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<H2>Obama administration again extends life of “skinny” health
plans</H2><BR><BR><A
href="http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/03/07/obam-m07.html"
target=_blank>http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/03/07/obam-m07.html</A><BR><BR><BR>
<H5>By Kate Randall <BR>7 March 2014 </H5><FONT size=4>For the second time in
four months, the Obama administration has extended the time insurance companies
can continue selling plans that do not meet the standards of the Affordable Care
Act (ACA). The change was the most significant of an array of rule changes
announced Wednesday to the law commonly known as Obamacare.<BR>The ACA has been
tweaked multiple times in the interest of private insurers and employers since
its passage in March 2010. A Fact Sheet from the Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS) states that insurance companies can continue selling bare-bones,
“skinny” plans, in some cases through October 2016 in those states that approve
the extension.<BR>The first delay came last November, after several million
people with such plans began to receive notices from their insurers that their
policies would be cancelled on January 1, 2014, when the new benefit
requirements were to take effect. When people began to shop for coverage on the
insurance exchanges set up under the ACA, they found that the plans offered
there by private insurers were in most cases far more expensive than the ones
being cancelled.<BR>Responding to criticism that his pledge “if you like your
plan, you can keep it” was not proving true in practice for a substantial number
of people, President Obama announced in November that the substandard plans
could remain in place through September 2015.<BR>In a statement Tuesday, HHS
spokeswoman Joanne Peters commented on the latest changes in the ACA rules: “The
Administration has committed to doing all we can to smooth the transition for
hard-working Americans. We’ve taken steps already and are continuing to look at
options.”<BR>While White House officials are presenting the extension of the
substandard plans as a gift to consumers, in reality it is nothing of the sort.
The policies may be less expensive than those offered on the exchanges, but
insurers are being allowed to continue to sell policies that may not offer even
the minimal protections the president promised would be covered with passage of
the ACA, including preventative screenings, maternity care, and prescription
drug coverage.<BR>When Obama first advanced the health care reform more than
five years ago, he pledged that the legislation would provide “near-universal,”
affordable coverage for the American population. After first balking at the
prospect of a change, the health care industry eventually came on board to
insure that any legislation would be crafted in its interests.<BR>A common sense
approach to the “skinny” plan dilemma would see the private insurers assuming
the costs of compliance with the ACA. But as Obamacare as a whole is based on
maintaining the for-profit health care system—while cutting costs for the
government and employers—consumers are instead being given the “opportunity” to
continue buying the shoddy plans from private companies.<BR>The White House has
made concession after concession to the insurance companies, who are determined
that any standards required by the health care legislation will not be funded
through any drain on their multi-billion-dollar profits.<BR>As originally
written, beginning in January 2014 all companies with 50 or more employees would
have been required to offer health insurance coverage to their full-time
employees or face a penalty. Last summer, however, the White House granted a
year’s reprieve to all businesses, until January 2015, to comply with the law’s
employer mandate.<BR>Just last month, the Obama administration announced that
medium-sized businesses, those with 50 to 99 employees, would be given until
January 2016 before they risked a federal penalty for not providing health
insurance to their full-time employees. Companies with 100 workers or more were
also notified that they would be required to offer coverage to only 70 percent
of their full-time workers, instead of the 95 percent originally stipulated by
the ACA.<BR>Individuals and families, however, have been granted no such
reprieve to Obamacare’s so-called individual mandate. Under the law, people who
are not insured through their employer or through a government program such as
Medicare or Medicaid must obtain insurance or pay a penalty, with few
exceptions. The success of the health care bill depends upon a steady stream of
new, cash-paying customers to purchase policies from private insurers on the
exchanges.<BR>Obama’s extension of the sale of noncompliant plans has not been
universally accepted by state insurance commissioners. As of late January, 24
states had decided to extend the sale of the plans through this fall, while 23
states had rejected the proposal. A few states are still undecided.<BR>Some
private insurers are concerned that maintaining these plans will keep younger,
healthier people from purchasing coverage on the insurance exchanges. The
insurance companies need a sufficient pool of healthy people to offset the
higher cost of insuring older, sicker people on the exchanges. As there is no
meaningful oversight on what insurers can charge for coverage, the insurers can
be counted on to hike premiums if these costs cut into their bottom
line.<BR></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>