Obamacare is ending the year on a very low note.
Two states, both deep blue in their politics, are unhappy with the quality of the websites designed for the healthcare insurance exchanges. Shockingly, they have opted to take a very free market approach to the problem.
Massachusetts — whose government was one of the staunchest supporters of ObamaCare, and whose health plan arguably was the model for the law — is refusing to pay any more until a working website is delivered.A spokesman for the Massachusetts exchange told FoxNews.com that CGI’s system is “far from where it needs to be” and the state will apply “nonstop pressure” to fix the problems….Vermont, too, is withholding $5.1 million to CGI over its failure to meet deadlines, according to a report in the Boston Globe. CGI, though, claims that neither state is fully cutting off its funding.The fight over payments comes as officials weigh their legal options, and some expect a rush of lawsuits once the major problems with the various exchanges sites are addressed. Vermont is investigating CGI and, according to the Globe, Massachusetts officials will present a plan in January to ensure “accountability” for the website problems.
Forbes contributor Michael F. Cannon offers a big plate of “I told you so,” in a piece that reviews the compete chaos descending on Obamacare implementation. He predicted the websites would not be ready for the slated start date and would be plagued with problems.
Canon also notes that the administration’s relaxation of the rules for millions of consumers whose individual insurance policies have been canceled, saying they can buy bare-bones plans or entirely avoid a requirement that most Americans have health coverage, will contribute further to the chaos.
This categorical exemption is a bigger deal than it seems. With it, President Obama has admitted ObamaCare will strip many people of their health insurance and leave them with gaps in coverage, or no affordable coverage options at all. It is an implicit admission that ObamaCare has created economic peril for millions of Americans and political peril for Democrats…..The people who qualify for this exemption don’t actually want it. They want health insurance. They had affordable coverage, until ObamaCare took it away from them, and that’s what they still want now. Sebelius boasts that ObamaCare’s catastrophic plans cost 20 percent less than other ObamaCare plans, but don’t confuse that with affordable coverage. The Manhattan Institute’s Avik Roy — who is now the opinion editor for the sprawling Forbes empire – notes that ObamaCare’s catastrophic plans can still cost twice as much as what was previously available on the individual market.
And because the exemptions are temporary, even those who find a catastrophic plan won’t be able to keep it either.
Obamacare is a gift that will be giving well into 2014. And if two of the bluest states in the union are already retaliating, the beneficiary of this gift will not be the Democrats.
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