OBAMACARE MAKES THE EDSEL LOOK LIKE A SMASHING SUCCESS

ObamaCare is government’s answer to Ford Motor Company’s Edsel.

For those too young to know, the Edsel (pictured to the right) is considered by many to be the worst business decision ever. This determination was not limited to the automobile industry but to any US industry. Truth be told, it probably wasn’t that bad a decision, at least ex ante.

The preliminary market data arguably was as thorough as done for any product introduction. Unfortunately for Ford, market demand shifted to smaller, high mileage cars as the Edsel debuted. The fact that its grill was referred to as looking like someone sucking on a lemon did not help.

Ford quickly realized its mistake and discontinued the Edsel. The Obama Administration should take note and recall their version of the Edsel. But that is highly unlikely.

Just as Obama raised Jimmy Carter’s status in the rankings of presidents, his pet program has displaced the Edsel as the most horrible product decision ever made.

Politico provided a list of some of the delays in this dysfunctional product: 

Working backward, here’s a brief history of some of the most prominent Obamacare delays:

March 25: Final enrollment deadline extended. The March 31 deadline — the end of enrollment for 2014 — will be loosened for people with special sign-up circumstances.

(Also on POLITICO: Full health care policy coverage)

March 14: High-risk pools extended. The special, temporary coverage for people with serious pre-existing conditions — which was supposed to last only until the health insurance exchanges were in place — was extended a third time for another month.

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Feb. 10: Employer mandate delayed. This time, businesses with between 50 and 100 workers were given until 2016 to offer coverage, and the mandate will be phased in for employers with more than 100 workers.

Jan. 14: High-risk pools extended. The high-risk insurance pools, which originally had been slated to close Jan. 1, had already been extended once.

Dec. 24: Enrollment deadline extended. In a message on HealthCare.gov, customers were told they could get help finishing their Jan. 1 applications if they were already in line on Dec. 24.

(PHOTOS: 25 unforgettable Obamacare quotes)

Dec. 12: Enrollment deadline extended. Customers on the federal enrollment website were given nearly two more weeks to sign up for coverage effective Jan. 1.

Nov. 27: Small Business Health Options Program (known as SHOP) delayed. Online enrollment for the federal health insurance exchanges for small businesses was delayed.

Nov. 21: Open enrollment delayed for 2015. The administration pushed back next year’s enrollment season by a month.

July 2: Employer mandate delayed. The administration declared that it wouldn’t enforce the fines in 2014 for businesses with more than 50 full-time workers who don’t offer health coverage. The fines were pushed back to 2015.

(Also on POLITICO: Honey, I shrunk the mandate)

Nov. 15, 2012: Exchange deadline delayed. The Department of Health and Human Services gave states an extra month to decide whether they would set up their own health insurance exchanges — a decision it announced just one day before the original deadline.

Had the Edsel been a government program, the Edsel would still be around today. Hubris and taxpayer funds will ensure that termination of the government’s Edsel will not occur.

In many respects, it is unfair to compare ObamaCare with the Edsel. The Edsel actually was what it purported to be — a car that ran. It died because people voted against it in the marketplace. Value, price and quality did not measure up. Ford Motor Company did not want to continue to underwrite a loser.

ObamaCare is a disaster. It does not work and it cannot be made to work. Were it worth anything, people would be willing to sign up for it. Unfortunately, it has little value, less than what people are forced to pay. That is why you the force of law must be used to get people to sign up. But even with the threats of fines, other coercive actions and massive advertising, there is little interest.

In comparison, the original Edsel ran circles around this dysfunctional monstrosity.

(Forgive me, Ford, for insulting your Edsel by including it in a story about ObamaCare.)