Leaving aside the lawlessness of HHS’ new “rules” demanding that their new subjects, the insurance companies, govern their businesses according to HHS diktats, following are some examples of the utter stupidity flowing from that lawlessness.
“asking” insurers to take a flexible approach about their rules when patients refill prescriptions or see their existing doctor in the early days of the new year in case new health plans haven’t kicked in.
Never mind that the old plans, that included those doctors and drug coverages, are illegal under Obamacare, and so no legal coverage exists for them. This also ignores the mechanics of the insurers getting paid, eventually, by the patient, and by the Federal government when subsidies are involved.
“encouraging” insurers to begin coverage in the new year even if applicants miss the deadline by a few days.
Never mind that, especially with the failure of ObamaMart to deliver necessary enrollment and sign-up data to the insurers, those insurers have no way of knowing that those claiming coverage actually are covered, neither do those claiming coverage have any way of knowing they’re actually covered, and neither do the doctors and hospitals have any way of knowing whether they’re included in the claimed plans. Just try to sort out the fraud from the honest mistakes from the utter failures in this environment.
requiring that enrollees who pay their first month’s premium by Dec 31 be given coverage starting the next day.
Never mind that ObamaMart can’t even tell the insurers who has enrolled. Never mind that, even when information flows as it should, insurers have no hope of reacting that quickly, even in an on-line world. Thus, see above about who knows what and how to sort out fraud from….
“calling on insurers” to refill through January prescriptions covered under previous plans. …insurers should continue covering at standard rates patients’ visits to doctors they had seen under their old policies, even if those doctors weren’t part of a new plan’s network.
“strongly encouraging” insurers to treat out-of-network providers as in-network to ensure continuity of care for acute episodes.
Never mind that those plans are illegal, the coverage under them non-existent by government decree.
Never mind that the insurers have no hope of reimbursement for any fraud that occurs, nor any expectation of timely—if any at all—payment of subsidies due, since ObamaMart’s software is wholly incapable of determining who’s eligible for subsidies, much less how much any particular Obamacare welfare recipient might be due.
Keep in mind that when the Federal government “asks” for something, it’s largely indiscriminable from a demand. See the IRS’ treatment of government-disapproved groups of Americans, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’ treatment of insurance companies who objected to Obamacare while it was being developed, Congressman Henry Waxman’s (D, CA) treatment of companies who laid out the early costs of Obamacare.
The Administration of Stupid just keeps rolling along.