BrianGarst.com

Another day, more Obamacare waivers:

The Obama administration said Wednesday that it had granted broad waivers to four states allowing health insurance companies to continue offering less generous benefits than they would otherwise be required to provide this year under the new federal health care law.

The states are Florida, New Jersey, Ohio and Tennessee, the administration told Congress.

Lawmakers said that many other states, insurers and employers needed similar exemptions from some of the law’s requirements and would seek waivers if they knew of the option.

Why do we need to exempt people from a law that was supposed to make things better? The question answers itself: because it doesn’t.

These new waivers are being handed out because the fantasy of Obamacare has run into the reality of economics. Requiring “more benefits” means higher costs. Higher costs mean some people that previously had coverage will not be able to afford the new plans. There’s no reason why people should be denied the opportunity to buy plans that are appropriate to their situations and needs, instead of forcing them to buy plans some bureaucrat in Washington DC decides is appropriate.

This was all obvious at the time the law was passed, and plenty of us said so. Are we to believe that Obama honestly didn’t know, or was he simply lying when he said people would be able to keep their plans, even as he artificially made them more expensive?

economics obamacare