Delay the Individual Mandate and Strike Another Blow to ObamaCare

Did you catch SNL this past weekend?  Even they can’t ignore the fact that ObamaCare isn’t working. 

Last week, I wrote about how the vultures are circling as the ObamaCare rollout has been a disaster. Today, there is real blood in the water and the sharks are ready to pounce.

During the shutdown debate, there was “concern” among some Republicans over a failure to see an “end game” to the effort to defund ObamaCare. Conservatives were told they needed to recognize they were playing with “live ammo.” Conservatives should not “deceive” the American people into thinking Congress can defund ObamaCare without knowing where Republicans are going to find six Democrats to join their effort. Given the disasterous Obamacare rollout, Democrats are running for cover, especially those who represent conservative states and are up for re-election next year.

Democrat operatives are speaking about how the party is, well, let’s use the polite word: screwed as Americans get sticker shock over the increased cost of coverage. A law that was sold as lowering the cost of coverage and decreasing the ranks of the uninsured has so far caused 1.5 million to lose coverage including 500,000 in California and 300,000 in Florida.  This while enrollmaven.com estimates that fewer than 40,000 people have obtained coverage through state health insurance exchanges. 

Sensing panic in its ranks, there are reports President Obama is considering extending the open enrollment period through the end of March. Congressional Republicans need to unite and insist that Congress pass a one year waiver to the individual mandate rather than an extension of the open enrollment period and codify it into law.

Why is this so important and why might President Obama try and preempt Congress from doing so?

President Obama knows that once Congress sets a precedent and delays the individual mandate, it will not hesitate from doing so in the future. Also, once Congress delays the individual mandate for one year, that too will be “the law of the land” and subject to debate from one year to the next. 

Fully repealing ObamaCare, or defunding it would have been the preferred option, but if we have consensus on both sides of the aisle to delay at least one more portion, the individual mandate, we should push for delay. Congress need only set the precedent by waiving the individual mandate to inflict serious damage to Obamacare.

For President Obama, it has never been never about increasing access to actual health care or reducing the cost of care. It has always been about control. Listen to Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, President Obama’s principal health reform adviser, speak about ObamaCare on Fox News. Dr. Emanuel is not interested in suggestions by Democrats like West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin that people should not be required to purchase health insurance coverage that is inferior or more expensive than coverage they currently have. Dr. Emanuel and President Obama know what is best for people.

This is why Republicans need to unite and use this political momentum to give Americans one year of reprieve. Republicans should use any and every legislative opportunity to accomplish this goal. Now is the time to unite the party, shepherd as many vulnerable Senate Democrats as possible onto our side, join hands and do something that has been long overdo, drive a dagger straight into the heart of Obamacare!

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