Eleven attorneys general slam Obama healthcare fixes as illegal

[DonViejo]

Source: The Hill

By Rebecca Shabad

Eleven GOP attorneys general say the Obama administration is breaking the law by repeatedly making changes to ObamaCare without going through Congress.

The attorneys general specifically criticize President Obama's executive action that allowed insurance companies to keep offering health plans that had been canceled for not meeting ObamaCare's more rigorous standards.

“We support allowing citizens to keep their health insurance coverage, but the only way to fix this problem-ridden law is to enact changes lawfully: through Congressional action,” the attorneys general wrote in a letter to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “The illegal actions by this administration must stop.”

They say the healthcare fix was “flatly illegal under federal constitutional and statutory law.”

:::snip:::




Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/health-reform-implementation/194265-11-gop-attorneys-general-accuse-obama-of-using

[SoapBox]

1. Oh fuck off Pukes.

[underpants]

2. I understand their point .... But...

Going through Congress is not practical - they couldn't agree on a Mothers Day resolution at this point. Plus, it smells like a trap to vote down Obamacare.

[groundloop]

3. I'll go out on a limb and guess that President Obama knows the Constitution better.....

than the GOPers who are complaining. They'd rather see people suffer to give GOPers ammunition in the next election.

Also, if the President has done anything unconstitutional why isn't Darryl Issa investigating it yet?

[anasv]

11. uh I agree

that of course this is politically motivated, although I have wondered about if the law is written in such a way that it allows all this tinkering (not that I object, tinker away.)

But Obama has run a tractor-trailer over the Constitution in many respects - Guantanamo, NSA, etc.

[cstanleytech]

18. No actually congress is the one who has been behaving like dicks over Guantanamo not Obama. nt

[groundloop]

21. The GOPers have faught closing Guantanamo, and the NSA has been doing it's thing for a long time...

[joshdawg]

4. When I first read the headline,

my thoughts were: This has got to be a republican complaint.
Sure enough, all eleven were/are GOTP. Gee, what a surprise.
Brings up a question: Since when have the republicans ever been concerned with the constitutionality of any law?
Oh wait, only when it suits their agenda. Got it!

[NYC_SKP]

5. Must be Plan Z to kill ObamaCare. We're gonna need a longer alphabet!

[BumRushDaShow]

8. They'll start over using the Greek alphabet

like when the NWS runs out of names for Tropical Storms/Hurricanes.

[KansDem]

12. Nah, they'll just make up letters...

Like they do the spelling on their protest signs.

[Orrex]

6. They should cut to the chase and repeal it because he's Kenyan

Isn't that their point, ultimately?

[Historic NY]

7. Let me guess they're all from states the turned down participation.....

in ACA. Sure sounds like they are pissed because the POTUS made good on his original promise. They lost a talking point.

[Squinch]

9. Yeah. Because we need to care what Ken Cuccinelli and his best friends think.

[marble falls]

10. They just don't know when to quit.

[The Wizard]

13. No one cares what Republicans have to say

unless it's under oath, and even then, normal people don't believe them.

[Bandit]

14. Funny these same people are not saying a thing about the IRS following the Law as written.

Why is that do you suppose?

[Swede Atlanta]

15. They may technically be correct........

If the law is very specific about cutoff dates, etc. and does not specifically give the President authority to moderate some of the provisions, some of these changes may well be inconsistent with the law; i.e. "illegal".

I have certainly not read the entire law nor do I want to. I would have hoped the Executive would have reserved some latitude in the implementation of the law around deadlines, etc. - no changes to the overall substance of the law but as to implementation specifics.

If they didn't then the President is acting under a quasi-legal theory that he must take action to manifest Congress' will and use his powers to achieve that goal.

Unfortunately now we know, as do these states AG that the House would never even take up a bill to improve or "tweak" the ACA. A body that has voted over 30 times to repeal the law and whose leadership has said their focus in 2014 will be to repeal the law will never do anything to make it work. They hate the American people so much and that they might actually be getting something that helps them they can't see anything but red.

As with any law of this magnitude, it is going to take some experimentation, tweaking, adjusting, etc. There will always be unforeseen issues and problems. But the way mankind evolves is to throw something out there and improve on it. We don't have the telephone system first envisioned by Alexander Graham Bell. It has evolved over time. That is PROGRESS, something the Republicans find disgusting.

[EC]

16. Nope, don't fall for it

it's a trap to get the law back before Congress...don't do a thing for a long time....

[Johnyawl]

17. Take your complaints to SCOTUS.

[jwirr]

19. From what I understand Congress passes the bills and the Administration writes the regulations. That

is how it has always been.

[Swede Atlanta]

20. Generally that is true but....

unless you or I have read the entire law we don't know the level of detail in the law as to cutoff dates, etc.

If the law is very specific on deadlines, exemptions, etc. and Obama has exceeded those parameters then they may have a point. I don't know but would welcome someone with more knowledge to comment.

Regardless the issue is the House would NEVER, EVER, EVER even consider bringing for a vote any changes to the law.

So the only options these obstructionists have is to challenge these changes in court.

If the ACA continues to be a huge success they will likely raise court challenges because they hate to see anyone benefit from anything. That is their mantra - Everything for Me, nothing for You. And in red states the sheeple don't seem to care when the state government wastes state taxpayer dollars chasing a red herring. And we know the House LOVES to spend taxpayer money on frivolous pursuits such as defense of DOMA, the Benghazi hearings, etc. They likely wouldn't bat an eye spending money on challenges.

[elleng]

22. Looks like 'old news.'

'West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey wrote the letter, which was signed by his counterparts in Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas and Virginia.

Signatories include Gregg Abbott of Texas — who’s running for governor this year — and Ken Cuccinelli of Virginia.'

Cucc's successor not sworn in yet???

'The change, the Republican attorney generals argue, exceeds precedents set by Supreme Court decisions.

The officials point to the 1985 Heckler v. Chaney case, in which the Supreme Court concluded that some enforcement actions of laws might be subject to judicial review first.'

[Fred Sanders]

23. Eleven Racist Republican AG's Sue Obama Because He Is A Black Man.....

...and they are corrupt puppets of rich old white men and Fox News.

Fixed it.

[greiner3]

24. Even if the courts do find this is true;

It will be years for the case(s) to become fully resolved.