'Crash and Burn' Clause
Publisher's note: As the spin and whittling down of the unaffordable train wreck known as ACA continues to unfold, this lastest exemption provides more proof of just how poorly conceived this law has been from the beginning. It begs the question of why not just admit the total failure of ACA and add it to the pile of wasted money spent by this administration?
Fox News: In what might be the death knell for ObamaCare's most controversial component -- the individual mandate to buy insurance -- the administration has added a mega-exemption that critics say would allow virtually anybody to skirt the rule.
"The door's wide open," economist Doug Holtz-Eakin told Fox News. "[The] mandate which they said was absolutely crucial to ObamaCare is falling apart day by day."
House Speaker John Boehner said the latest change, made ahead of the March 31 enrollment deadline, applies to "essentially everyone."
The most recent exemption appears to have been included last week, in an ObamaCare application document. There already had been 13 distinct exemptions, but this document added one more.
The document said that individuals can now qualify for a "hardship exemption" -- meaning they would not have to pay a penalty for not buying insurance -- if they "experienced another hardship in obtaining health insurance."
The document does not define what "another hardship" means, and suggests the administration might not be a stickler when it comes to proof either. It says anyone seeking this exemption should "submit documentation if possible."