Blame-Shifting? Nooooo...

The Times engages in a classic bit of wishful reporting as they cover Obama's shredding of the ACA for a quick political boost:

Republicans portrayed the policy switch as an effort to shift blame to insurance companies.

Republicans? Here is how the Orator-in-Chief explained this grinding of the gears at a very late date in the process:

And so what we want to do is to be able to say to these folks, you know what, the Affordable Care Act is not going to be the reason why insurers have to cancel your plan.

Normally insurance companies take months to set up plans, negotiate with network providers, get state insurance commissioners to sign off on the proposed rates, and then do a bit of marketing. Now they have until December 15 for customers whose plans are cancelled as of Jan 1. But hey, don't blame Obamacare! It has only been the law for three years now; if insurance companies really thought it would go into effect and acted accordingly, well, psych!

Maybe all the state insurance commissioners friendly enough to chat with the Times are also Republicans:

After the president announced the proposed changes, insurance regulators participated in a heated conference call, according to one regulator, where many expressed deep unhappiness about the proposal.

Some on the call felt “the president kind of threw us under the bus today,” the regulator said on the condition of anonymity because the discussion was supposed to be private.

FWIW, the Times editors are troubled:

President Obama has come up with a modest fix for a self-inflicted political wound: his repeated — and wrong — assertions that Americans would be able to keep their health insurance plans if they wanted to under the health care reform law.

The fix, which deals with the cancellations of individual policies, is far preferable to a destructive Republican bill that is expected to come up for a vote in the House on Friday and to a Senate bill sponsored by some Democrats. But it raises a few troubling questions, most of which cannot be answered quickly.

Among the questions apparently not troubling the editors is, how is this even legal? They are worried a little about the economicd and a lot about the politics:

It is not clear at this point how many insurers might be willing to reinstate the plans they have just canceled or how many state insurance commissioners might be willing to approve such reinstatements, or how many Congressional Democrats might consider the president’s proposal adequate to placate angry constituents and stifle Republican attacks.

The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, praised Mr. Obama’s move as an important step toward addressing the problem and pledged to do more, if needed.

The White House had no estimates on how many consumers whose policies were canceled might want reinstatement as opposed to buying something better, often with the help of subsidies. It is also unclear how the temporary fix might affect the overall goal of upgrading the benefits covered and keeping premiums affordable.

If a relatively small population of people get extensions, as some experts think likely, the effect on premiums in the overall health insurance market may be minimal. Even so, this disturbing reversal is caused by the incompetence of the administration in ushering in reforms that millions have been waiting for.

 

 

Comments

[Threadkiller]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/11/14/lockheed-martin-cuts-4000-jobs/3525613/

[Stephanie on kindle armchair QB Statue of Liberty FTW]

So glad your mom is ok Clarice. It's had to take away the keys.

Good news the biopsy was negative and the hospital had a cancellation and surgery is back on for Wednesday.

[Old Lurker]

Yay Steph.

[narciso]

Great news, stephanie, you should have taken Begich's hint, earlier, Kay;

http://weaselzippers.us/2013/11/15/biden-we-need-a-strong-rino-infested-republican-party-to-pass-obamas-liberal-agenda/

[Captain Hate on the iPhone]

On behalf of all Terps, I'd like to apologize for Steny. As Pat Buchanan has proven, just because you get a good education doesn't mean you'll put it to good use.

[Jack is Back!]

Stephanie,

Congrats on a negative. Lots of prayers here for you and family.

Is Bob Beckel certifiable insane and if not what is the threshold?

[Account Deleted]

"I really didn't expect this much reversal of fortune from the merest first round of change."

AliceH,

Nor I. The rapidity with which the NYT, Conan and Jon are pinning the tail on the biggest jackass suggests we're looking at only the visible portion of an iceberg. I've been thinking about JiB's question and ISTM we aren't far enough along to understand the scale of the reversal.

It's actually a progressive systemic failure but the progs are going to insist that sacrificing their Corn King by bopping him on the noggin and tossing him in the bog will make everything better.

I say "go for it, boys" in the sure and certain knowledge it won't work.

[Marlene]

Great news Stephanie!

[Captain Hate on the iPhone]

Great news, Stephanie!

[AliceH]

some guy - I no doubt minimized the impact felt on group plans already, but I still don't think it's been all bad -- certainly not all that LOUD.

