The Patriot Post® · Obama Apologizes? Not Really.
The real effect that ObamaCare will have on our nation and its people is beginning to sink in. The news, of course, isn’t good, and it goes far beyond mere technical website issues. The number of people who were actually able to sign up on the new exchange was so abysmally low – just six the first day – that it became the butt of jokes across the media spectrum. HHS won’t release the real number of enrollees until later this month, presumably while they try to figure a way to spin the embarrassing underperformance of their untested, overpriced and poorly built website.
As of this week, at least 3.5 million Americans received notice that they will be dumped from their current insurance plans because those plans don’t meet the minimum requirements of ObamaCare. The president promised repeatedly that this wouldn’t happen, but it’s reality and it’s just the beginning.
Finally, however, that reality led to this curiosity: “I am sorry that [people who’ve lost their insurance] are finding themselves in this situation based on assurances they got from me.” An apology? Charles C.W. Cook observed, “This president doesn’t just come out and apologize. The Democratic lawmakers that met with him this week must have given him one hell of a dressing down.” And David Harsanyi quipped, “I’d rather have an apology for all the promises he kept.”
Well, it wasn’t really an apology. He also said, “Well, first of all, I meant what I said [about keeping your plan]. And we worked hard to try to make sure that we implemented it properly. But obviously, we didn’t do enough – a good enough job – and I regret that. We’re talking about 5% of the population who are in what’s called the individual market. They’re out there buying health insurance on their own. A lot of these plans are subpar plans. And we put in a clause in the law that said if you had one of those plans, even if it was subpar … you could keep it. … [But] even though it only affects a small amount of the population, you know, it means a lot to them, obviously, when they get this letter cancelled [sic].”
So he’s “sorry” that his “assurances” put people in a predicament. But it wasn’t his assurances; it was his actions. And even so, he’s not sorry because those paltry few million people had lousy plans anyway.
Even if it were real, Obama’s pathetic and narcissistic pseudo-apology is worthless. The unlucky millions of Americans who have been kicked off their perfectly suitable plans will quickly discover, as many already have, that new insurance will cost more because of its comprehensiveness – the only virtue that matters to Obama. Studies estimate that insurance premiums will increase by anywhere from 99% to 250% in 45 states, with men and women below the age of 30 facing the brunt of the damage. There’s also a slew of new taxes and surcharges on medical devices, drugs, and health spending accounts that will further drive up the cost of insurance for everyone.
Congressional Republicans have been warning about these problems all along, and largely to no avail. As their holiday break approaches, the leadership has decided to remain silent as all these problems become public and ObamaCare makes the case against itself. Not surprisingly, this epic debacle has caused panic among the congressional Democrats who risked their political futures to support ObamaCare. May their creation hang like an albatross around their necks in 2014 and beyond.