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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhite House: Politics aren't pushing back start date of 2015 Obamacare enrollment (CNN)
Washington (CNN) -- White House spokesman Jay Carney denied Friday that next year's midterm elections are the reason behind the administration's decision to postpone the 2014 opening date for 2015 enrollment in Obamacare -- from October 15 to November 15.
Pushing back the start date, Carney said, will give insurers more time to get an idea of their new pool of customers before they set their 2015 rates.
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But Carney said the administration expects more people to sign up for health care insurance at the end of the current, initial open enrollment period -- which ends March 31, 2014 -- in part because of the website problems, so starting the next enrollment window later in the year would buy insurers more time to assess the situation.
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Asked why the administration won't change the more pressing March 31, 2014, deadline, as even some Senate Democrats have asked, Carney said the administration still believes the remaining four months is enough time to get people signed up for insurance.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/22/politics/obamacare-signup-delay-2015/index.html
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Mass
(27,315 posts)We would have done the same thing. If we had not, it would have been political malpractice.
It would be nice if messaging became part of this administration.
Only good news. Announcing it today will probably limit people learning this news and making their own conclusion.
Igel
(35,293 posts)Complaining about how the GOP says it's all political outrages the faithful while those who agree with the GOP on this point don't care what you say.
The alternative to its not being political is that they failed to adequately think through the timetable when the deadline was 15 months away, but now that it's 11 months away they've reconsidered and decided that they botched the decision and thinking. Based upon what? Ah, that would be telling. My hunch: They pulled the number out of the air and decided to make it law because they needed to say something. In other words, not much more than a guess made with little input and no real debate, so the decision fell upon a select few. (Which, to my mind, is always a really sucky reason for any kind of regulatory law. At least if it's a widely supported piece of whimsical idiocy, even if it's just supported widely by elected officials, it's not the stupidity of a few appointees foisted upon the many in the name of the common good.)
"Poorly reasoned and considered" is not a much better reason than "politically motivated." But if you're rallying 'round the flag, then to not defend "poorly reasoned and considered" is treason.