More ObamaCare scandal: Administration snubs Senate on MLR regulation

Before the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) was shoved through the back door by Democrats in the US Senate, I wrote columns telling readers why I thought the bill was an insult to the US consumer. I actually read that long, boring and often obscurely written bill, unlike almost every Democrat who helped pass it.

Since that time hundreds of waivers have been given to government cronies who realized what the requirements would cost their employees—this was after the same cronies lobbied hard to get the bill passed. Now there's another ObamaCare scandal but legacy media will probably ignore it.

I expressed serious concerns about the individual mandate requiring American citizens to buy health insurance but exempting foreign nationals in the country illegally who would of course be treated at any emergency room if they need medical care. I also said the cost for insurance would rise and time proved me correct.

The latest scandal has to do with a key regulation. According to Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyoming), Vice-President Joe Biden has once again dropped the ball. Enzi said he wrote Biden about the regulation:

“The Administration has failed to submit to the Senate a recent regulation implementing part of the new health care law. I request that you take immediate action to formally transmit this rule, as this failure prevents the Senate from considering and debating the merits of this regulation…The Senate Parliamentarian has confirmed that they have not received the rule, which should have been transmitted by the Vice President, in your capacity as President of the United States Senate. As a result, the Parliamentarian is unable to refer the rule to the committee of jurisdiction.”

The Daily Caller explained why this is important:

“Specifically, the new regulations Biden dropped the ball with were, according to a GOP Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee staffer, ‘the entire final HHS rule for Health Insurance Issuers Implementing Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) Requirements Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.’ Biden was supposed to deliver the regulations last fall.”

In a recent column, I called PPACA out for what it is: a scandal. Hundreds of waivers have been granted in districts like Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s—there was no cheerleader more rabid than Pelosi when it came to passing the bill.

Meanwhile the US government has devoted resources to suing states who have taken the position the individual mandate is unconstitutional. Even President Barack Obama declared such a mandate would be unconstitutional, but that was before he became president.

Biden’s lapse is one more in a long line of insults to the US people when it comes to government-run healthcare. The bill should be repealed immediately because even the supporters who demanded it pass have now, like so many others, bailed from the requirements.

The Daily Caller said, “The MLR requirements, mandatory Obamacare stipulations all insurance providers except for the lucky for [sic] few who’ve received MLR waivers have to fulfill, force health insurance companies to spend 80 to 85 percent of their premiums on patients’ medical expenses.”

Someone should ask Democrats whether there’s a rule like that for federal agencies to spend 80-85 percent of their taxpayer dollars on services rather than salaries and perks.

While Democrats refuse to acknowledge the pitfalls in their bill and many of them are attacking Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) for his plan on fiscal reforms, it’s important to remember what ObamaCare cuts.

The Washington Examiner said, “The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that, in 2011, Obamacare will cut Medicare Advantage by $2 billion. According to the CBO, that $2 billion is the first part of the $638 billion that Obamacare, if not repealed, is poised to cut from Medicare and related federal programs over the next decade.”

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(Commentary by Kay B. Day/May 24, 2011)

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