Having watched President Obama and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius over the past several months unilaterally alter or outright ignore major portions of the law, I now believe that a future Republican president would have greater latitude to gut Obamacare than I once thought possible.
Obama has turned his signature legislative accomplishment into a constantly evolving wikilaw, with editing privileges restricted to himself and a few administration officials.
As businesses barked about the requirement that they provide qualifying health insurance or pay a fine, Obama decided not enforce the law’s employer mandate in 2014, even though the law explicitly states that’s when it’s supposed to kick in.
As technological problems mounted, HHS delayed the implementation of some income verification requirements for those applying for federal health insurance subsidies, without delaying the subsidies.
When Big Labor griped about a “reinsurance fee” that would be imposed on some union health care plans, HHS simply redefined the universe of health plans subject to the fee so that it excluded unions — forcing others to provide the lost revenue.
In the face of a public backlash over millions of Americans having their health insurance policies cancelled despite the president’s repeated assurances that it wouldn’t happen, Obama announced that he simply wouldn’t enforce the requirements on insurance policies that are clearly spelled out in the law.
In pursuing all of these desperate measures, Obama seems to have lost sight of the fact that Republican presidents have lawyers, too.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonexaminer.com ...
