ObamaCare's First Victims

When campaigning for passage of his health care plan, President Obama promised unequivocally that the government would never make anyone change their health care plans. “Let me be clear: If you like your doctor or healthcare provider, you an keep them. If you like your health care plan, you can keep that too,” he said.  He made other similar statements repeatedly during the legislative process.

But thanks to a new rule being promulgated by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), five million Americans will question Mr. Obama’s trustworthiness.  HHS is pushing a new scheme called the “Medical Loss Ratio” that will end small business and individual Health Savings Account (HSA) holders’ ability to take part in the new health care exchanges.  That is a death sentence for these HSA accounts and will force people to find different policies even if they don’t want to switch — something the president promised would never happen.

In 2014, unless Republicans managed to repeal the law, the government will specify what medical services have to be covered, how much of your care can be paid out of pocket, and how much your plan can cost.  The “Medical Loss Ratio” rule discriminates against small business and individual HSA account holders disqualifying them from the exchanges.  No exchange; no policy.

HHS has repeatedly been forewarned about the impact of their new dictates yet they continue to press ahead.  Final implementation of the rule could come soon.  Without congressional pressure and action, five million Americans will lose their current policy.

One has to wonder whether the jihad against Health Savings Accounts is ideological.  HSAs represent a complete alternative vision of health care — one based on individual responsibility, consumer choice and market-based competition.  The president and his allies are so driven by a top-down; government-run vision of health care, that HSAs are a threat to this worldview.

The time has come for Congress to act to save HSAs and protect the five million policy holders threatened by this new regulation.