I guess those canceled health insurance plans must have been not-so-very-junky after all…
…because now they’re being extended until October of 2016—that is, until further notice from our fearless leader, Barack Obama.
The audacious transparency of this move is almost breathtaking. Obama must truly think the American people are incredibly stupid and won’t catch on to what he’s doing. Maybe he’s even correct, although I think they’re catching on—much too slowly, but catching on.
But it’s becoming ludicrously apparent that every decision this administration makes is political, and that the Constitution means nothing to President Obama.
It’s crucial to grasp that last point, that extending un-canceled plans hurts ObamaCare financially. There’s no way that Obama would do this without a pressing political reason; just as Phil Klein says, the whole point of making insurers cancel plans in the first place was to force healthy middle-class suckers into more expensive “comprehensive” plans so that their premiums could be redistributed to people with preexisting conditions. Allowing those suckers to stay on their old, cheaper pre-ObamaCare plans means that insurers will have to rely on less revenue than they thought, which means Uncle Sam will be under even more pressure to use the “risk corridor” mechanism as a bailout mechanism to cover unanticipated losses. Healthy people will stick with their old plans, sick people will stick with their new ObamaCare plans (replete with guaranteed issue and community rating), and insurers will tear their hair out wondering how to pay for it without billions of dollars from HHS to help. Quite simply, Obama was forced to choose between doing something that would help his party at the ballot box but hurt his signature health-care law and doing something that would help stabilize the law financially at the risk of generating a nasty backlash to his party from consumers with cancellations. He made the political choice. Which is exactly what O’s critics feared would happen as government insinuated itself further into the health-care industry via O-Care. Decisions on health-care policy are now a species of politics. You’re welcome, America.
Allahpundit also asserts—and I agree with him—that before October of 2016, Obama will just extend the deadline again, past the election in November.
However, I do have one correction to what Allahpundit said: I’m not sure that the new delay in the cancellations of the old policies will have quite as disastrous an effect on the Obamacare exchanges as he seems to think it will, because there are certainly some sick people who will choose to remain on their original un-canceled plans, if they think those plans are better than what they could get through Obamacare. Nevertheless, I believe he is correct in saying that the exchanges will probably be composed of a significantly higher percentage of sick people than was originally projected, because some sick people previously without health insurance (or those with grandfathered plans who will now get a nice fat subsidy on the exchanges and are therefore willing to voluntarily give up their old plans) will sign up on the exchanges.
Obama to Soros:
Do what to whom?
Sure.
Not now?
Okay.
What percentage of the people who vote are stupid all of the time? What percentage are stupid most of the time? I don’t know the answers, but we will find out in November.
Oxford Union: Resolved: Health Care is a national concern more important than defense because, as was said in the Princess Bride, “if you don’t have your health, you don’t have anything.”
Well, my old insurance company sent me a letter a couple of weeks ago telling me I had until the end of March or something to enroll in their piece of Obamascare.
I’ve already got another plan, one that got an exemption under the auspices of Leftist Oligarch Sheldon “Shelly” Silver, the real power behind the throne in New York. That left a real bad taste in my mouth, as did the fact that the organization issuing the policy is involved in pinko advocacy activities.
I hate them All, folks. And, nothing personal, but I really, really resent being one of the Five Million while most of the people I know are still saying, Well, sux for you, but I don’t have to worry about it.
It’s time to be realistic:
1. Self-insure
2. Join up with like-minded individuals to help insure each other (Koreans, Jew, others have done this in the past).
3. Get serious about taking down the current fascist U.S. government, and think about how to do that.
“I hate them All, folks. And, nothing personal..”
Its personal. Its always personal. It is especially personal when the government, backed by the mob, comes to harm you and yours. Take it personally and go with good cheer awaiting the day when unintended consequences riding a black swan arrives.
Yes, yes, we strive to make money.
For whom?
For our stockholders.
And yourselves?
We are paid a salary, but we can’t pay too much to ourselves?
Why not?
The competition.
Neo…
By now you must realize that Barry is innumerate.
I’d go so far as to say anti-numerate.
His inner-child is still in rebellion against his hyper-numerate grandmother.
It’s a pretty good bet that ‘Toots’ was constantly beating on Barry over numbers and logic.
A harpy in the extreme, Madelyn’s strictures are the pink lines that Barry has to cross.
Consequently, the financial impact of his antics is not in his calculus at all.
It’s the betting line on November that has his crew stirred up.
It’s so scary that even President Valerie Jarrett is in a twist. Hence, Barry punted the ball so that it lands October 2016.
Perfect.
When the ball catches up with him…
he’ll be gasping for air like Prisoner #6!
(Patrick McGoohan)
Beverly – it does suck for you. You deserve better, but I’m just one vote.
Being the eternal optimist and left handed thinker here, I have to point out there’s another side to all this newfound and fashionable lawlessness – lord BO has demonstrated that presidential fiat can be used to nullify unpopular laws. He’s greased the skids quite nicely for a republican president to simply declare BO care invalid and instruct the IRS to ignore penalties, and tell insurance companies to ignore the whole thing indefinitely. The media who have been totally silent while BO has crapped all over his own law can hardly make a case that the next president has no right to do the same.
If The republicans had half a brain they would run a candidate who promises to issue such an order if elected. That is, instead of repeating the Boner/McCain/McConnell mantra “it’s the law of the land”. There have never been 3 bigger dumbasses in charge of the Republican Party.
