Waaaaaaaay Too Late, And I Bet Obama Knows It
President Barack Obama said Thursday that insurers will be able to continue health-insurance coverage next year for current policy holders that otherwise would be canceled under the new health-care law....
"Insurers can offer consumers the option to renew their 2013 health plans in 2014 without change, allowing these individuals to keep their plans," a senior White House official said, previewing Mr. Obama's announcement. These consumers will be given the opportunity to re-enroll, the official said, essentially extending the so-called grandfather clause in the 2010 health overhaul that allowed people to keep their plans if they were in place before the law passed.
"This step today is in the interest of fixing some of the challenges that have arisen" since then, the official said.
Under the plan, insurers are required to notify consumers whether their renewed plans don't include coverage that was required under the new health law, which set minimum coverage standards. They must tell consumers that new insurance options and possibly tax subsidies may be available for policies bought through online federal marketplace.
1. The President announced this today to try to head off Congressional legislation to do the same thing. Have we just given up on the rule of law? Can the President unilaterally modify any law he pleases? Shouldn't a modification in existing legislation have to come from the Legislature? Can we just make it official and change the Constitution to say that the President can alter any legislation he wants as long as his party originally passed it?
2. How is this even going to be possible? My understanding is that insurance companies spend months preparing the pricing and features of their products for the next year. The have done no preparation to offer these plans in 2014, because, you know, they were (and still are, whatever the President says in a news conference) illegal. Its like your wife telling you to take the next exit when you are in the left lane driving 75 miles an hour in heavy traffic and the exit is about 100 yards away. With 31 business days between now and the new year, how are they supposed to do this? Or are they even expected to be able to do so? Is this the President's way to blame shift to insurance companies?
Update:
Insurance source: WH fix places "onus on us even tho they know we can't" effectively extend cancelled policies given rates/logistics probs
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) November 14, 2013
More from insurance industry source on WH O-care fix: "This is a joke - doesn't change anything but allow WH to blame insurance companies"
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) November 14, 2013