I had a group plan w/ my employer for many years including post-ACA in 2009 and 2010. My group coverage choices did become less catastrophic/more comprehensive and my contribution amt went up noticeably, but it wasn't blood-on-the-pavement level stuff like, say, your old plan is gone - here's a crappier one for only twice the price (and your network is the clinic down the road).

It could be, though, that the blood bath from the 2% is sufficient to fire up a real fear of what's ahead that even pro-ACA pundits don't want experience what happens when employer mandates land.

[Threadkiller]

Drudge is linking Alex Jones?

Uh oh.

http://www.infowars.com/congressman-warns-of-obamacare-secret-security-force/

http://www.drudgereport.com/

[NK(withnewsoftware)]

Congrats Stephanie-- great news!

[Threadkiller]

Wonderful, Stephanie!

[narciso]

Well it's actually Gohmert who's been quite persuasive on many of these issues,

[Jack is Back!]

Good God, its Beckles Birthday.

Eat it all Bob, please!

[narciso]

Rush was pointing this out earlier;

http://legalinsurrection.com/2013/11/obama-threatens-veto-of-upton-bill/

[narciso]

Carlos Slim's chimps all have to be 'substandard;

http://hotair.com/headlines/archives/2013/11/15/french-muscle-american-cheese/

[Ignatz]

--say, your old plan is gone - here's a crappier one for only twice the price--

Mine wasn't even cancelled and I'm ready to toss a rope over the nearest lamp-post for these commie eff-ups.

Here's another portion of the lie that is never discussed: I liked my plan and I got to keep it, except it's no longer my plan because they compelled B/S to remove the lifetime cap and other changes were forced onto it and as a consequence my premium shot up from ~$!750 per quarter in 2009-10 to over $3,000 starting January.

The fact is we weren't even allowed to keep those grandfathered plans which weren't cancelled because they're not the same damn plans anymore.

[Threadkiller]

"Mr. Speaker:
Yesterday, we heard yet another empty promise from the President: that by fiat he can delay provisions of law under Obamacare that have already cost a staggering FIVE MILLION Americans their health insurance.

Notice that he didn’t say the law has changed.  

He simply said that he will ignore the law, and he invites health insurers to do the same.

This is a constitutional abomination.  We live in a nation of laws and not of men.  The principle Constitutional responsibility of the President is to take care that the laws be faithfully executed.  

If a law is a bad one, we change that law.  We don’t ignore it.

As a practical matter, the President’s announcement has no effect.  Since the law hasn’t changed, the criminal and civil liability that a health insurer would incur for disobeying it hasn’t changed either.

The President’s announcement cruelly gives people false hope while severely damages the fundamental concept that separates democracy from despotism: the rule of law."

 http://mcclintock.house.gov/2013/11/obamacare-and-the-rule-of-law.shtml

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqSOELsBHB0

[Jack is Back!]

Geez, I post the Jean-Claude Van Damme Volvo Split ad a few thread back and now it is the topic of the day on The Five.

Friend of Mrs. JiB. A very interesting guy is the most fit person I have ever met.

[sundiver]

Don't know who your carrier is but mine did not change and the prems are $20 per month higher before any subsidy.

[Extraneus]

Congratulations, Stephanie!

[DebinNC]

Clarice, I suggest you check the local Better Business Bureau. This one is rated A+:

http://www.bbb.org/south-east-florida/business-reviews/automobile-body-and-paint-repair-services/ace-sullins-carstar-in-hollywood-fl-90009713

[Miss Marple]

Stephaie, I am very happy for the good results! Congratulations!

[Captain Hate on the iPhone]

I wonder if squaredance has found something to be negative about the last couple days. Make no doubt about it, the country is still suffering from these feckless jackholes. But the spell seems to be lifting.

[DebinNC]

So happy for you, Stephanie. God bless.

[rse]

Totally OT but I need advice-

Double wall oven put in when we built house went dead last night in spectacular fashion. All of a sudden coil became sparklers shooting sparks like a welding torch from various points and then all went black. With smoke. (Hubby had just gotten home and I ran to garage and cat got out but that's another story.)

Must be replaced. Now I like to cook and would rather pay more and get something likely to last and work well but I also never spend money if I can find a better price point. Except the stories I am reading about ovens are that apart from higher end none work well or last and even high end is spotty.

