In yet another delay for part of the President's signature health law, the Obama Administration on Wednesday announced that consumers could hang on to health insurance policies that don't meet minimum coverage standards for another two years.
It wasn't even four months ago - in mid-November of 2013 - that President Obama had announced a "fix" to the problem of people having their health insurance suddenly canceled because of the health law's implementation, as consumers were given an extra year to keep that 'substandard' coverage.
But, without an additional extension, that would have meant a new round of canceled policies just before the 2014 elections in November - as this latest move buys the Obama Administration two more years.
Republicans blasted the move as pure politics and evidence that the health law is not functioning properly.
"What makes this latest delay so troubling is the fact that it was prompted not by the heartbreaking stories of millions of Americans but by the private pleadings of a handful of endangered Democrats," said Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, as a chorus of Republicans accused the White House of doing this to avoid political fallout in the 2014 mid-term elections.
"Nothing, however, can distract from the fact that the President blatantly broke his promise that ‘if you like your plan you can keep your plan,'" said Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA).
It isn't clear how many people will now be able to keep insurance plans that don't meet the minimum coverage standards of the health law for another two years.
One thing to remember is that not all states are allowing consumers to renew plans that are technically seen as substandard or non-compliant; the extra grandfather plan will apply in only about half of all states.
Other rule changes also made
Along with the two year extension for grandfathered health plans, the White House issued two sets of new rules, some of the changes summed up here by the AP:
+ An extra month for the 2015 open enrollment season. It will still start Nov. 15, as originally scheduled, after the congressional midterm elections. But it will extend for an additional month, through February 15 of next year. This year's open enrollment started Oct. 1 and ends Mar. 31.
+ New maximum out-of-pocket cost levels for 2015. Annual deductibles and copayments for plans sold on the insurance exchanges can't exceed $6,600 for individuals or $13,200 for families. While not as high as what some insurance plans charged before the law, cost sharing remains a stretch for many.
+ Lower per-member fees paid by most major employer health plans. The assessment for 2015 will be $44 per enrollee, according to the regulations, down from $63 in 2014. Revenues from the fee go to help insurers cushion the cost of covering people with serious medical problems.
Announcement of the changes came just as the House was voting to approve a Republican plan to delay the individual mandate in the health law for one year; 27 Democrats voted for the plan, up from 22 the last time the House held such a vote.
It was the 50th time the House had voted to repeal or change some or all of the Obama health law; Democrats mocked Republicans for the repeated votes, with some saying it was obvious that the '50th time wasn't the charm.'
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