We were told that ObamaCare meant that everyone would have health insurance. Instead, millions of Americans lost their coverage.
And in an effort to combat the disaster created by the law -- and the wholesale incompetence that has characterized its roll-out -- the administration has taken to governing by issuing ad hoc proclamations unilaterally "amending" the legislation. Remember the on-the-fly announcements that states could allow old plans to continue for a year, extending the deadline for registering for coverage starting January 1, or even asking health insurance companies to cover people who hadn't yet completed their health insurance purchase?
Today's iteration of that tired theme is a biggie: The insurance mandate has been lifted for those with canceled policies. Instead, people who were previously insured (and happy with their insurance) will be able to remain uninsured (!) or buy the catastrophic care insurance previously restricted to those younger than 30.
Obviously, this is another disorganized attempt to avert wholesale disaster come the first of the year. But what it achieves in the short term could imperil ObamaCare in the long term -- as those least likely to need insurance (and therefore most valuable in keeping costs down) now know they will face no penalty for failing to have it.
Two take-aways -- neither are news but both are thrown into sharp relief:
(1) This law is rotten from its inception and should be repealed.
(2) This administration has no idea what it's doing.
This is no way to run a lemonade stand -- much less the US government and our health care system.