海角大神

Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius might have thought she could go on 鈥淭he Daily Show鈥� with Jon Stewart and have an easy ride. You know, put up with a few jokes about the dysfunctional Obamacare website, Healthcare.gov, make a plea for 鈥測oung invincibles鈥� to buy health insurance with a government subsidy (free money!), and call it a night.

Indeed, Ms. Sebelius got in her talking points: Many will end up paying less for health coverage than their monthly cellphone or cable bill, she said. And yes, the launch of Healthcare.gov was 鈥渁 little rockier than we鈥檇 like.鈥�

But she also from the liberal late-night comedy host over an issue near and dear to Obamacare critics: the fact that the individual mandate to buy insurance goes into effect Jan. 1, while businesses with 50 employees or more got a one-year reprieve from their Obamacare requirements.

Why does this make sense? Mr. Stewart asked over and over, zeroing in on people who resent being forced to buy health insurance.

鈥淚f I鈥檓 an individual who doesn鈥檛 want this, it would be hard for me to look at a big business getting a waiver and not having to do it, and me having to,鈥� Stewart said. 鈥淚 would feel like you were favoring big business because they lobbied you to delay it.鈥�

Why not allow individuals that same courtesy? Stewart asked.

Ninety-five percent of big businesses already provide health insurance to their employees, Sebelius replied. "A delay doesn't change the market numbers.鈥�

But Stewart kept at it: Isn鈥檛 it a legitimate criticism that an individual cannot delay the mandate but a business can?

Sebelius framed her answer in terms of what the law does for individuals, not what it requires: 鈥淣othing that helps an individual get health insurance has been delayed at all,鈥� such as the choice of plans and a possible subsidy, she said.

And individuals who don鈥檛 want to buy insurance can pay a fine, she pointed out. In the first year, it鈥檚 just $95 or 1 percent of income.

Then Sebelius made her pitch to young invincibles 鈥� the young Americans who, in the past, did not buy health insurance 鈥� to buy insurance anyway even if their finances are tight. "For a lot of young folks, they're one fall on the basketball court, one auto accident away from a lifetime of hospital bills they can't pay,鈥� she said.

Stewart also we鈥檝e all been dying to get an answer to: How many people have actually managed to buy health insurance through the still-glitch-plagued Healthcare.gov?

鈥淔ully enrolled?鈥� Sebelius said. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 tell you.鈥� But her department will be putting out monthly reports, she promised. And so far, there have been 鈥渓ots of Web hits鈥� and 鈥渉undreds of thousands of accounts created.鈥�

At the end of the show, Stewart threw in final burst of exasperation: 聽

鈥淚 still don鈥檛 understand why individuals have to sign up and businesses don鈥檛, because if the businesses 鈥� if she鈥檚 saying, 鈥榃ell, they get a delay because that doesn鈥檛 matter anyway because they already give health care,鈥� then you think to yourself, 鈥榌Expletive] it, then why do they have to sign up at all,鈥� 鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd then I think to myself, 鈥榃ell, maybe she鈥檚 just lying to me. Just to me?鈥� 鈥�

It was a little tongue in cheek. But Stewart, posing as Everyman, made his point. Obamacare has left a lot of folks confused. Stewart says he would rather have a 鈥渟ingle payer鈥� system, in which the government is the public鈥檚 primary insurer. So in fact he positioned himself to Sebelius鈥檚 left. But if her goal was to add to the public鈥檚 understanding of the Affordable Care Act, we鈥檙e not sure she succeeded.聽