MILLIONS OF “INADEQUATE” PLANS CANCELED, AMERICANS ANGRY
by Sharon Rondeau
(Nov. 18, 2013) — As a result of the disastrous launch of the individual mandate and website associated with the health care law known as Obamacare, several newspapers, including The Chicago Tribune, have called for the law to be repealed.
The First Amendment tasks the press to scrutinize and report on government activity in order to keep elected officials accountable to their constituents. However, the mainstream media is typically left-leaning, often using its platform to influence public opinion in favor of bigger government.
Several days ago, a writer at Forbes predicted that Obamacare will be repealed “well in advance of the 2014 elections.” Some predict that it “will collapse on its own.” Fewer than 27,000 Americans have actually bought insurance through the federal website, which has been plagued with problems since its launch on October 1.
Since that time, as many as 5,000,000 individual health plans have been canceled because they did not meet the minimum standards set by the Obama regime after the law was passed. The Department of Health and Human Services made changes to those standards in June of 2010 following the law’s passage by Democrats only in March 2010.
The regime failed to meet numerous deadlines leading up to the rollout of the website and altered certain aspects of the law unilaterally, including the employer mandate, which had been scheduled to begin on January 1, 2014. Two “architects” of the law’s implementation have reportedly refused to testify to a congressional committee. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius testified to both the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Senate Finance Committee about the benefits she perceives in the law despite the troubled launch.
In her testimony to the Senate committee, Sebelius admitted that full background checks were not conducted on Obamacare navigators such that convicted felons could be in possession of personal data on individuals using the website. At least one navigator who is a supervisor is reported to be an illegal alien. Navigators have been videotaped encouraging Obamacare applicants to “lie and cheat the health care system by erroneously reporting income status, health history, and more.”
Some believe that enough Democrats will “support the president” to keep Obamacare in place, although on Friday, 39 House Democrats voted in favor of a bill to allow canceled plans to be reinstated, if possible, through 2014. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Fred Upton, was intended to “protect Americans from the damage of this law.” Many Americans have lost both plans and physicians they liked after Obama had promised, “If you like your plan, you will keep it.”
The regime has called the canceled plans “inadequate” to the new standards.
Speaking on MSNBC, Rep. Steve Cohen said that “getting the website up” is the most pressing need so that people losing their policies can shop for new insurance. MSNBC’s slogan is “Lean Forward.” Obama’s 2012 campaign slogan was “Forward!” while the Hitler Youth slogan was “Forward! Forward!”
On November 1, The Washington Post reported that “the Republican position of the last three and a half years, ‘repeal,’ is now 100 percent dead.”
Some members of Congress believe that Obamacare is a “takeover” of health care which represents “a threat to our Republic.”
Sen. John McCain, who recently excoriated “Tea Party” Republicans for advocating the defunding of Obamacare, is now calling for a full repeal, now claiming that the law is “an experiment in social engineering.” Democrat Sen. Mary Landrieu has introduced a bill similar to Upton’s which is supported by several other Senate Democrats.
A piecemeal repeal approach toward Obamacare has been suggested by Sen. Marco Rubio and Speaker of the House John Boehner, although Boehner claimed last week that such an approach could lead to a total repeal of Obamacare.
On Friday, Obama was pushing for an “administrative fix” to the law’s problems by meeting with insurance company representatives, who reportedly expressed “anger” and “frustration” as well as a willingness to consider ways in which to serve customers whose plans were canceled by the law. However, The New York Times reported that “Even if the insurance industry and the president find common ground, thousands of consumers may still not be able to renew their old policies.”
Insurance companies have reportedly been intimidated by the regime to withhold criticism of Obamacare.
Some insurers are reportedly unwilling to “be the political flack jackets for the administration.”
One state insurance commissioner said that he is “fed up” after “doing everything Obama wanted.”
On October 25, The Washington Post quoted Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius as having said that the Healthcare.gov website is “working better every day.” The Obama regime now says that the website will not be repaired by the November 30 date identified at the end of last month.
Approximately $1 billion has been spent building the website in no-bid contracts to companies with questionable qualifications. Obama has said that he, too, is “frustrated” that the rollout was plagued with dysfunction.
Obama has claimed that he did not know that the website had not been ready to launch effectively and that the problems associated with it are “on us.” Addressing himself to those who lost plans, Obama said, “We hear ya loud and clear.”
Through his political action organization, Organizing for America, Obama has asked his supporters to “help tell your friends, families, co-workers, classmates, neighbors and anyone else about what the Affordable Care Act can mean for them.” An email reportedly released on Sunday evening by Organizing for America reads:
…search…”organizing for action”..then go to www.barackobama.com
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Your instructions to join the call with President Obama:
Organizing for Action
Hey —
Thanks for signing up to join the exclusive call with President Obama.
Here’s what you need to know to join in:
The call starts at 8:15 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday, November 18th.
During the call, you can direct questions and comments to questions@barackobama.com.
Shortly before the call begins, go here to listen in live:
barackobama.com/live
Thanks,
Organizing for Action
Obama was a community organizer before he became involved in politics. Other information about his background, college years and birthplace has not been made available to the public.
There is nothing in the U.S. Constitution which mandates the federal government to provide health insurance to anyone. The Declaration of Independence stated that “certain unalienable Rights” are “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness…”
Several seriously ill Americans who are losing their health care coverage are now facing “a matter of life and death,” with which at least one U.S. senator agrees. Some are concerned that Obama has “provoked a constitutional crisis” by proposing a change to the law himself, without Congress.
On Monday morning, Politico asked in regard to Obamacare, “What could go wrong next?”