Waivers, grandfathered plans, Medicare cuts and lawsuits plague PPACA

Welfare state proponents like Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) are the most enthusiastic cheerleaders for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, popularly called ObamaCare. But the new law is mired in chaos and a conservative think tank said the impact on one Medicare plan will actually harm large numbers of minorities.

The government has issued 733 waivers to companies, labor unions and others. Details on who received the waivers as well as the provisions of the waivers are posted on the HHS website.

On March 23, 2010, the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury passed regulations for specific plans that may be considered “grandfathered.” The passage of those regulations has largely been ignored by big media. Information about grandfathered plans is also posted on the HHS website.

Florida attorney general Pam Bondi appeared on Fox News to talk about a federal judge's ruling striking down the government healthcare law.That’s not the worst of it. Florida attorney general Pam Bondi told Fox News on Tuesday 28 states are fighting the new law passed by Democrats when their party had control of Congress and the White House.

Although Democrats target minorities with political rhetoric and entitlement promises, a conservative think tank said Hispanics and black people will be disproportionately hit by cuts to Medicare Advantage. The Heritage Foundation (Backgrounder #2464) said, “MA cuts in the PPACA are projected to cause Hispanics to lose $2.3 billion in benefits and African– Americans to lose more than $6.4 billion in benefits. Almost 300,000 Hispanics and more than 800,000 African–Americans will lose access to MA.”

AG Bondi told Fox the judge’s ruling on the constitutionality of PPACA was “very, very detailed.” Bondi noted the opinion ran 78 pages—“It’s one of the most detailed I’ve ever seen.”

Few in Congress read the legislation, and as a result, The US Report has repeatedly asked who actually wrote the bill. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told media Democrats had to pass the bill so the public could see what was in it. The bill was ultimately posted online, but few Americans had time to analyze the text running nearly 3,000 pages. The bill is written in obscure legalese, and sections repeatedly cross-reference other laws or bills by number or letter.

Bondi told Fox the judge in the Florida lawsuit said the law is “clearly unconstitutional.” The US Report pointed this out before the bill was passed.

In a bizarre development, federal judge Roger Vinson cited President Barack Obama’s own words to support the ruling. The Washington Times quoted Vinson, “I note that in 2008, then-Senator Obama supported a health care reform proposal that did not include an individual mandate because he was at that time strongly opposed to the idea, stating that, ‘If a mandate was the solution, we can try that to solve homelessness by mandating everybody to buy a house.’”

Obama has followed a similar course on earmarks. Although he has spoken out against pork during his presidency, during his brief term in the US Senate, he earmarked or sponsored hundreds of millions of dollars in pork.

Aside from lawsuits, waivers, grandfathered plans and Medicare cuts, Bondi also perceives a threat to personal freedom. Speaking about the lawsuit, she told Fox, “It’s about more than our healthcare. It’s about our liberty.”

Most Americans want real healthcare reform. Unfortunately, PPACA appears to aim at the reverse.

Additional Reading

The US Report articles on healthcare legislation
A digest on TUSR index page of articles about PPACA

Rep. Weiner 'still pissed' about public option
The Hill

(Commentary by Kay B. Day/Feb. 2, 2011)