Ben Swann Truth in Media – by Michael Lotfi
After watching the Patient Care Act (PCA), better known as Obamacare, in action over the past couple years one thing is becoming clear. It’s not a law. Sure, Congress may have passed it as a law, and the president signed it as a law. However, when you review its implementation it doesn’t resemble a law at all.
We are a nation of laws, not of men. This meaning that the law applies equally to all. There are no exceptions for this group, or that group. Well, Obamacare does not work in such a manner. If Obamacare was a law then the idea of the IRS union seeking an exemption would have never come to bear fruit. The IRS union wasn’t alone in their request. If fact, three of the country’s largest labor unions wrote a joint letter to Harry Reid (D-NV) and Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) saying that the healthcare bill would be catastrophic and they wanted an exemption. To be fair, the administration rejected the unions’ request. However, the very idea that it was even on the table is strikingly parallel to how the IRS will deny or approve tax exempt status of organizations. How long until someone gets an exemption from the law? Turns out- not too long at all.
Like it, or not the law was passed as written. Obama, acting in secret, as as if he was head of such an agency, allowed congressional members and their staffs an exemption. To be clear, they are not completely exempt from Obamacare. However, as of now, taxpayers pay almost 75 percent of premium payments for Congress as part of government employee benefits in Washington. An amendment to the healthcare law could have ended that subsidy. Instead of actually legislatively fixing the law so that Congress could maintain their subsidy, Obama simply issued an exemption from the amendment. However, the amendment still remains law.
Another example of how Obamacare is operating as an agency, and not a law is when Obama had the IRS get involved to “change the law”. Obamacare was passed by Congress- not the IRS. This would imply that only Congress can make changes to the law. However, that didn’t stop President Obama from going to the IRS when he realized that Senate democrats made a glaring mistake when drafting the law.
Under Obamacare states were given the option to decide whether or not they wanted to set up an insurance exchange, which each state would run. Those states who choose not to set up their own insurance exchange would have a federal exchange set up in its place. States that did choose to set up an exchange are to fine employers who do not provide insurance under the employer-mandate penalty. This money is then returned to the employees to purchase insurance through the state run exchange.
So far more than two dozen states have opted out of the state exchange. Tennessee, Texas, Florida and Oklahoma to name a few. President Obama and democratic leadership failed to add this same penalty to states who opt-out of the state exchange in place of the federal exchange. Therefore, the dozens of states that have already opted out cannot be fined under the employer-mandate penalty. This would have left Obamacare in shambles.
So, Obama went to the IRS and had them re-write the healthcare law. However, this is unconstitutional. Only Congress can make such changes to law. A lawsuit has been making its way to the Supreme Court filed by the state of Oklahoma challenging this illegal power grab. Parallel to how the EPA can essentially create their own laws, Obamacare is doing the same.
Not convinced yet? Let’s look at how many delays have been passed out. First big business got a huge exemption. The Employer Shared Responsibility (ESR) provisions have been delayed until Jan.1, 2015. Next, small businesses were issued a short delay only two weeks ago. However, the law clearly sets dates. No where in the law are delays allowed. Acting above the law, the Obama administration handed out delays anyways.
Obamacare does not behave like a law at all. In fact, it behaves quite more so like an agency. It arbitrarily enforces parts it does and does not like, delays dates and even creates new laws from within itself. Why is this such a big deal? One only need look at any 3-letter agency to see how monstrous, unconstitutional, expensive and intrusive they’ve all become since their well-intended creation.
The FDA arrests people for trading raw milk. The EPA throws people in jail for the rest of their lives for moving soil from one corner of their yard to another. The DEA throws thousands of people in jail every year for victimless crimes. The TSA sexually harasses us on a daily basis. The DOE tells our children what to think, eat, wear, how to brush their teeth and who to have sex with. Now it seems that we can add the PCA to the list of 3-letter agencies, which will arbitrarily create and manipulate laws (at will) without congressional, executive or judicial oversight. The 3-letter agencies, or as I like to call them “the fourth branch of government”, just got a new power-player.
Truth be told, the PCA cannot simply be a “law”. Having studied in the medical field for 4 years and graduating with top honors I can tell you that I have paid attention, and that the science, and the market is far too convoluted to be confined by a simple law (regardless of how many pages it contains). For the PCA to actualize into any sort of relative success it will require an agency of its own, and the President is coming to realize this reality as evidenced by his actions listed above.
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Michael Lotfi is a Persian, American political commentator and adviser living in Nashville, Tennessee where he works as the associate director for the Tenth Amendment Center. Lotfi founded TheLibertyPaper.org, which is an online news source that is visited daily by readers in over 135 countries. Lotfi graduated in the top 5% of the country with top honors from Belmont University, an award winning, private university located in Nashville, Tennessee.