Health “Reform” = Empowering Bureaucrats
In case you hadn’t seen it, this week’s National Journal has an interesting column, entitled “The Interpreters,” about how unelected federal bureaucrats are implementing the health care law – creating an environment where President Obama “could deepen his imprimatur on reform.” The article notes that “the Administration clearly doesn’t mind using the rule-making process to expand the scope of the law,” and discusses the controversy whereby federal officials tried to “sneak” regulations on end-of-life care into part of a massive, 692-page physician payment regulation released in late November – an event punctuated by e-mails from Congressional staff indicating they should “not broadcast this accomplishment” by publicly advertising the existence of this secret rule.
As we’ve previously noted, the Administration has released 6,578 pages of Federal Register regulations and notices in Obamacare’s first year – with thousands (and likely tens of thousands) more yet to come. Unfortunately, the impact on American businesses has already been felt; one owner of a chain of bowling alleys recently testified that the new regulations and mandates in the law will cost his firm over $26 million – meaning more than 500 jobs will NOT be created as a result of the law’s costs. Moreover, the law creates 159 new bureaucracies, boards, and programs – which will produce more mandates for businesses to follow, and intrude on Americans’ personal relationships with their physicians.
Just as the American people took it none too kindly when the Democrat Congress rammed through their unpopular 2700-page bill, many may be concerned by the prospect of federal bureaucrats releasing tens of thousands of pages of regulations regarding the law – both due to the economic damage that many of these regulations will inflict on struggling businesses, and because of the actions of unelected bureaucrats in avoiding transparency and public scrutiny when implementing these damaging new mandates.