WAIVER-MANIA -- ALIVE AND WELL

Obamacare haunted the 11-2-10 election, and it isn't going to go away gracefully by 2012, much as Obama wishes it would.

Fox News has found that buried deep in the HHS website is a report that Obama has granted 111 health care waivers to large companies and many unions that will exempt them from Obamacare. Unions such as SEIU, IBEW, IBUAP, teachers' union, over 350,000 union members exempt. Don't forget, the unions already got a big Cadillac care exemption when the bill was passed. AND IT'S PAYBACK TIME IN OBAMAVILLE AGAIN!

The criteria for a company to win a waiver? (a) whether their premiums would go up; (b) whether complying with the mandate would cut off their employees' access to health care.

Whoa, wait a minute. During the campaign Obama said he would not "coddle Wall Street at the expense of Main Street." But then he flips out and grants some of the largest companies in America health care reform waivers. That means these companies will not be subjected to his administrations biggest "accomplishment," Obamacare.

Sounds unfair? You decide. Small companies cannot afford to hire expensive lawyers and lobbyists to fight for their own waiver, so they will have to comply with the law. Americans who don't want to buy health care coverage? Too bad! The IRS punishes them with a big tax penalty if they don't comply with the law. How much has your premium gone up? 10%? 25%? 40%? Premiums up instead of down? Did Obama lie to us or did he just have no clue?

And here we go again, it's another huge job killer bill from Obama. These I'll-Give-You-A-Special-Deal-Waivers are indicative of how ill conceived this law was in the first place. Disastrous? You bet, but Pelosi claimed you had to pass it to see what was in it. Well, now we know. It's being written as we go. DISGRACEFUL? Yes, but very predictable.

MICKIE-D SAVED BY "THE DEAL"

Hey, read my post from 10-2 re. McDonald's mini-med policies. Here's the follow up.

Today Obama announced that 30 businesses will get a 1-year exemption from portions of Obamacare. McDonald's is one of the "chosen," the "exempt."

Good for you if you work for one of the chosen companies, but too bad, so sad if you work for any of the other thousands of companies who will be forced to comply with all Obamacare rules.

Right now it's a crap shoot if you are not a chosen employer. You are at the mercy of Obama and Kathleen Sebelius, waiting for them to decide what they like and whom they want to favor.

And what happened to the "lie" we were told that Obamacare would "level the playing field?" This exemption creates exactly what Obama claimed was a problem - an unequal playing field. What does he think this does??

Oh, yes, and there's the administration's promise that if you like your insurance you can keep your insurance. What they didn't tell you is that you can only keep it as long as they allow for "exemptions" from Obamacare. Listen up, Folks, the exemptions granted today are only good for ONE YEAR. Then it is back to the rules.

This just goes to show what can happen when people with absolutely nil experience in anything decide they can govern an industry better than the industry can govern itself.

And this is just the beginning of the spreading malignancy known as Obamacare.

Congratulations, McDonalds and 29 other companies. You just shafted the rest of us.