Smoke ’em if you got ’em: #Obamacare gives smokers an exchange indulgence.

Well.  At least the Obama administration is showing some creativity, somewhere.  It’s a dang shame that it has to be in the field of How To Not Implement The Damfool Ideas That We Shoved Down The Collective Throat Of America.  Ladies and gentlemen, the latest Obamacare never-mind*:

Some smokers trying to get coverage next year under President Barack Obama’s health care law may get a break from tobacco-use penalties that could have made their premiums unaffordable.

The Obama administration — in yet another health care overhaul delay — has quietly notified insurers that a computer system glitch will limit penalties that the law says the companies may charge smokers. A fix will take at least a year to put in place.

A ‘glitch.’  Yes, you may assume that I am making air quotes, there.  As would Noelle Clemente, who neutrally quotes that “[s]ome see an emerging pattern of last-minute switches and delays as the admin scrambles to prepare the Oct. 1 launch.”  Can’t imagine why people might see that.

Look, here is the situation.  The Obamacare exchanges are supposed to come on-line on October 1st, 2013 – in other words, less than 90 days from now – and they will not be the same exchanges that the American people were promised.  This is known, and conceded.  But let me just spoiler the next fiscal quarter for you: the Obama administration’s sole, overriding concern from now until September 30th will be to get those exchanges up.  If necessary, they will assign the entire federal government to the task of getting those exchanges up.  Because if they do not get those exchanges up in 2013 then forget about 2014; Democrats in 2016 will be campaigning on repealing Obamacare.  Including very possibly their eventual Presidential candidate. You may think that I am exaggerating; I think that I am not.

So expect more cuts, and tweaks, and jury-rigs, and all of the rest of the slapdash incompetence that has marked this government since January of 2009.  Because they need to get those exchanges up.  And expect that the Obama administration will display whatever pathetic Frankenstein’s monster of an exchange system that they’ve managed to galvanize by October 1st as being the veritable culmination of, and justification for, Western society.  When that happens, look to see who’s applauding, because they’re probably the ones being subsidized on the sly. But don’t be too censorious: as least those people stay bought.

Moe Lane (crosspost)

*Strictly speaking, this is not an Emily Litella moment, of course: surely the Obama administration had thought this through ahead of time.  …Right?

11 thoughts on “Smoke ’em if you got ’em: #Obamacare gives smokers an exchange indulgence.”

  2. I expect the software for the exchanges to be far worse than anything Microsoft has ever put out. I also expect it will be hacked looking for information and seeded with Malware on a regular basis. There is just going to be to much valuable data for criminal hackers not to go after the exchanges. The fact that as far as I know there are no examples beta testing for the software going on says a lot.
    They do not have the code even close to finished yet and release date is 3 months away. For that matter the regulations on which the code is supposed to be based aren’t finished yet, and release date is 3 months away. This will not end well.

    1. Since “not ending well” may mean turning enough of the public against this piece of excrement .. I really have a hard time not cheering for them to fail harder than Microsoft Bob.
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      Mew

      1. Depend on the Democrats to screw it up every single time. Oh wait, I think I just answered this question recently proposed by Mitch McConnell (who I will point out did not vote for Obamacare because as Moe like to say NO REPUBLICAN VOTED FOR OBAMACARE.)

        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euVkDbQz144

      2. ‘Hi. I’m Federal Bob, and I’m here to help you. Would you like me to help keep you from working, help you find cheap medical insurance that won’t cover your needs, or help drive the costs of your premiums higher than you can afford?’
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        How do I shut this thing off?
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        That said, I chuckled over some of the ideas that Moe’s post brought to mind. This directly relates to one of the reasons I opposed the Affordable Care Act from the beginning. Features that may make me happy in certain ways are not ones that either of us want in a government ruling us.

  4. It may be worse than software that constantly crashes Acat. What happens with the data if everyone’s personal data just sits in the system and isn’t removed in a timely manner it’ll be jackpot time for hackers. How long do you think the MSM will be able to sit on a story about tens of thousands of cases of ID theft from the ACA exchanges. I don’t have the liveliest confidence that anyone in this administration has thought this thing thru.

    1. As “his administration” didn’t write it, I don’t see why anyone believes he has the first clue about it.
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      Not that I think he shouldn’t be punished both for not writing it and for not understanding it after it was written, mind ..
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      I’m just suggesting that, if it really goes badly, his detractors should look to deflect blame toward the true author, Nancy Pelosi.
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      Mew

      1. A prudent man might have paid some attention to really understanding a plan that he endorsed or took credit for.

  5. At my last dentist visit, had to sign the yearly renewal of ‘privacy’ notice. Chuckling, handed it to the receptionist, “There’s no such thing as medical record privacy anymore.” They seemed genuinely offended.

    “Honey, once something is in a computer–it ain’t private any more.”

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