The administration is beginning to brief reporters on the contours of this so-called administrative fix to Obamacare. But the early reports are muddled, confusing and contradictory. It speaks in part to how complicated the law is and the number of interconnected moving parts. Politics doesn’t do complexity well.
The big issue is what the administration will do to “rectify” canceled plans. You have to put it in quotes because, again, this was not some unintended consequence of Obamacare. It’s how it was supposed to work. But whether you require insurers to maintain existing policies through 2014 or simply allow them to do so is a big distinction. Whether consumers have a say in the matter or it’s left to insurers is another key policy choice. There’s also the question of what legal authority gives the White House the power to dictate these fixes without congressional approval.
We’ll know more in the next few minutes. You can watch Obama’s announcement at 11:30 a.m. ET here.
A lot riding on the Obamacare announcement that President Obama will be making at the White House at 11:30 ET. It’s not clear what “fixes” to Obamacare the administration can make to satisfy the current panic among Democrats in Congress that will at the same time not undermine the financial structure of health care reform. It’s a terrible position to be in, and it’s a direct consequence of the failures of … a website.
