NYT: Obama Admin Announces Another Obamacare Delay - This Time To Consumer Cost Protection

The Train Wreck Continues

The New York Times reports today, “In another setback for President Obama’s health care initiative, the administration has delayed until 2015 a significant consumer protection in the law that limits how much people may have to spend on their own health care. The limit on out-of-pocket costs, including deductibles and co-payments, was not supposed to exceed $6,350 for an individual and $12,700 for a family. But under a little-noticed ruling, federal officials have granted a one-year grace period to some insurers, allowing them to set higher limits, or no limit at all on some costs, in 2014. The grace period has been outlined on the Labor Department’s Web site since February, but was obscured in a maze of legal and bureaucratic language that went largely unnoticed. When asked in recent days about the language — which appeared as an answer to one of 137 ‘frequently asked questions about Affordable Care Act implementation’ — department officials confirmed the policy.”

The Times notes, “The health law, signed more than three years ago by Mr. Obama, clearly established a single overall limit on out-of-pocket costs for each individual or family. But federal officials said that many insurers and employers needed more time to comply because they used separate companies to help administer major medical coverage and drug benefits, with separate limits on out-of-pocket costs. In many cases, the companies have separate computer systems that cannot communicate with one another.”

Once again, the mandates, regulations, and complexities of Obamacare that Democrats blithely dismissed concerns about have combined to prevent the law from working as they and the president promised. Indeed, as the NYT points out, “In promoting his health care plan in 2009, Mr. Obama cited the limit on out-of-pocket costs as one of its chief virtues. ‘We will place a limit on how much you can be charged for out-of-pocket expenses, because in the United States of America, no one should go broke because they get sick,’ Mr. Obama told a joint session of Congress in September 2009.”

The Times adds, “Last month the White House announced a one-year delay in enforcement of another major provision of the law, which requires larger employers to offer health coverage to full-time employees. Valerie Jarrett, Mr. Obama’s senior adviser, said that the delay of the employer mandate showed ‘we are listening’ to businesses, which had complained about the complexity of federal reporting requirements. Although the two delays are unrelated, together they underscore the difficulties the Obama administration is facing as it rolls out the health care law.”

And since the administration is being forced by the poor design of this unpopular law to delay parts of it, there’s another delay the administration should consider to protect Americans.

Yesterday, in a letter to Marilyn Tavenner, Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell asked the administration to delay Obamacare’s mandates forcing Americans onto the health care exchanges since their personal data may not be safe.

Quoting from McConnell's letter: "I write to express my deep concern about reports that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has missed multiple deadlines for assuring the security of the Federal Services Data Hub.  Americans should not be forced to enter into exchanges when CMS is so ill-prepared to guarantee the protection of personal data and taxpayer resources from hackers and cyber criminals who would use this sensitive data for personal gain.

"As you know, I oppose Obamacare and support its full repeal. Yet in recent months, even some of the Administration’s closest allies have raised alarms about the potential implementation “train wreck” to come. While I believe we ought to repeal this law and replace it with commonsense reforms that lower cost, Americans ought to be assured, at an absolute minimum, that their personal and financial data will be safe from data thieves.

"HHS’ recent track record does not inspire much confidence. . . . Given the compressed timeframe between the conclusion of system testing and the scheduled opening of the exchanges, I am asking you to delay opening the exchanges until the Inspector General can guarantee the security of the exchanges. . . . I request that you assure the public that your Chief Information Officer will not be pressured to certify the system’s readiness by signing the Security Decision Authorization until it is secure.” [Full Letter].

The real solution to this constant "train wreck" is to get the government out of our personal lives and to Repeal Obamacare.

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