Boehner: Obama Stubbornly Refusing to End Crisis I Created

[BatmanUSA 105]

Why does Obama and the Democrats give waivers and delays to unions and corporations while demanding that individual Americans submit immediately to Obamacare.???

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Yes, the democrats stripped the CRs (which would delay Obamacare, for all equally and fairly) which is why the government shutdown....

You said they didn't allow a vote on them. That's false. They have voted on them and sent the resulting CRs back to the House where Boehner refuses to put them up for a vote. The government shut down falls squarely on the Republicans and America knows it.

Why does Obama and the Democrats give waivers and delays to unions and corporations while demanding that individual Americans submit immediately to Obamacare.???

It's called personal responsibility. You should try it.

[Karee 4,190]

It's called personal responsibility. You should try it.

I wonder why Obama's not all about personal respnsibility whe it comes to hanading out billions in food stamps, and free cell phones, and and and the list goes on. Yet on this issue, he is. Very curious.

[BatmanUSA 105]

well, if the CRs introduced in the house, would not affect the funding of Obamacare, as you said, they why would the senate need to strip them and send them back to the house?

I have no thoughts on what you are worried about... I just think that Obamacare: 1) if it is so great, why give exemptions to unions, corporations, and government employees... 2) a single payor system, using Medicare as a guide, would have been a better system to implement universal healthcare.. incuding unions, corporations and government employees..

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Why does Obama and the Democrats give waivers and delays to unions and corporations while demanding that individual Americans submit immediately to Obamacare.???

Maybe if you informed yourself, you would see more clearly? Turn off Faux News from time to time and peruse a real, actual news source instead. You'd be less confused and less angry that way.

The real story behind all those Obamacare waivers

The "over 1,000" figure is cited often by opponents of the law, including House Republicans such as Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio, who complained on the House floor, "over the last year or so, last couple of years, the president has given his friends in the labor unions some 1,100 waivers to this law." The dispute that led to the partial government shutdown, Boehner said, is a fight about "fairness."

What they're referring to is the number of health insurance plans that the Department of Health and Human Services allowed to set lower annual caps -- temporarily -- on the total amount of medical bills they would pay for each subscriber. These include plans offered by 722 self-insured businesses, 417 groups of small employers joined in collective bargaining agreements, and 34 unions.

The Affordable Care Act requires insurers to phase out by 2014 the annual limits. The rule posed a challenge, however, to employers with "mini-med" plans, which charge extremely low premiums but offer truncated benefits and low annual caps. To keep workers from losing coverage altogether while their employers searched for an alternative, HHS granted waivers that let hundreds of mini-med plans keep lower caps in place until 2014.

In short, the rule enabled employers and their workers to keep until next year the plans they had before the law was passed, even though they didn't meet the new minimum standards. The move may have saved some employers and unions money, but it also kept workers from losing their coverage abruptly.

Earlier this year, the Internal Revenue Service announced an even broader exemption, delaying until 2015 the requirement that companies with 50 or more full-time workers offer health benefits that met a minimum standard for coverage. The agency did so, it said, because numerous employers complained that they wouldn't be able to comply yet with the law's requirement to report which workers had coverage in each month.

That's a doozy of an exemption. Still, it's odd to hear Boehner and his fellow Republicans complain about it, given that they opposed the employer mandate to start with.

Finally, some critics of the law have claimed that Congress hypocritically enjoys an exemption from the healthcare law it foisted on the rest of us. That would be egregious if it were true, but reality is somewhat different, as I explained in a post two months ago.

The Affordable Care Act treats lawmakers and their staff in a unique way, forcing them out of the federal government's group health plan and into the state insurance exchanges. The problem is that the exchanges aren't prepared to sell coverage to large employers, such as Congress. So without some kind of intervention, congressional employees would have to buy policies directly and pay the full price, rather than having the government cover part of the cost as it does today.

That unintended consequence would have cut congressional employees' pay significantly, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle pushed for a fix. The Office of Personnel Management provided it in August by ruling that the government could continue to pay part of the cost of those workers' coverage.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

I wonder why Obama's not all about personal respnsibility whe it comes to hanading out billions in food stamps, and free cell phones, and and and the list goes on. Yet on this issue, he is. Very curious.

The phones? Really? What you all call the Obama phone is actually the Reagan phone. That's where the free phone started. Those were free landlines back then but the program started with the Gipper. Food stamps and other safety net programs are also not some evil, Kenyan invention but have been around for some time. Much as with these programs, the ACA provides assistance on a sliding scale to those that cannot afford the coverage premiums. I'd rather subsidize a $100.00 doctor's visit for a poor person than a $1,000.00 emergency room visit. And that is what this really all about.

[BatmanUSA 105]

so Obama is all for personal responsibility,??? then why give waivers to unions, corporations and government employees.???

are you saying that those people are above personal responsibility,??

I can't say about food stamps.... except that I think they may be necessary, from time to time, but not forever....

As for Obama Phones..... really.??? when did a cell phone become a necessity.??? most of us grew up without cell phones... our parents took personal responsibility and they taught us, personal responsibility,, So when did a cell phone become a necessity and how did Obama become the messiah who decided who needs what,.???

