Also gutted in the CRomnibus the White House pushed for: part of Obamacare

[Proud Public Servant]

In all the fireworks over campaign finance and Dodd-Frank, you probably missed this little gem:

Republicans Dealt A Quiet Blow To O-Care In The CRomnibus

ByDYLAN SCOTT
PublishedDECEMBER 12, 2014, 10:16 AM EST

The government funding bill colloquially called the CRomnibus that the House passed on Thursday night included a GOP-proposed change to an Obamacare program long loathed by Republicans.

A House aide confirmed to TPM that Republican staffers requested the change to the so-called risk corridor program, which is designed to keep premiums stable by making payments to insurers if they lose more money than expected in the law's first few years.

...

The way the risk corridor program works: Insurers estimate in advance how their insurance pools will look and if in the end they're significantly better than estimated, they pay money into the program; if they're significantly worse than estimated, they are paid money by the program.

...

"As far as anyone can tell, that's what's going on," Timothy Jost, a health law professor at Washington and Lee University who is supportive of the law, told TPM. In theory, if the program doesn't bring in enough money to make its payouts, that could mean insurers will have to -- at the very least -- wait a year before getting their money. In turn, that could have a negative impact on 2016 premiums if insurers have to take a loss in the meantime.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/obamacare-cromnibus-risk-corridors

Yep, definitely worth fragmenting the House Dems for that.

[woo me with science]

1. They said they would fix it later!

Oh, they've been very busy "fixing" it....consistently on behalf of insurance corporations and at the expense of the people:

The employer mandate was delayed...the mandate for Americans? Not so much:

White House delays employer mandate requirement until 2015
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/07/02/white-house-delays-employer-mandate-requirement-until-2015/

Out of pocket caps on costs for patients....also delayed...again targeting the *people,* not the insurance corporations.

Limit on Consumer Costs Is Delayed in Health Care Law
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/13/us/a-limit-on-consumer-costs-is-delayed-in-health-care-law.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&

And then this joyful whack to the kneecaps:

Obama administration quietly approves new Obamacare loophole benefiting insurance companies.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024970298

And now the kick to the head in your OP.


Democracy is an illusion. It's united oligarchy, not gridlocked democracy. Policy outcomes are entirely predictable now, *always* for the power and wealth of the One Percent. We are ruled by a corrupt, looting, torturing corporate cabal masquerading as a democracy, with a cast of purchased politicians wearing Democrat and Republican suits.

[liberal_at_heart]

2. The fact that this does not have the rank and file dems on DU in an uproar

proves to me that it was never about getting healthcare to the people. It was about making sure their Democratic president got the victory and legacy he wanted.

[woo me with science]

3. +1

If by "rank and file" you mean the Third Way administration defense messaging machine.