So can anyone advise me as to whether the Thermador convection wall oven (with the less expensive handle) is worth it for someone who uses ovens daily and whose kids tend to have their friends over to use her kitchen. It would be my Christmas and birthday presents for next several years.

Is there something reliable cheaper? I am not looking for a name kitchen just a long term consistently reliable one.

[centralcal]

Very happy for you, Stephanie.

Sorry about your Mom, Clarice. Is she depressed about losing her license?

[Miss Marple]

rse, The only thing I can tell you is that each manufacturer has their own dimensions.

So when my 1972 GE built-in overn went out, I had to buy another one of get a carpenter to modify the opening.

I know nothing about Thermidors. Wish I did.

[Extraneus]

♫

On the twelvth day of Glitchmas my true love gave to me:

Twelve coders coding
Eleven testers testing
Ten (actually 39) Dems a'leaping
Nine JOMers dancing
Eight libs a'milking
Seven firms a'skimming
Six commies praying
One nude king :-/
Four empty words
Three falling trends
Two gangplank shoves
And a cartridge in a spare breech

♫

[Some Guy]

rse,

It might be that you only need to replace the coil. It's a fairly easy job (w/ circuit breaker turned off). The parts can be ordered online or purchased locally at appliance parts store.

Ovens are quite simple "technology"

[Threadkiller]

http://applianceguru.com/category1/

[AliceH]

via Mark Knoller (who is just a delight on twitter)

Debt Check: In the four weeks since Congress suspended the Debt Limit, National Debt has increased $436-billion. Now at $17.183-trillion

[daddy]

Yay Stephanie. Here's more good medical news.

Just in from a Flight Physical at a new Flight Surgeon's office and it went great. That is not to say I'm the healthiest guy on the planet, (tho' I'm blessed with good genes that way), but I'm ecstatic because this new guy ran the exam so darn easy and unthreatening that I don't think my blood pressure could have gone up if I'd wanted it to. Yay!

What a wonderful relief to finally find a guy who doesn't have you sweating bullets for a week before coming into the office. I can see and hear okay, the hearts going "thump, thump, thump", and I was 117 over 77.

Whoopie!

On a different note, a question: If according to Obama, people can keep their old Insurance if they want to, then why the hell do we have to subsidize the HealthCare for all those Congressional Aides in DC, if they didn't need it subsidized for their old coverage and the Prez says they can keep their old plans?

[Danube on iPad]

Just wonderfu, Steph.

"but in general, there's been little impact there."

Alice, I've heard various estimates of how many will ultimately lose theiir employer coverage, but none lower that 9 million (the highest is 93 million). And althoiugh there will inevitably be some winners when all is said and done, there are likely to be very few who weren't in the Dem column already.

People become enraged not only when they themselves are lied to, but also when they see others lied to. And "you can keep your plan" is just the first oft-repeated lie to be exposed. There's also "you can keep your doctor," and "the average family's premiums will go down by $2,500." Many, many more people are going to feel like they've been cynically manipulated. Because they have.

[Sue]

Stephanie,

So glad the biopsy was negative. Good luck with your surgery.

[Some Guy]

Perhaps I should have said,

"If you like your oven, you can keep your oven!"

[Threadkiller]

Rse, my 6:08 was for you.

[daddy]

If I understand this correctly, our Alaskan Governor just pulled a Scott Walker move and announced that he will not expand Medicaid.

The local paper and the Dem's are calling for his head: Parnell: Alaska won't expand Medicaid

Parnell announced Friday that Alaska will not participate in Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, describing it at a news conference as a "failed experiment."

[NK(withnewsoftware)]

Congrats daddy on the BP reading, and your smart Gov.

[DebinNC]

wall oven reviews:

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/appl/

http://www.consumersearch.com/wall-oven-reviews/review

[Threadkiller]

Did it look like this, rse?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mQwXKHUGWY

[Jack is Back!]

One word: Kitchen Aid. More expensive but on a life cycle cost basis it has the best NPV by far.

[Jack is Back!]

sorry but two words...(:

[daddy]

Here's a nice short video on the 2 South African guys who's hobby is exploring caves, and who actually discovered the caves where the hominid bones were discovered: Video: The Cavers Behind South Africa’s New Hominid Discovery

...were out exploring for fun a few weeks ago, when the two friends squeezed down a 20-meter vertical crack and were stopped in their tracks by the unmistakable sight of human remains. Well, close to human...

Kayrooooo!