[BatmanUSA 105]

There is a very big difference between a land line phone and an OBAMA CELL PHONE.... you are concerned about healthcare costs?? but not cell phone costs.??? ...

Oh, your idea about people going to see a doctor in the office for 100 bucks.??? well, those people will have to make a co-payment at the time of the visit.... However, the ER must treat everyone without asking for payment up front...

So where do you think those low wage earners will go.????

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

There is a very big difference between a land line phone and an OBAMA CELL PHONE.... you are concerned about healthcare costs?? but not cell phone costs.??? ...

Oh, your idea about people going to see a doctor in the office for 100 bucks.??? well, those people will have to make a co-payment at the time of the visit.... However, the ER must treat everyone without asking for payment up front...

So where do you think those low wage earners will go.????

The doctor. Co-pay decreases with income under the ACA. People don't want to rely on the ER for their primary health care. They have to becasue they can't fork over $100.00 at the doctor's office. I don't know what the big deal is, really. Republicans standing up against personal responsibility and promoting free riding. It's the world turned upside down.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

I can't say about food stamps.... except that I think they may be necessary, from time to time, but not forever....

Tell the Republicans to quit relying on them, then.

[BatmanUSA 105]

the republicans are standing up for personal responsibility and fairness.. Why does a part time Walmart schmuck have to submit to Obamacare, while Union people and government employees enjoy tax-payer subsidized healthcare.?.. ask a Democrat...!!

"Those people" as you call them, consider the fact that even under Obamacare they will have a $10-20 co-pay, which they must pay at time of service(except for a well visit), as opposed to going to the ER and still being treated for free... Either way, they will have at least an hour to wait to see a provider.

I don't see what the big deal is either... Why not put every American Citizen/legal resident, into the medicare system, charge them a monthly premium, make them pay co-pays and deductibles, and include everyone..! EVERYONE.!!... The millions of dollars spent on, healthcare exchanges, advertising, ect.... it is all a waste of money, money that could be used to pay for healthcare....

And I did write and explain this to my congressman/senator, of course they did not reply, so they lost my vote...

They, politicians, have their own agenda, and until they are weeded out, nothing will change...

People always complain about congress/senate, but then vote their local rep back in..... they say, "oh, my rep is good, its all the others."... DUH, no one gets it... it is a private club with special privileges...!!

and, No, I am not a tea tottler.. When I lived in NJ, we had a great Democratic Mayor, McGreevy, went on to become governor. , ran into some problems with his male lover and resigned... and in the last Florida election, I voted for the democratic candidate because I believe, Scott is a thief and a liar.

so there, I admit it... I go both ways...!!

[Karee 4,190]

The phones? Really? What you all call the Obama phone is actually the Reagan phone. That's where the free phone started. Those were free landlines back then but the program started with the Gipper. Food stamps and other safety net programs are also not some evil, Kenyan invention but have been around for some time. Much as with these programs, the ACA provides assistance on a sliding scale to those that cannot afford the coverage premiums. I'd rather subsidize a $100.00 doctor's visit for a poor person than a $1,000.00 emergency room visit. And that is what this really all about.

Yay! Bring up Reagan. So since a Republican does something stupid, it's ok for a Democrat to do it? By the way the govt. is out of money.

[RGinWA 816]

The Republicans introduced a bill which would continue funding the entire government except for Obamacare... The Democrats, Harry Reid, refused to allow a vote in the senate...

So.. there would be no shut down of the government if Harry Reid and the democrats in the senate would vote on the bill passed by the House of Reps...

Hasn't the ACA been signed into law, legally challenged and passed SCOTUS and now being implemented? How are we going to just not fund it now?

Is this really how we want the future of the country to be run? Lead by hostage taking. You don't get what you want so you enact MAD (mutually assured destruction)?

How about they fund it and then if it ends up being a gigantic $hitstorm they pass laws to roll out a better product, become hero's to the masses and then win it all in 2016? Yet that would take an actual alternate plan of some kind.

The crystal ball the Republican's use is not what I'd call foolproof. See trickle down economics, WMD's and Communism's spread across the globe.

Chicken little had a better record of predicting disaster.

[BatmanUSA 105]

You are absolutely correct... Obamacare has been signed into law and upheld by SCOTUS..!!!

So how is President Obama able to just delay portions of the law.???

seriously, please explain how he can legally do this.????

aside from that... sure.. lets see how it goes over the first year... or two... I'm down for that...

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

the republicans are standing up for personal responsibility and fairness..

How so? The individual insurance mandate is all about personal responsibility (ensure that you can pay for your medical bills) and fairness (ensure that I don't get stuck with your bills). Republicans want me to continue to pay for the freeloaders' medical bills. That's not standing up for personal responsibility nor is it standing up for fairness. They once used to but those days are gone. The Republicans are now the party of the leeches and freeloaders.

Yay! Bring up Reagan. So since a Republican does something stupid, it's ok for a Democrat to do it? By the way the govt. is out of money.

I have no dog in the free phone race. Shut that down and see what I care.

By the way, you sound a little like a broken record.