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By Doug Powers •
Don’t like the individual mandate in Obamacare and can’t get a waiver? No problem — just be poor.
Philip Klein at the Washington Examiner:
President Obama’s solicitor general, defending the national health care law on Wednesday, told a federal appeals court that Americans who didn’t like the individual mandate could always avoid it by choosing to earn less money.
Neal Kumar Katyal, the acting solicitor general, made the argument under questioning before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati, which was considering an appeal by the Thomas More Law Center. (Listen to oral arguments here.) The three-judge panel, which was comprised of two Republican-appointed judges and a Democratic-appointed judge, expressed more skepticism about the government’s defense of the health care law than the Fourth Circuit panel that heard the Virginia-based Obamacare challenge last month in Richmond. The Fourth Circuit panel was made up entirely of Democrats, and two of the judges were appointed by Obama himself.
Having to earn less money to avoid being forced to purchase a product a little like having to buy freedom and pay for it with freedom.
Here’s the exchange:
“They’re in the business,” [Judge] Sutton pushed back. “They’re told if you’re going to be in the business, this is what you have to do. In response to that law, they could have said, ‘We now exit the business.’ Individuals don’t have that option.”
Kaytal responded by noting that the there’s a provision in the health care law that allows people to avoid the mandate.
“If we’re going to play that game, I think that game can be played here as well, because after all, the minimum coverage provision only kicks in after people have earned a minimum amount of income,” Kaytal said. “So it’s a penalty on earning a certain amount of income and self insuring. It’s not just on self insuring on its own. So I guess one could say, just as the restaurant owner could depart the market in Heart of Atlanta Hotel, someone doesn’t need to earn that much income. I think both are kind of fanciful and I think get at…”
Sutton interjected, “That wasn’t in a single speech given in Congress about this…the idea that the solution if you don’t like it is make a little less money.”
Of course Obamacare proponents in Congress didn’t address that in any of their pitches for the law, Judge — that would have required reading it and ruining the terrific surprise of finding out what’s in it.
Klein has much more here if you dare.
(h/t Weasel Zippers)
**Written by Doug Powers
http://michellemalkin.com/2011/05/20/aarp-gets-its-obamacare-waiver...
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AARP gets its Obamacare waiver: As predicted
By Michelle Malkin • May 20, 2011 12:10 PM
Doug Powers called it on November 5, 2010:
AARP, either in blind faith or full complicity, bet on door #1 and their employees (not to mention almost everybody else) get to pay the price:
WASHINGTON – AARP’s endorsement helped secure passage of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul. Now the seniors’ lobby is telling its employees their insurance costs will rise partly as a result of the law.
In an e-mail to employees, AARP says health care premiums will increase by 8 percent to 13 percent next year because of rapidly rising medical costs.
And AARP adds that it’s changing copayments and deductibles to avoid a 40 percent tax on high-cost health plans that takes effect in 2018 under the law. Aerospace giant Boeing also has cited the tax in asking its workers to pay more. Shifting costs to employees lowers the value of a health care plan and acts like an escape hatch from the tax.
Prepare for AARP to now lobby the Obama administration for a waiver from the glorious health care law they helped shove down America’s throat.
Matthe Boyle at the Daily Caller, today:
The Daily Caller has learned that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) rate review rules, which it finalized on Thursday, exempt “Medigap” policy providers, like the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), from oversight when such providers increase payment rates for their supplemental insurance plans.
Insurance providers who aren’t exempt from Obamacare’s rate review rules are required to publicly release and explain some health care payment rate increases.
The AARP is the nation’s biggest seller of Medigap policies, or supplemental healthcare plans that add onto what Medicare won’t cover for seniors. The senior citizens interest group advocated for Obamacare to include an attack on Medigap policies’ biggest competitor, Medicare Advantage.
Though the White House and HHS dismiss allegations of political favoritism when it comes to who’s getting exceptions from the new health care regulations – such as in the recent uproar over the disproportionate number of Obamacare waivers that went to companies in House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s district — Obamacare critics say the mere appearance of the administration helping friends is disturbing.
As reported on this blog in September 2009, critics have been raising questions about AARP’s seeming kickback scheme involving its Medicare advantage program.
The stench of waivers for favors grew stronger still after AARP endorsed the controversial Obamacare bill in November 2009 despite a rising backlash from AARP members.
Dude, where’s your waiver?
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