The Affordable Care Act is the biggest new health care program in decades, but the Obama administration has ruled that neither the federal insurance exchange nor the federal subsidies paid to insurance companies on behalf of low-income people are "federal health care programs."

Using pretzel logic, the Obama administration is claiming that Obamacare doesn't have to meet the same anti-corruption standards applied to other laws. Robert Pear of the New York Times writes:

Claiming that Obamacare is not a federal health care program is another "Who are you going to believe - me or your lying eyes?" instance. Those of us who detected Marxist influences in Barack Obama's past apparently failed to realize that the Marx in question was Groucho.

The main purpose of the anti-kickback law, as described by federal courts in scores of Medicare cases, is to protect patients and taxpayers against the undue influence of money on medical decisions.

The surprise decision, disclosed last week, exempts subsidized health insurance from a law that bans rebates, kickbacks, bribes and certain other financial arrangements in federal health programs, stripping law enforcement of a powerful tool used to fight fraud in other health care programs, like Medicare .

Using pretzel logic, the Obama administration is claiming that Obamacare doesn't have to meet the same anti-corruption standards applied to other laws. Robert Pear of the New York Times writes:

The Affordable Care Act is the biggest new health care program in decades, but the Obama administration has ruled that neither the federal insurance exchange nor the federal subsidies paid to insurance companies on behalf of low-income people are "federal health care programs." The surprise decision, disclosed last week, exempts subsidized health insurance from a law that bans rebates, kickbacks, bribes and certain other financial arrangements in federal health programs, stripping law enforcement of a powerful tool used to fight fraud in other health care programs, like Medicare. The main purpose of the anti-kickback law, as described by federal courts in scores of Medicare cases, is to protect patients and taxpayers against the undue influence of money on medical decisions.

Claiming that Obamacare is not a federal health care program is another "Who are you going to believe - me or your lying eyes?" instance. Those of us who detected Marxist influences in Barack Obama's past apparently failed to realize that the Marx in question was Groucho.