At his press conference, today, Obama announced he would use “enforcement discretion” to allow “bad apple” health insurance plans made illegal by ObamaCare to still be able to be sold.
“Under the White House’s approach, the Department of Health and Human Services will notify the nation’s state insurance commissioners that they have federal permission to allow consumers who already have such insurance policies to keep them through 2014,” reports the Washington Post. companies to help advertise for Obamacare by letting customers know that there’s an Obamacare marketplace where they can purchase (or get subsidized) health care coverage.
Obama’s proposal is an extra-legal solution to a big problem for millions of Americans around the country.“I don’t see within the law how they can do this administratively,” said Speaker John Boehner in a press conference on Capitol Hill. “No one can identify anything the president could do administratively to keep his pledge that would be both legal and effective.”
Asking the toughest questions at the presser, was CBS reporter, Major Garrett, via Twitchy:
“Do you not believe, sir, that the American people deserve deeper, more transparent accountability from you?”
“Do we deserve more detailed explanation of whether you knew people would lose plans? And didn’t you know website would fail”
Obama claimed ignorance: “I was not informed directly that the website was not working,” he said. “If I’d been informed, I wouldn’t have gone out and said ‘The website is going to be great.'” He added, “I don’t think I’m stupid enough” to compare the website to Amazon or Travelocity knowing it would fail.”
We went on to say that his expectation was that “98% of the American people either genuinely wouldn’t change at all, or they’d be pleasantly surprised by their options in the marketplace, and the grandfather clause would cover the rest.”
Never mind the fact that his admitted “expectation” still falls short of his “if you like your plan, you can keep it” promise.
Now he’s lying about the grandfathering clause. He knows darn well that regulations he supported caused the cancellations. In 2010, Senate Democrats voted in lock step to support the HHS rule that is responsible for the health insurance cancellations, and they voted against the ensuing Republican resolution that would have helped Americans keep their health care plans.
The HHS Regulation “narrowed” the grandfathering clause provision by excluding policies that had changed deductibles, co-pays, or benefits. The Republican resolution would have struck down that HHS grandfathering clause provision. The Regime opposed this.
“The Administration strongly opposes Senate passage of S.J. Res. 39, which would undermine important protections offered to Americans and businesses under the Affordable Care Act. This resolution is an attempt to put insurance companies back in charge of Americans’ health care by allowing them to dramatically reduce benefits and increase costs while evading the new protections that the Affordable Care Act provides to consumers.” (Statement Of Administration Policy, S.J. Res. 39 – Disapproval of the Rule Relating to Status as a Grandfathered Health Plan Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act , 9/29/10)
Obama went on to say that his expectations “proved not to be the case. And that’s on me.” But he’s lying about his “expectations”. He knew that millions of insurance plans would be cancelled. That’s what the HHS regulation he supported was all about.
He was correct to note that “there are a whole bunch of folks up in Congress” (all Democrats) who made the same promise.
The ObamaCare debacle is on them too.
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