30 companies get health care waivers

[PokerGuy]

That's right folks, step right up. If you've been a "friend of the administration", your loyalty will be repaid, you will get a friendly waiver that exempts you from the disastrous health care laws just enacted. If not, then too bad for you.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/health/2010-10-07-healthlaw07_ST_N.htm

Politics at it's absolute worst. Horrible legislation gets passed, and then the white house grants exceptions to those who play ball.

Of course, no surprise:

The biggest single waiver, for 351,000 people, was for the United Federation of Teachers Welfare Fund, a New York union providing coverage for city teachers.

.

 

[rudder]

This thread is racist.

 

[Fear No Evil]

 

[PeshakJang]

 

[EagleKeeper]

All an employer has to show/state is that they will drop insurance for employess if it is "impractical" to meet the law requirements without driving up costs to the employees,

Now that the gate has been opened and an example set; expect many more requests for waivers to come through.

 

[spidey07]

All an employer has to show/state is that they will drop insurance for employess if it is "impractical" to meet the law requirements without driving up costs to the employees,

Now that the gate has been opened and an example set; expect many more requests for waivers to come through.

Really? In that case every single employer can get a waiver because of all the extra costs of obamacare.

 

[Jaskalas]

Really? In that case every single employer can get a waiver because of all the extra costs of obamacare.

It may depend on if Obamacare will put your health insurer out of business like in McDonald's case.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Meh! Just more proof that the country is run by big corporations and not the elected officials. Money reigns supreme, doesn't matter who is in office or what their agenda is the monied intrests will always be served. The neocons won the battle long ago, the public is just too stupid to understand they are simple slaves that have no voice or representation. The last couple of election cycles have proven this beyond a shadow of a doubt.

The humorous part is watching the blind sheep like the OP who think our corporate overlords have their best interest at heart and they stand to benifiet from supporting them :biggrin: and are totally oblivious to the fact that their capitalist saviors will discard them like yesterdays trash sooner than later.

 

[Narmer]

The Administration is a disaster.

 

[bamacre]

The humorous part is watching the blind sheep like me who think our political overlords have our best interest at heart and they stand to benefit from supporting them :biggrin: and are totally oblivious to the fact that their political saviors will discard them like yesterdays trash sooner than later.

Fixed, and how ironic considering the OP.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Meh! Just more proof that the country is run by big corporations and not the elected officials. Money reigns supreme, doesn't matter who is in office or what their agenda is the monied intrests will always be served. The neocons won the battle long ago, the public is just too stupid to understand they are simple slaves that have no voice or representation. The last couple of election cycles have proven this beyond a shadow of a doubt.

But wait, I thought President Obama (and you Obama fanboys) said this bill was what we needed and it would help everyone. Are you now saying it is garbage?

Shocking, I tell you, shocking.

 

[theeedude]

Those people don't have coverage anyways. $2000/year limit is not even going to pay for 1 minor visit to ER.

 

[PingSpike]

When I think of our Health Care reform, I think of a man pissing up a rope.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

"Here we are a month before the election, and these companies represent 1 million people who would lose the coverage they've got."

I think that quote says everything you really need to know.

 

[Linflas]

The Department of Health and Human Services, which provided a list of exemptions, said it granted waivers in late September so workers with such plans wouldn't lose coverage from employers who might choose instead to drop health insurance altogether.

The above should actually read:

The Department of Health and Human Services, which provided a list of exemptions, said it granted waivers in late September so voters wouldn't see all those bad headlines between now and November from employers who might choose instead to drop health insurance altogether.

 

[CPA]

Those people don't have coverage anyways. $2000/year limit is not even going to pay for 1 minor visit to ER.

The biggest single waiver, for 351,000 people, was for the United Federation of Teachers Welfare Fund, a New York union providing coverage for city teachers. The waivers are effective for a year and were granted to insurance plans and companies that showed that employee premiums would rise or that workers would lose coverage without them, Santillo says.

An exemption for a union, who woulda thunk the dems would exempt a union group?

