Cindy Fox Obamas Edicts Are Dictatorial, Not Presidential by BETSY MCCAUGHEY, PHD .......................................................... President Obama says he can fix the millions of canceled health insurance plans with an administrative change. Hes claiming more executive power - power for himself - than the Constitution allows, and is playing fast and loose with the truth. The culprit behind the cancellations is not an administrative regulation, as he claims. Its Section 2702 of the Affordable Care Act. It says all plans sold in the individual market or small-group market on Jan. 1, 2014, or later must include the Essential Benefits Package. This means 10 categories of health coverage the Washington experts deem essential, such as maternity care even if youre 50 years old. Plans are being canceled because they dont have all 10. Only Congress can dispense with the deadline. Last Friday, the House of Representatives passed a bill to do that.(Insurers and insurance commissioners in several states have said the fix is too late to retool by Jan. 1.) Nevertheless, the House bill is a legal attempt to stop the mass cancellations. 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. The real reason is that Obama wants to rule by edict. This particular edict could put taxpayers on the hook for a hefty amount. The American Academy of Actuaries warned that the fix is likely to cause healthy people to stick with their old plans, leaving the sickest in the new exchanges. That will clobber exchange insurers. Section 1342 of the law set up a mechanism to bail out insurers that incur losses. Its funded by fees on insurers and employers. The actuaries predicted the pot of money might not be enough. Costs to the federal government could increase, the group warned. The incorrect part of the actuaries statement is costs to the federal government. The federal government has no money. Its our money. Obama often brushes off critics of the health law by saying ObamaCare is the law of the land. (Except when he wants to patch it up himself.) It passed the House. Passed the Senate. The Supreme Court ruled it constitutional ... it was the central issue in last years election. It is settled. Thats a claim you could make about the Affordable Care Act. But not about ObamaCare - the ad hoc health reform the president is rolling out. Obama himself has stripped the law of key components such as the employer mandate and then padded it with handouts to favored constituencies. On Aug. 9, the president was asked where he gets the authority to make these changes. In a normal political environment, he replied, it would have been easier for me to simply call up the Speaker (of the House) and say: You know what? This is a tweak that doesnt go to the essence of the law - so lets make a technical change in the law. That would be the normal thing that I would prefer to do. Hes suggesting these are not normal times, just because Republicans control the House. Sorry, Mr. President, but divided government - with an uncooperative Congress - is the norm. Dont be shocked if a renegade insurance company sues to stop the presidents most recent fix. Insurers have invested hundreds of millions of dollars creating and marketing health plans that conform to the Affordable Care Act. Lower federal courts already are smacking down the president for his footloose way with the law. Though the Affordable Care Act says only state exchanges can provide subsidies to health plan enrollees, the Obama administration is trying to offer subsidies in all 50 states, rather than just in the 14 states that set up exchanges. The administration has tried to get these lawsuits dismissed, but so far has failed twice. This isnt just about ObamaCare. On Aug. 13, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the president for failing to obey a 2002 statute that required the executive branch to take final action on the certification of Yucca Mountain as a nuclear waste site. Judge Brett Kavanaugh ruled that under Article II of the Constitution and relevant Supreme Court precedents, the president must follow statutory mandates. In our country, the rule of law is king, not Mr. Obama! Unlike · · Follow Post · 12 hours ago
Posted on: Thu, 21 Nov 2013 23:41:45 +0000
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