Obamacare gets a well-deserved vetting
by Cheryl K. Chumley · The Washington TimesOPINION:
Nearly 760,000 people are set to lose their Obamacare coverage because they never should have received coverage in the first place. Booting these fraudsters is estimated to save taxpayers $2.2 billion.
And Democrats are calling out this action as cruel.
Hmm. Wonder which party to vote for this November?
“The Trump Administration’s shameless decision to rip away health insurance from thousands will leave working families unable to get the care they need. Using the false pretext of fighting fraud to strip Americans of their healthcare is as cynical as it is cruel,” Rep. Nancy Pelosi wrote on social media.
If there is any clear sign the Democrats care less about the hardworking American people who pay their cushy political salaries and more about pushing a political agenda they think will keep them in power — Pelosi’s statement is it. According to law, those who earn more than four times the federal poverty limit, or $64,000 for the individual, or less than the federal poverty level, about $16,000, are not eligible for tax-paid Obamacare support. They have no right to Obamacare subsidies. They have no legal right to take Obamacare’s tax-paid benefits.
But they’ve been receiving them just the same. And the fraud goes even deeper. As The New York Times reported, evidence exists to show that “some insurance brokers, who earn commissions for each enrollment, illegally signed people up for coverage without their knowledge.” Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, meanwhile, reported the case of two Florida brokers who had bribed homeless people into enrolling in Obamacare so they could pocket the commissions.
This is fraud that has gone on far too long.
Enter President Trump.
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Enter the Trump administration.
Enter real accountability.
At a recent press conference to announce the cancellations of almost 760,000 Obamacare enrollments, Vice President J.D. Vance said, “We’re actually making sure that the people receiving Obamacare subsidies are actually entitled to receive them.”
Common sense, correct?
“This is not about cutting off anybody from their benefits,” Vance also said. “It’s about cutting off fraudsters from stealing from these programs.”
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Common sense yet again, correct?
Yet, Democrats are disturbed by these fraud-busting moves of the administration.
“As if making coverage harder to access through skyrocketing premiums and more red tape wasn’t painful enough, they’re doubling down to take it away entirely,” Democrat Rep. Richard Neal of Massachusetts said.
Got it. Message received.
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To Democrats, making sure tax dollars are spent for what they were intended to be spent for, and holding fraudsters accountable for their fraud, are cruel and unusual punishments.
It should be that waste, fraud and abuse are concerns that know no political bounds. But today’s Democrat Party is filled with members who are so infected with Trump Derangement Syndrome that they can’t even get on board with Republicans who are fighting corruption. The difference between Republicans and Democrats really doesn’t get any more extreme than that.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley. Listen to her podcast “Bold and Blunt” by clicking HERE. And never miss her column; subscribe to her newsletter and podcast by clicking HERE. Her latest book, “God-Given Or Bust: Defeating Marxism and Saving America With Biblical Truths,” is available by clicking HERE.
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