With eight months left until million of Americans are supposed to begin shopping at online markets created by the Obamacare 'tax' law, the insurance industry is concerned at the government's lack of readiness. Bloomberg reports that Jim Donelon, the head of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, suggested that President Obama may need to delay the implementation of the health-care overhaul or "risk chaos" when the subsidized plans go on sale later this year. While it is clear that the administration has shown no sign of seeking a delay, Donelon notes that "...to rush into implementation before it's ready would not be in the President's best interest."
Via Bloomberg:
President Barack Obama may need to delay his health-care overhaul or risk “chaos” when subsidized insurance plans go on sale in October, the head of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners said.
It’s unclear how well the federal government or any of the participating states will perform on Oct. 1, when millions of Americans are supposed to begin shopping at online markets created by the law, Jim Donelon, the NAIC’s president, said in an interview at Bloomberg headquarters in New York. While the administration has shown no sign of seeking a delay, it may be in the president’s best interest, he said.
“It’s his calling-card, signature issue and to rush it into implementation before it’s ready would not be in his overall interest,” said Donelon, a Republican who’s also Louisiana’s insurance commissioner. State officials around the U.S. “don’t want it to create chaos.”
The Obama administration and 18 states are preparing to establish the insurance markets, a centerpiece of the 2010 law designed to extend coverage to millions of uninsured people. The association, which represents state regulators, today named former Democratic Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska as its chief executive officer, in an attempt to expand its influence in Washington.
“We needed the gravitas, the phone calls returned, to go to Capitol Hill, to tell our story, defend our turf, and beyond, protect and promote our system around the world,” Donelon said. “I think all the way up to and including President Obama would return Senator Nelson’s phone calls.”