Insurer: No talk of seeking 'ObamaCare' delay

The nation's largest health insurer told reporters Thursday that it hasn't seriously discussed a delay in the implementation of President Obama's signature healthcare law — a move many Republicans support.

Officials from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) said an across-the-board delay hasn't seriously come up in their internal preparations for the law's full implementation. 

"We haven't thought about that at all," BCBSA Senior Vice President Alissa Fox said Thursday. "The law is very clear, it's Jan. 1, 2014."

Some Republicans lawmakers have pushed for a delay as a way to save money and accommodate states that didn't begin implementing the law until it had survived almost every conceivable political challenge.

Although BCBSA isn't joining with the GOP to back a comprehensive delay, it does want the Obama administration to delay the full implementation of some parts of the Affordable Care Act — including new limits on how much insurers can vary their premiums based on age.

The healthcare law says insurers can only charge their older customers three times more than what they charge young people. Insurers wanted that ratio set at five-to-one, and have pushed the Health and Human Services Department to gradually phase in the 3:1 ratio as a way to avoid sticker shock for young consumers.

BCBSA noted that HHS has phased in other parts of the healthcare law, and said the association's lawyers are confident that HHS has the authority to delay the age-rating limits.

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