Rubio pushing bill to delay ObamaCare mandate over website meltdown

The widespread problems with the ObamaCare website are generating a new backlash in Congress, with Sen. Marco Rubio planning to introduce legislation that would delay the health law's individual mandate until the technical failures are addressed. 

The Florida senator discussed the plan Tuesday morning in an interview with Fox News. He said it would be "prudent" to delay the requirement on individuals to buy health insurance -- set to kick in early next year -- until users can consistently access the main website. 

"How are you going to go after people next year ... if the thing you're forcing them to buy isn't available to buy?" he asked, saying the site is "not working." 

Rubio's plan would delay the mandate until the Government Accountability Office certifies the system is "up and running and effectively working for six months, consecutive." 

The plan comes as new reports detail the warning signs that may have been missed before the launch, and the massive undertaking that the tech team hired to fix the site is confronting.

Via: Fox News

Continue Reading.....

Individual Mandate Increasing Tax Paperwork Burden by 7.5 Million Hours

The IRS released its final regulation for the individual mandate tax on Tuesday, and Americans for Tax Reform celebrated the occasion by highlighting the effects of the individual mandate on taxpayers.

“Taxpayers will be forced to spend a total of 7.5 million hours each year complying with the new tax,” the group noted.

Each American will have to spend up to an additional 30 minutes each year filling out paperwork to comply with the mandate, the group added.

Americans for Tax Reform also noted that the latest regulation does not refer to the mandate as a tax, as it was ruled to be by the Supreme Court, but instead as a “Shared Responsibility Payment.”

The group then substituted the “Orwellian” phrase into several famous quips about taxes.

“There is no such thing as a good Shared Responsibility Payment,” said an amended Winston Churchill.

It is unclear if the Obama administration will use the new phrase when discussing higher taxes instead of the “fair share” euphemism they used during the election.

VIA: WFB

Continue Reading....

Family Business Sticks to Principles, Challenges Obamacare Mandate

The Obama administration’s anti-conscience mandate went into effect at the beginning of this month, and private business owners are now required to cover contraceptive care in employee health plans thanks to Obamacare.

Weingartz, a family owned lawn supply store in Michigan, is one of several businesses challenging that mandate in court, saying it requires business owners to violate their religious beliefs.

“As people of faith … we’ve looked at our business as an extension of that faith and we’ve always tried to run it in a way that’s compatible with our faith,” Daniel Weingartz, the company president, said. “We’ve never had to go against something that was against our religious principles in order to run our business. In 67 years, we’ve held true to that.”

Weingartz is not complying with the anti-conscience mandate, but will not face penalties until its health insurance plan renews in January. At that time, the company could be fined up to $100 per employee per day for not including the mandated services in its plan. Ironically, the fine for offering a plan that doesn’t comply with the mandate could exceed the fine for not offering health insurance at all. Under Obamacare, the fine for not offering employees health insurance is $2,000 a year per employee.

Via: The Foundry

Continue Reading...