Obamacare’s Latest Waiver
Earlier this week the White House issued a blog post calling concerns about waivers granted under the health care law a result of “confusion and deliberate obfuscation.” Some may find these comments curious, given more recent developments.
To wit, HHS just released its final rate review regulations, and the rules include an interesting exemption – the requirements for rate review were not applied to “excepted benefits,” such as Medigap supplemental insurance policies. Commenters on the rule specifically requested that rate review apply to excepted benefits plans, but HHS concluded that “we do not believe that rate increases for excepted benefits plans…have the same impact on individuals and small employers as rate increases for basic medical coverage.” That statement might come as news to Senators Reid, Baucus, and Kerry, who last October wrote to HHS about “disturbing stories from beneficiaries across the country about excessive premium increases for Medigap supplemental insurance policies” – and specifically asking for rate review authority over Medigap plans.
The White House alleges that claims of favoritism have no merit. If that’s the case, why didn’t HHS listen to senior members of the President’s own party and review Medigap premiums? After all, if these “consumer” protections are so good for the under-65 population, shouldn’t they apply to America’s seniors? Or is the Administration deliberately trying to exempt from additional scrutiny the largest seller of Medigap policies – which it just so happens spent millions of dollars supporting Obamacare and could make $1 billion in profit from it…?