WH pondering whether to “allow” people to keep plans another 3 years

King Obama
Here we go again.
Image via Salon.com

Unreal:

The Obama administration is considering an extension of the president’s decision to let people keep their individual insurance policies even if they are not compliant with the health care overhaul, industry and government officials said Thursday.

Avalere Health CEO Dan Mendelson said Thursday that the administration may let policyholders keep that coverage for as long as an additional three years, stressing that no decision has been made. Policymakers are waiting to see what rate hikes health insurers plan for the insurance exchanges that are key to the overhaul’s coverage expansions.

“The administration is entertaining a range of options to ensure that this individual market has stability to it, and that would be one thing that they could do,” he said.

Avalere Health is a consulting firm, but Mendelson said his company was not advising the administration on exchange policy. He said he has had informal discussions with administration officials about the extension, but he didn’t identify them.

Health and Human Services spokesman Joanne Peters confirmed that the issue is under discussion, saying: “We are continuing to examine all sorts of ways to provide consumers with more choices and to smooth the transition as we implement the law. No decisions have been made.”

This is nothing more than yet another desperate, blatant election year political game by the Obama administration designed to try and protect extremely vulnerable incumbents – particularly in the US Senate, like NC’s Senator Hagan – from defeat. Β “No decision has been made” – yet, but the fact that they’re even considering just goes to show that when it comes to Obamacare during a critical election year, the Democrats will do whatever they can that doesn’t involve repeal or further exposing this law as devastating to both the American consumer and the economy.

And then there are the Constitutional issues behind the administration’s continued unilateral changes to this law. As Thomas Lifson at American Thinker writes:

The Constitution does not give a president the right to suspend provisions of duly passed and signed laws for his own political convenience. The fact that this move is being floated means that there is time to react and point out that the only way to alter the law is through congressional action.

Democrats are loath to follow the Constitutional requirements because submitting any contemplated changes toΒ ObamacareΒ to Congressional action would openΒ the doorΒ for repeal or further changes that would gut the law. The prospect of forcing Democrat Senators to vote on such changes and face voters if they take a position in favor of retainingΒ Obamacare’s noxious provisions is terrifying.

So the Constitution matters less than the ability to bypass voters’ will.

Just long enough to try and fool enough voters in the short term to think they are “gaining” something. The attempt at deliberately manipulating voters on an issue as vital as their health by the administration is deeply disturbing. Nothing new, but disturbing all the same. Β And it’s only going to get worse.

(via Memeorandum)

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