6 Months of Executive #Obamacare Delays

UPTON: “Delaying the individual mandate was the right policy six months ago, and it is still the right policy today.”

Today marks six months since the House voted to protect the American people from the president’s broken health care promises, providing all Americans relief from the law’s individual mandate. Time and again the administration has acted through executive action, delaying components of its health care law piece by piece. Yet when the House moved to provide fairness and relief for all Americans, through the legislative process, the White House threatened to veto the measure. Despite the administration’s vocal opposition to the Fairness for American Families Act, over the past six months the White House has acted at least 21 times to delay or modify the president’s health care law. One such delay, on December 19, was in fact a delay of the individual mandate…but only for some impacted by a broken promise. Why not provide #FairnessForAll?

Chairman Upton commented, “If the administration is so willing to delay aspects of this health care law on Friday afternoons or over holiday weekends, why would it threaten to veto legislation that provides fairness for all? Delaying the individual mandate was the right policy six months ago, and it is still the right policy today. This law clearly was not and still is not ready for prime time. Secretary Sebelius’ failure to keep her word that there will be no more delays leaves us asking what’s next?”

July 17, 2013 – Despite the Obama administration’s veto threat, House passes H.R. 2668, the Fairness for American Families Act. White House delays have defined the six months since the vote.

1.     September 24, 2013: Administration announced Medicaid account transfers to the states would be delayed until November 1.

2.     September 26, 2013: HHS announced that small businesses would not be able to shop online until November 1, 2013.

3.     October 23, 2013: HHS announced that individuals will have until March 31, 2014, to obtain health care coverage in order to avoid incurring a penalty under the law’s individual mandate.

4.     November 14, 2013: Administration announced it would not enforce rating requirements for certain individual and small group markets in 2014.

5.     November 14, 2013: CMS announced it would not enforce the guaranteed availability requirement for some plans in the individual and small group markets in 2014.

6.     November 14, 2013: CMS announced it would not enforce guaranteed renewability requirement for some plans in the individual and small group markets.

7.     November 14, 2013: CMS announced it would not enforce the pre-existing condition exclusion for some plans in the individual and small group markets.

8.     November 14, 2013: CMS announced it would not enforce the coverage denial limitations for some plans in the individual and small group markets in 2014.

9.     November 14, 2013: CMS announced it would not enforce the non-discrimination against provider provision for some plans in the individual and small group markets.

10.  November 14, 2013: CMS announced that it would not enforce the essential health benefit provisions for some plans in the individual and small group markets.

11.  November 14, 2013: CMS announced it would not enforce the clinical trial coverage requirements for some plans in the individual and small group markets.

12.  November 21, 2013: HHS announced that open enrollment for the 2015 coverage year would not begin until November 15, 2014.

13.  November 22, 2013: Administration delayed deadline to sign up for coverage beginning January 1, 2014 from December 15 to December 23.

14.  November 27, 2013: After a one-month delay of the online SHOP function, HHS announced that small businesses would not be able to shop online until November 1, 2015.

15.  November 30, 2013: HHS announced a temporary payment process for insurers due to its failure to properly build and test the back-end payment system for the exchange. (NOTE: CCIIO Director Gary Cohen testified Thursday that this system is still not built.)

16.  December 12, 2013: The Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan pools, previously scheduled to end on December 31, 2013, were extended through January 31, 2014.

17.  December 12, 2013: White House extends window for individuals to pay the first month’s premium in order to complete enrollment.

18.  December 19, 2013: Administration delays individual mandate for those whose plans were cancelled because of the health care law.

19.  December 23, 2013: Administration allowed an extra day for individuals to sign up for coverage beginning January 1, 2014.

Secretary Sebelius assured Fox News on December 31, 2013, that there would be no more delays. …

20.  January 10, 2014: CMS announced that it would not enforce a ban on the sale of individual policies to certain Medicare beneficiaries.

21.  January 14, 2014: Administration again extends the PCIP plans, this time through March 15, 2014.

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