President Barack Obama says he can “fix” the millions of canceled health insurance plans with an administrative change. He’s claiming more executive power — power for himself — than the Constitution allows and playing fast and loose with the truth.
The culprit behind the cancellations is not administrative regulation, as Obama asserts; it’s Section 2702 of the Affordable Care Act, which states that all plans sold in the individual market or small group market from Jan. 1, 2014 and onward must include the Essential Health Benefits package —- 10 categories of health coverage Washington “experts” deem essential, such as maternity care, even if you’re 50 years old. Plans are being canceled because they don’t fulfill all 10.
Only Congress can dispense with the deadline, so on Friday, the House made a legal attempt to halt the mass cancellations by passing a bill. But insurers and insurance commissioners in several states have said the “fix” is too late to retool by Jan. 1.
Amazingly, our arrogant president says he will veto that bill if it reaches his desk because it would allow insurers to sell the noncompliant policies to new customers as well as old ones. Though the real reason is that Obama wants to rule by edict.
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