The ObamaCare Milestones -- One More Checked Off; Obama Repeals ObamaCare -- WSJ; Meanwhile, In North Dakota, Sanford Health Has The Monopoly -- And No One Cares

Updates

Later, 2:25 Pacific Time: wow, the folks in Minnesota must really feel like chumps now, now that President Obama has repealed ObamaCare for 2014. It sounds like the Minnesota on-line health exchange might be one of the worst, if not the worst, in the country, even worse than the Federal website (if that's possible). I can't make this stuff up. (Oregon doesn't count: they don't even their on-line website posted).

Minnesota's efforts became so beset with problems that Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton issued a public apology and MNsure's top executive recently resigned.

"I believe in this program. But this has just been inexcusable," said Tom Beckfeld, a small business owner and Democratic activist in central Minnesota who's been stymied in his attempts to nail down coverage through MNsure.

Beckfeld already canceled his old plan. Despite spending many hours on hold with the MNsure call center, he said, he has been unable to correct problems with his application and is still unsure if he can count on new coverage on Jan. 1.

Minnesota's website has been down for long stretches, even as callers to its helpline sometimes spent more than an hour on hold. Oregon's exchange still has not been able to enroll anyone electronically and continues to accept only paper applications. Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, a Democrat, acknowledged last week that not every resident who wants insurance by Jan. 1 will necessarily get it. In Hawaii, the exchange had to delay the Oct. 1 start of open enrollment by two full weeks.

Original Post

On December 4, 2013, I posted:

ObamaCare milestones:

√ employer-mandate delayed one full year
√ small-business on-line enrollment delayed one year
√ Harry Reid exempts his staff from ObamaCare
    individual mandate delayed one year (currently delayed a few weeks) 
    webpage fixed 

Yesterday, a new milestone:

 ObamaCare milestones:

√ employer-mandate delayed one full year
√ small-business on-line enrollment delayed one year
√ Harry Reid exempts his staff from ObamaCare
√  individual mandate delayed one year ("hardship" claim) 
    webpage fixed (moot; no longer needed)

The Wall Street Journal goes into much more detail:

The White House argued at the Supreme Court that the insurance-purchase mandate was not only constitutional but essential to the law's success, while refusing Republican demands to delay or repeal it. But late on Thursday, with only four days to go before the December enrollment deadline, the Health and Human Services Department decreed that millions of Americans are suddenly exempt.

Individuals whose health plans were canceled will now automatically qualify for a "hardship exemption" from the mandate. If they can't or don't sign up for a new plan, they don't have to pay the tax. They can also get a special category of ObamaCare insurance designed for people under age 30.

So, there you have it. Pretty much dead. The ideals are dead. Now we will watch to see if the insurance companies can claw their way out of this debacle. The insurance companies were depending on healthy folks under the age of 30 "subsidizing" the program; that has been pulled out from under them.

******************************

Meanwhile, in North Dakota, Sanford Health has the monopoly and no one cares. Least of all, Blue Cross Blue Shield after pulling out of North Dakota. The Bismarck Tribune is reporting:

One of two private insurers in North Dakota that submitted a proposal for involvement in state Medicaid expansion has now withdrawn.

The North Dakota Department of Human Services said Friday that Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota had notified the department of its withdrawal the previous day.

The department revealed the Blue Cross Blue Shield withdrawal in its overall update on Medicaid expansion.

It leaves the Sanford Health Plan as the only private insurer to submit a proposal.
This requirement is gonna kill Sanford:

Insurers submitting proposals had to assure the department that they would be able to meet the state’s requirements to for access to services statewide.