The Obama administration has decided to delay part of its health care overhaul. This move may help protect Democrats in the upcoming election cycle. Republican critics argue that the law is terribly flawed. While no law tends to be perfect, critics and supporters will consider millions of uninsured Americans and their ease of attaining coverage.
On July 2nd the Obama administration said it will postpone enforcement of the so-called employer mandate until 2015, giving businesses an extra year to comply with a requirement that they provide workers with insurance or pay a penalty. Officials cited a desire to streamline employers’ reporting requirements and give them time to adjust, according to Bloomberg. Former Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean commented, “new things are hard, and this was going to be hard to implement.”
Republican critics say the move demonstrates the current administration’s plague of problems and inability to solve them. House Speaker John Boehner, an Ohio Republican, openly criticized the law’s delay. He commented, “the delay is a clear acknowledgment that the law is unworkable, and it underscores the need to repeal the law and replace it with effective, patient-centered reforms.”
The law passed in 2010 solely with Democratic votes. The law that will overhaul the current health care situation has been unpopular with Americans. Bloomberg quotes a Gallup Poll taken June 20-24 which showed that 52 percent of the public disapproves of the law. The poll surveyed 2,048 adults, with margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. It also showed that 42 percent think the law will make their family’s health-care situation worse.