ObamaCare was sold to the American public by fraud. Perhaps, then, it's no surprise to learn that ObamaCare insurance exchanges and subsidy payments have been exempted from the federal "anti-kickback" statute that provides law enforcement with a powerful tool for fighting fraud in healthcare programs.
The main purpose of the anti-kickback law, as described by federal courts in scores of Medicare cases, is to protect patients and taxpayers against the undue influence of money on medical decisions.
Why the waiver? It looks like an effort to drive insurance companies into bankruptcy.
For example, the federal government has forbidden the use of drug coupons in Medicare and other federal health programs on the grounds that the system -- under which drug companies pay consumers to use their products -- is a classic kickback scheme.
That matters because when consumers have coupons, they may decide to use the more expensive brand-name drugs instead of less-expensive generic equivalents. Although the co-pay is lower for the consumer because of the coupon, it elevates costs to the insurer.
Under ObamaCare, it seems, the government isn't concerned about these (and other similar) costs being passed on to the private insurance companies. In fact, this sort of waiver is exactly what the Obama administration would hand down if it were trying to drive private insurers into insolvency.
Hmmmm.
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