[clarice]

Some Guy, it's parked in front of her condo.

narciso and JiB, she insists she can still drive. Her car is a Buick so while there's not much I can do right now about it, I'd like to have any recommendations for future reference if you can. (She claims it suddenly got very dark out this morning and the tree she grazed bent over the orad a bit..She said nothing about the pole the cop said she also hit.)

[clarice]

Hurray, Steph.

[clarice]

Thanks, Deb.

rse I have a thermador range that I adore. Don't know about the Oven . I believe my upper convection/microwave oven is a Kitchen Aide.

[MaryD]

Clarice, so sorry about your mother's misfortune, but glad that she was not injured. My mother had a TIA which resulted in her driving off a parkway and flipping the car. Many broken bones, but she survived. For the rest of her life, she was furious because "they took my car away". Ditto for my husband's mother who had Alzheimer's. There is something about losing driving privileges that strikes a primal chord. Be prepared to be very patient.

[Jack is Back!]

Clarice,

Call Willamson Buick.

Tell them to fix it for resale by them. They will.

[MaryD]

Stephanie, good news on the test results! And best wishes on the surgery! You rock!

[MaryD]

Marlene, with regard to Carol Shea-Porter: your brother is far too kind with the Moonbat designation. She is bat-poop crazy. And totally obnoxious.

[Miss Marple]

Chicago Tribune and Las Vegas Journal review call for repeal of Obamacare

http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2013/11/15/it-begins-major-newspapers-in-reids-and-obamas-home-states-call-for-obamacare-repeal/

[Jack is Back!]

marlene,

Did you ever have breakfast at Sammy J's Best Boston Breakfast when in Flagler Beach?

[Stephanie on kindle armchair QB Statue of Liberty FTW]

Thanks all. Glad to have the uncertainty lifted.

[Jack is Back!]

Mrs. JiB asks a good quetion: How do the gay guys feel about mandatory maternity benefits to pay for in their policies?

[sundiver]

Daddy-o; Just to keep thread-guy happy......

http://www.altheadlines.com/nephilim-skeletons-giant-bones-and-skulls-discovered-13249007/

[Barbara]

Great news, Stephanie! You'll be in my prayers on Wednesday.

[sundiver]

" How do the gay guys feel about mandatory maternity benefits to pay for in their policies?"

How do you feel about the additional cost of child-proof door locks on that auto you purchased? Or taxes paying for curb-drops for the wheel-chaired?

It's just not fair.

[Marlene]

Jack,no. I mentioned we will be in Naples this year for our daughter's wedding. We really enjoy St.Augustine/Flager Beach,but I think for the next few years we will "explore".

[pagar56]

Glad to hear the results were good, Stephanie!

[centralcal]

Too funny. Alec Baldwin has been suspended (for only 2 weeks) by MSNBC. How long was his show even on - a month?

[Porchlight]

Good news, Stephanie! So happy to hear it.

[narciso]

That's tree falls in the forest, central,

[Captain Hate on the iPhone]

More people might see him on suspension.

[Jane-Rebel Alliance1]

Stephanie,

I'm totally thrilled for you. Congrats!

Clarice, I'm thrilled your mother is okay. I could tell you the story of my mother driving up until about 88, but you would all think I was a mean bitch.

[Danube on iPad]

"How do you feel about the additional cost of child-proof door locks on that auto you purchased?"

I am glad to have them each time a child rides in my car, although I would prefer not to have them

" Or taxes paying for curb-drops for the wheel-chaired?"

I am happy to have my taxes go to their construction, because it is a benefit to the entire community that wheel-chair-bound people are able to use the public sidewalks. The forced purchase of maternity coverage does not even purport to provide a public benefit. It was enacted solely for the purpose of transferring wealth.

How do you feel about repeatedly making a fool of yoursel on this site? And you can't even claim that anyone forced you to do it....

[Ignatz]

My wife's aunt is 98 and lives alone since her disabled son died a year or two ago. Still drives around town without incident. Sharp as a tack and still waddles around pretty well.

[Janet]

Wonderful news, Stephanie! Such a relief. Love to you....

[Stephanie]

Thanks again y'all. I'm so relieved.

[sbwaters]

Just catching up, so let me add my congrats, Stephanie.

[caro]

Great news, Steph

[It's pretty simple to understand.]

Heh, kiddoes, Obama lies. Therefore he's lied about the birther mess.