Media trying to equate Obamacare to mandate and penalty. It is not true

[Mass]

Many media are saying that some Democrats want to delay Obamacare. What they mean is that these Democrats want to delay the mandate. It may be ill-conceived and premature, but at this point, only a few crazy GOPers and Paul Ryan are asking for delay the law. No Democrats.

Even if they wanted, it would not be possible. The law started to be implemented years ago. Many people already benefit from it. People can enroll on the exchanges (website glitches making it harder but not impossible). Companies cannot refuse to insure you for medical reasons after the end of the year.

So, no, nobody wants to delay the LAW.

But I am not certain it is just incompetence from our media. What accepting their framing means telling people that Obamacare = PENALTY, something that makes the law unpopular.

So, I hope Dems are going to start pushing back. No Democrat wants to delay the law. It works. Whether we need to delay the penalty, the penalty is just a feature of the law, not its essence.

[Mass]

1. Sadly, Martin Bashir is doing the same thing.

[B2G]

2. But the tax for not signing up in a primary FUNDER of the law

So, what?

[Mass]

3. But it is not the law and during the first year, it is already lowered. Obamacare is a lot more than

that. Saying that people who want to push the tax in case the exchange are not up and ready in time are offering to delay the bill is just wrong. The rest will be running and it is what matters. It makes no sense that anybody who wants the bill to succeed would push this meme.

I am not sure where you find the tax for not signing is a primary FUNDER of the law. It is not anymore than it is in MA. Hopefully, few people will pay the tax because people will have insurance, just as it is in MA.

[B2G]

4. I get it from the CBO

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that, without an individual mandate, 11 million fewer people would gain coverage next year.

That would happen for two reasons. First, fewer people would buy health insurance coverage without a federal law requiring them to do so. Second, the people who signed up would likely be sicker people, who really thought they would use the coverage. That would cause premiums to spike, making the market a tougher sell for healthy people.

"Clearly the individual mandate is much more of a cornerstone, holding the individual market together," Linda Blumberg, an economist at the Urban Institute, says.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/09/24/heres-why-obama-wont-delay-the-individual-mandate/