EDITORIAL: Idaho skirts Obamacare

An insurance company in Idaho has found a novel way to avoid the high cost of Obamacare’s mandates — ignore them. Idaho’s insurance regulators look ready to give the plans approval, too.

According to the Idaho Statesman, Blue Cross is preparing to offer five plans that don’t comply with the requirements of the Affordable Care Act. Each plan offers the “essential health benefits” Obamacare requires, including preventive care without a co-pay. Deductibles vary from $2,000 to $10,000.

The biggest difference is the cost. A plan with a $4,000 deductible would cost $89.91 a month for a healthy 21-year-old. On the exchange, a comparable plan costs $237.60. A healthy family of four’s premium could be cut in half — from $933.05 to $435.58.

The plans cost less because Blue Cross limits claims to $1 million a year in benefits and requires applicants to complete a health questionnaire. If the company determines an applicant is more likely to need care, it charges more. That family of four could end up paying $1,176.24 a month based on medical history.

The problem is, this is illegal under Obamacare. But the state of Idaho looks ready to ignore federal law, and Blue Cross has said that if state government allows the plans, it will offer them in the marketplace.

Last week, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told federal lawmakers that his agency was keeping an eye on what Idaho is doing, but he didn’t commit to stopping the state. He should. The rule of law requires nothing less.

This situation is the right-wing equivalent of states legalizing marijuana and daring the federal government to prosecute their “legalized” markets. In 2013, then-president Barack Obama’s Justice Department famously issued a memo directing prosecutors to ignore the issue. When Attorney General Jeff Sessions rolled back that memo, Democrats vigorously protested, howling about states’ rights.

If those politicians are serious about states’ rights, they’d defend Idaho’s right to flaunt Obamacare’s mandates. Don’t hold your breath.

If states want more leeway to enact their own policies, the proper approach would be to file a 10th Amendment challenge to federal authority. But simply ignoring federal statutes makes a mockery of the rule of law, regardless of the politics involved. The “ends justify the means” is a dangerous governing philosophy, no matter who wields the levers of power.

The Idaho stunt highlights a number of real problems with Obamacare, including its burdensome coverage mandates and its attempt to suspend the laws of economics for those with pre-existing conditions. But the most sensible way to address these issues is through a court challenge or congressional action.