 

[werepossum]

The Department of Health and Human Services, which provided a list of exemptions, said it granted waivers in late September so workers with such plans wouldn't lose coverage from employers who might choose instead to drop health insurance altogether.

The above should actually read:

The Department of Health and Human Services, which provided a list of exemptions, said it granted waivers in late September so voters wouldn't see all those bad headlines between now and November from employers who might choose instead to drop health insurance altogether.

LOL Undoubtedly true. Unfortunately this is another step toward a two-tiered society, as folks like myself, with a very small company with no ability to make big campaign contributions and no political connections, have no chance of getting such a waiver. For us it's spend more on insurance than we can afford and try not to go out of business, lose insurance entirely (AND pay the government a fine to boot), or hope that Democrats can move us to the health insurance system provided for those who don't work at all. Tell me again how Obamacare helps me?

 

[theeedude]

This was discussed on NPR. The issue is the timeline. The requirements go in in 2012, but exchanges are going to be up and running in 2014, so for 2 years there are going to be waivers. Even though these employees would be better off forgoing these plans to begin with. The administrators are taking 30% cut to provide what is basically non-coverage. $2000 limit for health insurance is basically nothing, and in exchange, they are getting ripped off.

 

[piasabird]

Maybe the new congress will overturn the health care bill or change it drastically.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Meh! Just more proof that the country is run by big corporations and not the elected officials. Money reigns supreme, doesn't matter who is in office or what their agenda is the monied intrests will always be served. The neocons won the battle long ago, the public is just too stupid to understand they are simple slaves that have no voice or representation. The last couple of election cycles have proven this beyond a shadow of a doubt.

The humorous part is watching the blind sheep like the OP who think our corporate overlords have their best interest at heart and they stand to benifiet from supporting them :biggrin: and are totally oblivious to the fact that their capitalist saviors will discard them like yesterdays trash sooner than later.

Your favored party and President signed off on this. You can lay much of what we are dealing with on the prior administration, but this is your ugly baby. You wanted it, you opposed any argument against how this was being approached. Embrace your own bastard child.

 

[TheDoc9]

Maybe the new congress will overturn the health care bill or change it drastically.

Hopefully, but these cheeseballs have all been bought out. Who would've thought that campaign contributions, gifts and blackmail could buy votes.

 

[sactoking]

Maybe the new congress will overturn the health care bill or change it drastically.

It's much more likely, should there be changes in the composition of Congress, that Congress plays passive-aggressive and just refuses to fund any of the 100+ appropriations necessary to implement the law.

 

[theeedude]

It's much more likely, should there be changes in the composition of Congress, that Congress plays passive-aggressive and just refuses to fund any of the 100+ appropriations necessary to implement the law.

Insurance companies would still be bound by the new regulations. May not work out so well for them if they are prohibited from discriminating based on pre-existing conditions, but with no government funding to help people meet the insurance mandate.

 

[theeedude]

Your favored party and President signed off on this. You can lay much of what we are dealing with on the prior administration, but this is your ugly baby. You wanted it, you opposed any argument against how this was being approached. Embrace your own bastard child.

Healthcare was a mess well before this bill, necessitating reforms, which were not forthcoming from the GOP when it had power. Now they are claiming they will repeal and replace this bill. Yeah right. If they had something worthwhile to replace it with, they could have passed that when they were in charge.

 

[sactoking]

Insurance companies would still be bound by the new regulations. May not work out so well for them if they are prohibited from discriminating based on pre-existing conditions, but with no government funding to help people meet the insurance mandate.

Not if there's no funding for appropriations on how the regulators will oversee the programs. That's the thing, passing a law that says "The Government MUST do this" is only the first step. The actual implementation has to be planned out. Enforcement must occur. All of the practical steps to implementation cost money.

It's like the "war on drugs" in the sense that the law says possession of marijuana is a Federal crime but the Federal government doesn't really allocate money to enforcement of that law in states with medical marijuana laws on the books.