# Oops. Looks like we were lied to about Obamacare after all. **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 29, 2013, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-looks-like-we-were-lied-to-about-obamacare-after-all/672534 "2013-10-29T07:22:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 72
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-looks-like-we-were-lied-to-about-obamacare-after-all/672534/1421 "2013-11-24T13:57:43Z")
It’s alive and well everywhere, because the cancellations were a result of ACA. And no, insurers do not actually just cancel plans whenever they feel like it. Before ACA, it was illegal to do so. Insurers under federal law can only cancel your policy if you lied on your application. At least, that was before they were FORCED to cancel policies by ACA requirements. There is no way that the President is not aware of this federal law. but he’s counting on the public not being aware of it. ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-looks-like-we-were-lied-to-about-obamacare-after-all/672534/1422 "2013-11-24T15:04:15Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > It’s alive and well everywhere, because the cancellations were a result of ACA. And no, insurers do not actually just cancel plans whenever they feel like it. Before ACA, it was illegal to do so. Insurers under **federal law** can only cancel your policy if you lied on your application. > … **emphasis mine** Indeed there were consumer protections built into law prior to passage of the PPACA. Those protections continue and the PPACA cannot take credit for that. I found [Federal law on rescission](http://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/45/147.128), which is the more onerous practice which has garnered criticisms. It only permits rescission in cases of where the consumer commits “an act, practice, or omission that constitutes fraud, or unless the individual makes an intentional misrepresentation of material fact…” An example is provided in the law of a consumer who forgets she visited a psychologist on two occasion some six years prior to applying for health insurance. She does not disclose those psychologist visits on her insurance application. The insurer cannot rescind coverage when she is diagnosed with breast cancer because innocently forgetting does not rise to the level of an act of fraud or an intentional misrepresentation. As far as I can tell, this federal law only applies to group health insurance. Some policies marketed to individuals are actually group policies (i.e. health insurance marketed to members of a professional group) and would be covered. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-looks-like-we-were-lied-to-about-obamacare-after-all/672534/1423 "2013-11-24T15:07:03Z")
That regulation you just cited i_s_ an Obamacare regulation. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-looks-like-we-were-lied-to-about-obamacare-after-all/672534/1424 "2013-11-24T15:29:21Z")
And why did Boehner perform that amazingly stupid step-on-your-own-dick move? Because he was \*sure \*about what would happen, he had no doubt about it, gonna show everybody it was totally impossible, gotta scrap the whole thing. Just like if your key doesn’t work for your new car, you roll it off a cliff and tell the police it was stolen. This is what happens when you believe your own propaganda. ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-looks-like-we-were-lied-to-about-obamacare-after-all/672534/1425 "2013-11-24T15:36:19Z")
I stand corrected. I should have cited the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) were amended by the PPACA. The example does come from regulations promulgated under PPACA. Prior to PPACA, HIPAA mandated renewability of policies in the individual market except in situations similar to rescission limitations cited in my prior post - “intentional fraudulent misrepresentation.” ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-looks-like-we-were-lied-to-about-obamacare-after-all/672534/1426 "2013-11-24T15:54:18Z")
> [@NotfooledbyW](#): > > What criteria are you basing your conclusion that the State of California is not accepting Obama’s fix of the ACA grandfather clause? It’s all over [the news.](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-21/california-rejects-obama-s-insurance-cancellation-fix.html) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-looks-like-we-were-lied-to-about-obamacare-after-all/672534.md?page=71)