Yet Another ObamaCare Delay: The Law’s Limit On Out-Of-Pocket Costs
News broke this morning that yet another crucial component of ObamaCare is being delayed as the White House tries to save their “train wreck” of a law from going completely off the tracks.
ObamaCare’s limit on out-of-pocket costs is being delayed until 2015. According to the New York Times, the cap, which includes co-pays and deductibles, “was not supposed to exceed $6,350 for an individual and $12,700 for a family. But under a little-noticed ruling, federal officials have granted a one-year grace period to some insurers, allowing them to set higher limits, or no limit at all on some costs, in 2014.”
Via the New York Times’ Robert Pear:
‘Under the policy, many group health plans will be able to maintain separate out-of-pocket limits for benefits in 2014. As a result, a consumer may be required to pay $6,350 for doctors’ services and hospital care, and an additional $6,350 for prescription drugs under a plan administered by a pharmacy benefit manager.
‘Some consumers may have to pay even more, as some group health plans will not be required to impose any limit on a patient’s out-of-pocket costs for drugs next year. If a drug plan does not currently have a limit on out-of-pocket costs, it will not have to impose one for 2014, federal officials said Monday.
‘The health law, signed more than three years ago by Mr. Obama, clearly established a single overall limit on out-of-pocket costs for each individual or family. But federal officials said that many insurers and employers needed more time to comply because they used separate companies to help administer major medical coverage and drug benefits, with separate limits on out-of-pocket costs.”
This is yet another significant setback for a law that will not only have serious consequences for the future of our healthcare system and our economy, but also simply isn’t ready to be implemented.
The Obama administration has admitted this time and again. Whether it was delaying the employer mandate or the system in which the government verifies who’s eligible for subsidies.
In other areas, the administration is straining to make ready programs intended to help implement the new exchanges on October 1st. The administration has already cut short training for ObamaCare’s “navigators”—the workers who will help push through the law’s bureaucracy and paperwork. There has also been serious security concerns with the law. The system in which millions will have their personal information has not been adequately tested.
It’s becoming increasingly clear that President Obama’s government takeover of healthcare is being held together with duct tape and bubble gum.
This law is simply too big a risk for America’s families.
It’s time to delay the law’s individual mandate and give the same break to middle-class families that the White House gave to big business.
In the meantime, join the House Republican majority as we work to dismantle this disastrous law.