I recently wrote on Townhall about Government Without Bounds, this move toward a government that’s free to enforce (or not) arbitrary rules about how companies must do business. Writing in Forbes, Merrill Matthew hits on this theme, which he describes as exchanging the rule of law for the rule of bureaucrats. Here’s an example he provides, which exemplifies what we are concerned about:
Take the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (aka, ObamaCare). The law empowers the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to monitor health insurance premium increases. If HHS bureaucrats identify increases they think are “unreasonable” – which they define, at least for now, as a 10 percent increase or higher in one year – they can begin to harass the company.
The New York Times explains, “A rate increase will be considered unreasonable if it is excessive, unjustified or ‘unfairly discriminatory.'” Translation: HHS bureaucrats, not an objective standard, get to decide who is playing fair and who isn’t.
And the punishment? “Under the new federal law, insurers that show ‘a pattern or practice of excessive or unjustified premium increases’ can be excluded from the centralized insurance market, or exchange, to be set up in each state by 2014.”
What do ya bet that big Obama donors who make nice with the administration will be more likely to get a pass on high premium increases?
Congress-not agencies-are supposed to make laws. The American people need to be aware of the abuse of power in the executive branch and demand that our Elected Representatives do their jobs and reclaim the power to legislate.