It seems like some lawmakers, including some Democratic ones, have come out in favor of delaying the individual mandate. Not so fast argues the Editorial Board of The Washington Post, noting that there is still time to fix the system.
Despite the intolerable failure of the Obama administration to warn the country that HealthCare.gov would not work at launch, there is still plenty of time for the government to make the required fixes. The first major deadline is not until Dec. 15, when people have to apply to obtain insurance coverage that starts on Jan. 1. People don’t need insurance then, though, to avoid the penalty. Resolving a point of confusion, the Obama administration clarified Wednesday that anyone signed up by March 31 will not have to pay any penalty. That’s more than five months from now.
IPad-toting members of Congress in Thursday’s hearing offered differing accounts about the current ease of using HealthCare.gov, but the site has improved since Day One. Even if it takes some weeks more to get the site in reasonable order, insurance buyers will probably have plenty of time to obtain coverage before running afoul of the penalty.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
Look if the Obama Sdministration can't get things right within the next few months, there might be a reason to delay the individual mandate. However, there is no reason to accept the Republican Party's talking points by agreeing that such a delay should happen now.
I think that the editorial board of The Washington Post has a better solution than these democrats.
If Congress wants to help, it could make sure the necessary funds are appropriated to complete the Affordable Care Act’s implementation.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
Given that the Republican Party has tried to undermine the Affordable Care Act any time it can, I am sure that the Republicans have played some role in the problems. And since they showed by their conduct at the hearings on Thursday that they were more interested in claiming that the Act does not work than coming up with solutions, I don't think that we should now be looking at any solutions that will ultimately undermine the Act's effectiveness.
The Administration should be given time to fix the website. I am willing to give them this time.