M Paquette
Moderator Emeritus
Some folks have been worried about medical insurance planning, particularly with the new PPACA insurance exchanges scheduled to come on-line on October 1, roughly when the US Federal budget expires and the debt ceiling is reached. I know I have been, as I am one of those retirees without a retirement health care plan and too young for Medicare.
It turns out that nothing in the budgetary fuss, no matter which way it goes (Defund It!/Shut down the Gummint!/Just Keep Trucking On) will actually have much effect. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla) asked the Congressional Research Service to look into this. The results are reassuring for those of us that need insurance.
First, with or without funding, the law remains in place. Companies still have to demonstrate fraudulent intent before they can rescind a policy. New policies have to meet all the new requirements. Guaranteed issue remains in place.
Second, a 'government shutdown' doesn't really shut down the government. The law, policy, and operational planning assume that a government shutdown is temporary, and Federal agencies have contingency plans in place. The armed forces do not discharge everyone, the Border Patrol keeps patrolling, and Social Security and Medicare still have their trust funds. "For Sale" signs do not appear on the Washington Mall.
“The HHS shutdown contingency plan that was prepared in anticipation of a possible government shutdown in FY 2012 indicated that ACA implementation activities at CMS would continue because of the mandatory funding provided in the law,” the CRS report says. The only real way to strip the law of these mandatory funds would be to repeal the full law.
Article 1 Section 9 of the US Constitution states "No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law." Federal employees, for example, can't be paid if appropriations in the first place have not been enacted. Now, Congress could make contracts or other obligations even without funds, but there is a law that generally prevents this called the Antideficiency Act. The law does carve out exceptions for various emergency services. This is the law that sharply limits government activity during a budget kerfluffle.
The ACA implementation can continue during the lapse in annual appropriations and temporary shutdown. First, the federal government can rely on funding other than annual discretionary funds available, along with mandatory funds (funds allocated and controlled outside annual appropriations act, such as those allocated by the PPACA law). Second, the agencies can continue to operate on certain activities that fall under exceptions to the Antideficiency Act.
You can read more about the details here, in the report prepared by the Congressional Research Service for Senator Coburn.
http://www.coburn.senate.gov/public...&File_id=0af8b42a-b2b9-484b-b0d4-9d27e2b690ac
Note that this discusses the current law of the land, as passed by Congress, and how the government can operate under this law. Discussions about how "that ain't right" and "what they should have done" are probably inviting moderator stompage. I wanted to present this information to reassure those of us who are facing perceived uncertainty in the face of all the assorted political posturing and general bloviating going on.
It turns out that nothing in the budgetary fuss, no matter which way it goes (Defund It!/Shut down the Gummint!/Just Keep Trucking On) will actually have much effect. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla) asked the Congressional Research Service to look into this. The results are reassuring for those of us that need insurance.
First, with or without funding, the law remains in place. Companies still have to demonstrate fraudulent intent before they can rescind a policy. New policies have to meet all the new requirements. Guaranteed issue remains in place.
Second, a 'government shutdown' doesn't really shut down the government. The law, policy, and operational planning assume that a government shutdown is temporary, and Federal agencies have contingency plans in place. The armed forces do not discharge everyone, the Border Patrol keeps patrolling, and Social Security and Medicare still have their trust funds. "For Sale" signs do not appear on the Washington Mall.
“The HHS shutdown contingency plan that was prepared in anticipation of a possible government shutdown in FY 2012 indicated that ACA implementation activities at CMS would continue because of the mandatory funding provided in the law,” the CRS report says. The only real way to strip the law of these mandatory funds would be to repeal the full law.
Article 1 Section 9 of the US Constitution states "No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law." Federal employees, for example, can't be paid if appropriations in the first place have not been enacted. Now, Congress could make contracts or other obligations even without funds, but there is a law that generally prevents this called the Antideficiency Act. The law does carve out exceptions for various emergency services. This is the law that sharply limits government activity during a budget kerfluffle.
The ACA implementation can continue during the lapse in annual appropriations and temporary shutdown. First, the federal government can rely on funding other than annual discretionary funds available, along with mandatory funds (funds allocated and controlled outside annual appropriations act, such as those allocated by the PPACA law). Second, the agencies can continue to operate on certain activities that fall under exceptions to the Antideficiency Act.
You can read more about the details here, in the report prepared by the Congressional Research Service for Senator Coburn.
http://www.coburn.senate.gov/public...&File_id=0af8b42a-b2b9-484b-b0d4-9d27e2b690ac
Note that this discusses the current law of the land, as passed by Congress, and how the government can operate under this law. Discussions about how "that ain't right" and "what they should have done" are probably inviting moderator stompage. I wanted to present this information to reassure those of us who are facing perceived uncertainty in the face of all the assorted political posturing and general bloviating going on.
