions of people who have nowhere to go right now. The insurance companies might be induced to provide time for these people, especially because those premiums are advantageous for them presently since no one's signing up thru the exchanges. Long term is another story.
A lot of the jobs in the Obama era have been wiped out due to uncertainty and regulations.
No insurance company is going to re-sign patients based upon pending legislation, speeches, or promises from Washington.
Sorry, but those policies are gone.
Yeah?
How about changing it back to the way it was.
He was a Judas then, he is a Judas now. He is not smart, he is not maneuvering, he is a betrayer and traitor. May God have mercy on them because I am no longer able too.
Obviously.
No insurance company is going to re-sign patients based upon pending legislation, speeches, or promises from Washington. Sorry, but those policies are gone.
Speeches, promises no because those doesn't legalize the policies. Retroactive law, however, may make the difference. Especially since, as I said, the insurance companies are losing out on millions in premiums now and this is a way to capture them at least temporarily.
And even if no insurance company reversed the dumping of the policies (which I doubt but neither of us can say for sure until potential legislation is passed) this will allow insurance companies from dumping millions more policies going forward.
Liberals: the “cutworms” of politics and society.
The Rats’ real problem is that almost any change that “fixes” Obamacare will actually destroy it because Obamacare is a house of cards. Pull out any single card and down it comes crashing.
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