But as expected, They have sat on their hands and planned an entire election strategy, as well as this whole term of congress playing not to lose, rolling over on nearly every issue, expecting BO to play by the rules. Nothing but dumbasses in the republican leadership .
By the time the next election rolls around, nobody will be worried about losing their health care, (ever) and we will have another trillion in debt because the dummies in our party have been outsmarted again.
And of course the downside of his lawlessness is further abuse of the constitution , but what can be done when congress refuses to oppose it?
“our fearless leader, Barack Obama”
I do wish you’d use his middle name too, Neo.
Got a problem with that? It is his middle name. His. Not yours or mine, but his.
What it is going to do is cause job lock from hell. You can keep your insurance so long as you don’t have to switch insurance, which means that if you change employers, you are dumped permanently into Obamacare where your insurance will be inferior to what you had no matter what you pay for it. So do you take that higher paying job and pay the price of having to switch to Obamacare junk insurance for the rest of your life, or do you simply hold on to the old job that you don’t want just so you can keep your insurance policy.
Obama has done a remarkable job of implementing a substantial part of the infamous “Directive 10-289” from Atlas Shrugged. Quite simply, he is going to make it impossible for workers to leave their jobs by “insurance locking” them into the current jobs. This will take some time to be reflected in the economy but it will not contribute in any way towards anything resembling an economic recovery.
Who gets to keep their now-extended old plan? They were canceled almost six months ago and people had to re-enroll in new plans. Blue Cross isn’t offering to let me go back the individual policy I was happy with and wanted to keep ($160/month $2500 deductible-$5000 out-of-pocket maximum). I am stuck with an Obamacare-compliant policy with a $3000 deductible and $6000 out-of-pocket maximum with a confusing caveat about outpatient procedures that leaves me wondering what my total exposure really is. The new and unimproved plan’s cost? Almost twice as much.
Obama’s l’etat, c’est moi approach to law is like telling an automaker that the 38 mpg requirement they just spent a billion dollars to obey is suspended and they can go back to 30 mpg… maybe… for a while… perhaps… what day is it?
This is no way to run a railroad!
There will be some broken eggs when running a chicken farm. Except this time the chickens are humans the Left enslaved.
“Allahpundit also asserts–and I agree with him–that before October of 2016, Obama will just extend the deadline again, past the election in November.”
That’s obvious. So obvious that you almost miss something: Why October 2016?
The only significance to October 2016 is that it’s right before an election…exactly as the deadline was originally right before the 2014 elections. Why does he keep choosing dates right before elections?
The imposition of insurance cancellations CAN’T be good for him, and he wouldn’t willingly hurt himself. That leaves two other options:
1) This date is a threat to other Democrats.
2) This date is a potential bribe to Republicans.
It’s damned weird.
Another thought just occurred:
Could he be so delusional to think that someone (probably the poor, uninsured) will view this as beneficial? That they will rain votes on the Democrats in gratitude?!?
This is the kind of fantasy you see in a 14-year old girl’s diary. “And all the people bowed down to princess O, and they LOVED her.”
The situation Beverly is in is designed to break people. Make you beholden to them, in their debt, reliant upon their patronage and support. You won’t be independent, able to make your own decisions based around a financial and economic base. You’ll instead only do what they tell you to do, because by breaking the slave, the slave obeys.
That works for 68% of the human race. The 3% though, it backfires on since that 3% has sort of rebelled against the shackles of slavery, both physical and mental. The other standard deviation percentages are randomized on a normal curve, some make it others do not.
People can only tolerate so long being treated as non human, before they start realizing that their tormentors aren’t deserving of human status either. Guess what happens then.
As for votes, every sniper gets a vote. It could be 1. Or it could be 100. It depends.
blert is right about Barry, and the anti-numeracy extends throughout his entire administration. Obviously they didn’t talk to even one actuary when they drafted Obamacare, because he would have told them that a healthcare plan which depends on the young and healthy subsidizing the old and sick CANNOT work if the young and healthy don’t have to join until they’re 26, can get a free plan (Medicaid) if they want one, and don’t have to sign up at all until they’re in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.
Matt_SE:
Obama’s NOT choosing the dates; he’s just choosing the years. It has to do with the insurance business. The new policies start January 1st, and the companies sent out notices in October. He can only extend the policies on a yearly basis. If he extends it again, it has to be till October 2017 (in other words, for policies beginning January 1, 2018).
If he did that, he would have to announce it some time significantly before October 2016 (to let the insurance companies know in time). He would still be president at that point, so he could do it unless Congress grows some cojones and manages to stop him. His successor as president, who would not take office till mid-January of 2017, would have to face the fact that the policy extensions for January 1, 2017 until December 31, 2017 were already a done deal.
At least, that’s my understanding of how it would work.
@neo-neocon
Well, that’s neither here-nor-there. If Obama knows the date is Jan 1, he can choose the year he likes. I think 2016 will be the last extension, because it will be the last election year in which Obama is reigning (heh).
I think he still thinks this will work, and he’s just angling for the right moment to accept his triumph.
I thought I read that the delay is contingent upon States allowing it, so it’s basically voluntary. Of course the only thing worse than a bad law is the uncertainty of when and how it will be applied. Obamacare is both a bad law and massively uncertain.