WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!!!
The White House Director of Progressive Media needs to send out an emergency response team to Sarah Kliff of General Electric Vox to get her "mind right" again for going off-message on ObamaCare since the debate is "over." Got that? The debate is OVER! Except that the debate is not quite over when one of the biggest ObamaCare cheerleaders is beginning to cast aspersions upon her formerly beloved program. This is starting to become something of a "disturbing" pattern for our Miss Kliff who recently underwent a rapid response mind change when an administration official quickly turned her around on her initial condemnation of a politically motivated change in the way the supposedly non-political Census Bureau gathers insurance information. Her quick turnaround became a source for much mirth and mockery on the Web. However, it now seems that Citizen Kliff has relapsed and is in dire need of another mind fix as you can see by the very title of her recent article, If you like your health plan, you might lose it. Again. Here are some excerpts from Temporary Apostate Kliff's heresy:
The Obama administration is quietly trying to stamp out some of the skimpiest health plans, a decision that industry officials say could trigger yet another wave of cancellation notices.
The administration is targeting a type of coverage called fixed benefit or indemnity insurance, which give patients a fixed sum of money whenever they visit the doctor or land in a hospital.
These plans are less expensive than regular medical insurance because they are less robust. And new federal regulations would make it illegal for insurers to sell these plans as stand-alone insurance coverage. Instead, the Obama administration only wants to allow people to buy fixed-benefit plans as supplemental insurance to a more comprehensive medical plan.
It's worth being clear that even now a fixed-benefit plan doesn't satisfy the individual mandate. The new rule would mainly affect people who had chosen to pay the individual mandate, or who were exempt from the mandate, and who bought a fixed-benefit plan as a stopgap. The Obama administration is saying that they can't do that unless they also buy a more comprehensive plan.
This change has been lauded by consumer advocates, who say the whole poiannt of health reform is ensuring Americans into better health insurance plans. But its been criticized by insurers and some regulators for eliminating a source of coverage for those who can't afford a true medical plan.
No! No! Haven't you gotten the message yet, Sarah? The ObamaCare debate is OVER! Yet she continues to raise questions sure to get her disinvited from at least a dozen exclusive Georgetown parties:
Health plans say they see more customers buying fixed-benefit health plans for two reasons. The first are people who want to fill a gap in coverage after purchasing a high-deductible plan on the insurance exchange.
...There are also people who have found medical insurance too expensive, and want to rely on a fixed-benefit plan as their only source of coverage. Some of these people might be among those receiving a financial hardship exemption from the individual mandate (available to those who can't find a health plan for less than 8 percent of their income).
Is Sarah Kliff finally starting to see the light that is ever so slightly piercing the liberal cocoon? She has even pronounced RIP COVER OREGON after describing it as the White House's favorite health exchange last year.
It still remains to be seen if the catepillar can make her way towards the light and finally break out of the liberal cocoon. Time will tell but your humble correspondent is patient and will wait for her possible emergence from the cocoon while nibbling on a Chipotle burrito.
