"The minimum coverage provision is necessary to carry those provisions into — into execution; because without them, without those provisions,... View Enlarged Image
Death Blow: Almost two years ago, President Obama's solicitor general told the Supreme Court that without the individual mandate, ObamaCare would fail. But after winning that victory, the administration itself has effectively killed the mandate.
In his oral arguments before the court, Donald Verrilli made it abundantly clear that, without the individual mandate, ObamaCare would "make matters worse, not better."
As he told the justices, the "guaranteed issue" and "community rating" regulations at the heart of ObamaCare won't work if you let the young and healthy choose not to buy insurance.
States that tried it, he explained, found these regulations to be "highly counterproductive," noting that insurance rates in New Jersey doubled, causing its market to collapse. He also noted that after Kentucky tried these reforms, "virtually every insurer left the market."
It turns out that if healthy people can wait until after they get sick to buy insurance, and get it guaranteed at a subsidized rate, most will do so, resulting in an insurance premium "death spiral."
ObamaCare was supposed to avoid this mainly through the mandate and the tax penalty on those who went uninsured. But after the cancellation fiasco last year, Obama added a one-year expansion to the mandate's "hardship exemption," to include anyone who'd had policies canceled.
Then, just last week, Obama quietly extended this massive loophole for two more years, as the Wall Street Journal discovered. So for the next three years, people can claim an exemption if they've had their previous plan canceled and "consider the other plans available unaffordable." They just need a copy of the cancellation notice.
But insurance refuseniks can also get an exemption if they claim "another hardship in obtaining health insurance." For that, they only need documentation "if possible."
The exemption standards were ridiculously loose to begin with. Someone claiming to have "experienced domestic violence" is automatically exempt, without submitting any documentation whatsoever.
Another easy out: Just fail to pay a utility bill until a shut-off notice arrives. Send that in and — poof! — hardship exemption.
Democrats also neutered the IRS's ability to collect the penalty — to avoid political blowback — giving the uninsured little incentive to pay.
The latest extension puts the final nail in the mandate coffin, since now only a fool would pay the penalty. And so, as Verrilli warned, ObamaCare will "make matters worse, not better."
Time to start over, Mr. President.
Read More At Investor's Business Daily: http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials-obama-care/031214-693001-latest-obama-mandate-exemption-change-guarantees-obamacare-failure.htm#ixzz2vqk41Cqk
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