Despite loopholes in HR 3200, Obama the ultimate salesman

President Barack Obama did a slick sales presentation on HR 3200. Obama is so skilled at salesmanship he could sell fleas to a dog.One thing about our president—his sales skills outrank those of  the slickest used car salesman. One of the numerous specifics President Barack Obama and the Democrats aren’t talking about is a section in HR 3200, the bill I call ‘Crat Care, that creates the same loophole that tanked mortgage lending. The item in question is in Sec. 1203. Eliminating Barriers to Enrollment. Here’s an excerpt and please note I am directly quoting the obscure legalese:

"(a) Administrative Verification of Income and Resources Under the Low-income Subsidy Program-
(1) IN GENERAL- Clause (iii) of section 1860D-14(a)(3)(E) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-114(a)(3)(E)) is amended to read as follows:
`(iii) CERTIFICATION OF INCOME AND RESOURCES- For purposes of applying this section--
`(I) an individual shall be permitted to apply on the basis of self-certification of income and resources; and
`(II) matters attested to in the application shall be subject to appropriate methods of verification without the need of the individual to provide additional documentation, except in extraordinary situations as determined by the Commissioner.'

Self-verification, if you recall, is one element in the blown bubble we call the economic meltdown in mortgage lending.

With identity politics in mind, the bill also has a section aimed at beneficiaries with “limited English proficiency.” Here’s an excerpt:

"(a) In General- Not later than 6 months after the date of the completion of the study described in section 1221(a), the Secretary, acting through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, shall carry out a demonstration program under which the Secretary shall award not fewer than 24 3-year grants to eligible Medicare service providers (as described in subsection (b)(1)) to improve effective communication between such providers and Medicare beneficiaries who are living in communities where racial and ethnic minorities, including populations that face language barriers, are underserved with respect to such services. In designing and carrying out the demonstration the Secretary shall take into consideration the results of the study conducted under section 1221(a) and adjust, as appropriate, the distribution of grants so as to better target Medicare beneficiaries who are in the greatest need of language services. The Secretary shall not authorize a grant larger than $500,000 over three years for any grantee."

Aren’t we grateful? The grants are capped at half a million bucks. This is Washington’s attempt at frugality I suppose. Note the minimum of 24 grants with a cap of half a million, sustainable for 3 years if the US doesn't go bankrupt first.

Here’s an excerpt from Section 1222. C: “(1) IN GENERAL- A grantee shall use grant funds received under this section to pay for the provision of competent language services to Medicare beneficiaries who are limited English proficient. Competent interpreter services may be provided through on-site interpretation, telephonic interpretation, or video interpretation or direct provision of health care or health care related services by a bilingual health care provider. A grantee may use bilingual providers, staff, or contract interpreters. A grantee may use grant funds to pay for competent translation services. A grantee may use up to 10 percent of the grant funds to pay for administrative costs associated with the provision of competent language services and for reporting required under subsection (e)."

Let’s look at the math. Max grant is $500,000. Grantee can siphon 10 percent. That’s pretty good taxpayer pickings.

In New Hampshire on Monday, Obama displayed just the right mix of sincerity and reassurance. The Wall Street Journal live-blogged the townhall, reporting Obama told one “skeptic”: ““I just want everyone to know: the ’status quo’ is not working for you.” That may have come as a revelation to many skeptics.

The president did not touch on fraud in Medicaid and Medicare, instead focusing on selling whatever bill grows from several proposals including HR 3200. but his concern for Americans self-projected as genuine. His supporters appear devoted as ever. No one thought to ask him if health care costs are such a problem we’re reinventing the medical wheel, why did the House of Representatives just pass Waxman-Markey. Most of us who are not elderly spend more each month on energy, gasoline and increases in food costs due to crop diversion than we spend on healthcare. Yet Waxman-Markey will drive those prices even higher.

Obama could sell fleas to a dog. He’s that good.