More than a dozen states plan to cancel health care policies not in compliance with ObamaCare

More than a dozen states plan to cancel health care policies not in compliance with ObamaCare

By Jim AnglePublished October 09, 2014

FoxNews.com

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/10/09/more-than-dozen-states-plan-to-cancel-health-care-policies-not-in-compliance/

More than a dozen states plan to cancel health care policies not in compliance with ObamaCare in the coming weeks, affecting thousands of people just before the midterm elections.

"It looks like several hundred thousand people across the country will receive notices in the coming days and weeks," said Jim Capretta of the Ethics and Public Policy Center.

The policies are being canceled because states that initially granted a reprieve at the request of President Obama are no longer willing to do so.

In coming weeks, 13 states and the District of Columbia plan to cancel such policies, which generally fall out of compliance with the Affordable Care Act because they don’t offer the level of coverage the law requires.

Virginia will be hardest hit, with 250,000 policies expected to be canceled.

And because federal law requires a 60-day notice of any plan changes, voters will be notified no later than November 1, right before the Nov. 4 midterms.

Many of those forced out of their current plans and into ObamaCare may not be able to keep their doctors. They also could face higher deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses, making ObamaCare an election issue on the eve of voting.

Obama had originally unequivocally promised that underhis health care plan, everyone could keep their doctors and plans.

In 2009, he told the American Medical Association, "If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor. Period.If you like your health care plan, you will be able to keep your health care plan. Period.No one will take it away. No matter what."

The president later was forced to admit that any plan without the additional benefits required under ObamaCare faced cancellation.

But that unleashed a nasty political backlash, forcing him to back down and call for states and insurers to extend those policies forthree more years.

Some said he didn’t have much choice. "There were some five or six million people who were at stake here and the federal exchange was in no condition to even process a few hundred thousand people much less millions," said Joe Antos of the American Enterprise Institute.

Many states flatly refused to extend and now comes the new round of states that plan to cancel policies.

Ethics and Public Policy Center

Jeane J. Kirkpatrick was a co-founder for the Ethics and Public Policy Center, and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (think tank).

Note: William Kristol is a policy advisory board member for the Ethics and Public Policy Center, and was a contributor for Fox News.

Media Matters monitors Fox News.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for Media Matters, the Center for American Progress, and the Committee for Economic Development.

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, a supporter for the Center for American Progress, and a contributor for MoveOn.org.

Ezekiel Emanuel is a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, and was the health care policy adviser for the Barack Obama administration.

Center for American Progress was a funder for the America's Health Insurance Plans, and is a steering committee member for Health Care for America Now.

MoveOn.org is a steering committee member for Health Care for America Now.

Health Care for America Now is a major player in the health care debate.

American Medical Association is a major player in the health care debate.        

Paul S. Atkins is a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development, and a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (think tank).

Raymond V. Gilmartin is a trustee at the American Enterprise Institute (think tank), and a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development.

R. Glenn Hubbard a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (think tank), and a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development.

Edward B. Rust Jr. is a trustee at the American Enterprise Institute (think tank), and a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development.

Donna S. Morea was a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development, and the EVP for the CGI Group Inc.

CGI Group Inc. was the Obamacare contractor that developed Healthcare.gov web site.

Obamacare is Barack Obama’s signature policy initiative.