Posted on 12/03/2013 2:20:02 PM PST by SeekAndFind
If there’s one thing that feeds the ObamaCare beast, it’s young, healthy consumers — the same people who voted and worked to put Barack Obama in the White House twice. In order for the system to work, insurers need to get them into the system, paying exorbitant premiums for services they will likely never use, in order to keep prices down for older, less healthy Americans who not coincidentally tend to be more politically engaged. Gallup inadvertently tested that hypothesis and proved it its latest survey:
Americans younger than 30, a key group targeted by the Affordable Care Act, continue to be the least familiar with it. Another important group, those with lower incomes, are less familiar with the healthcare law than are those with higher incomes.
The new healthcare law’s success will rest at least partially on young Americans’ enrollment rates, given the need to have uninsured but healthy younger people sign up for insurance to help subsidize the cost of healthcare for those who are older and more likely to require benefits. These young people need to be familiar with the law if they can be expected to respond to its mandate requiring them to have insurance. There is clearly still work to be done on that front — with younger Americans significantly less acquainted with the law than those who are older.
That may be a blessing for Obama, since this law tends to get less attractive the more one becomes familiar with it:
Those who are familiar with the healthcare law are significantly more likely to oppose it than those who are not familiar with it. Among those familiar with the law, net approval is -19 percentage points, slightly more negative than is the case for the overall population. Those who are unfamiliar with the law are evenly divided, with 41% approving and 43% disapproving.
The overall approval rating for ObamaCare is now 40/54, and there is still plenty of downside left among the low-information adults in the survey. Just wait until most of them lose their employer-based coverage before the midterm elections, eleven months from now or sooner.
The Washington Post’s Sean Sullivan doesn’t think that the ignorance of youth is a good sign for Obama, though. The President needs young voters to become activists for his law, and — more importantly — make themselves subject to it:
A new Gallup poll shows that Americans age 18-29 are less familiar with the federal health-care law than any other age group. While 63 percent say they are familiar with the law, that’s nine to 12 percentage points lower than older demographics. An August Kaiser Family Foundation poll, meanwhile, showed that 43 percent of Americans age 18-25 and 41 percent of those between 26 and 35 had heard nothing about their new state insurance exchanges. By comparison, just 33 percent of all adults said the same thing.
Why does the lag matter? In short, because Obama needs a lot of young, healthy people to enroll in plans offered through the exchanges in order to keep premiums down and make the system work as it was designed. Specifically, he needs about 40 percent of enrollees to be younger than 35. (Sarah Kliff gives you everything you need to know about these so-called “young invincibles” over on Wonkblog.)
It certainly doesn’t help the president that young people seem to be the least attuned to the new law. What’s more, early problems with the federal health-care exchange Web site didn’t make it an easier for the administration to woo the young people it badly needs to sign up for coverage. …
Thanks in large part to the young, Obama won two terms in office. Now, the same youthful demographic will decide whether his signature legislation succeeds or falls flat.
When they see that they will have to pay thousands of dollars for comprehensive coverage they don’t need and spend thousands of dollars on deductibles before the first benefit is paid, young Americans will likely opt to pay retail and the fine and save themselves a lot of money. If disaster strikes, they can buy insurance at that point to cover it, thanks to the law Obama passed. Obama’s only real hope is that the youth remain ignorant and follow like sheep into the shearing yard. They’ve done it twice so far for Obama even with the economic incentives clearly marked out for them the second time, and there’s no reason to think they’re wising up yet.
Update: Right on time, here comes a pivot attempting to keep them distracted.
They just need to add free “medical” marijuana as one of the 10 commandments of essential benefits as deemed by Obama in the highest.
No more parties and no more date nights, you liberal 60 IQ Millennial fools. You wanted to worship a black Marxist, so knock yourselves out, morons. Speaking of knockouts, watch out for the knockout game ‘cause it’s coming after you, you bleating, worthless sheep. Maybe if you hand over your iPad, Obuma’s sons will just step on your toes, honkey slaves.
***so if grandma needs a hip replacement does she still get one if theres not enough money in the pot ???***
No, that is First Prize. She gets Second Prize, a free Obamaphone. Only has 1 number available, the local funeral home,
Seems like you are a little upset ... don’t worry O-Care will cover those soothing drugs that you need to calm down and space out, providing of course that you have met you $25,000 deductible.
Why should they. Obama, Nancy and Harry have set up the government to look like old fools.
Actually the way the sign up process works is you will only be able to sign up once per year so if the illness needs to be treated immediately like a broken leg you will not be able to buy insurance until the next open enrollment with coverage not starting until January of the following year.
The young are going to do with Obamacare what they currently do with their car insurance!
The month the tags or inspection is due, they go get insurance, pay the down payment, get an insurance note, go get the tags/inspection and then never pay another damn payment!
This is what will happen with Obamacare! When they get sick, they will go pay the first month, use the service and then stop paying until they need to use health services again!
To think that someone who is typically BROKE is going to voluntarily ADD to their level of monetary misery is simply STUPID!
I have no doubt that Obama will see the “unfairness” in this and allow people to sign-up at anytime.
I mean, he has done it so far with everything else in the law, so why wouldn’t he just wave his hand and make it so?
“No more parties and no more date nights, you liberal 60 IQ Millennial fools.”
I kind of think the Dems are toast when it comes to the Millenial demographic. He’s clearly failed to deliver all of the free entitlements they want. They don’t want to pay for health insurance. Food stamps and a phone aren’t going to be enough to offset that broken promise.
Come 2016, I can’t see them crawling over broken glass to vote for a 69 year old hippie like Hillary after this disaster of a President. The liberal wing of that generation are conditioned to believe that youth is wisdom. Sure they’ll all still be angry liberals, but extreme apathy will have set in. They aren’t going to make the time to crawl out of their parent’s basements and vote for another round of the late 1960s.
They’ll get “familiar” with Obamacare - when they file their tax return and discover they’re gonna be fined, er, excuse me Justice Roberts, taxed for not buying it.
“Just wait until most of them lose their employer-based coverage before the midterm elections, eleven months from now or sooner.”
Hell, just wait until they file their tax return...
“so if grandma needs a hip replacement does she still get one if there’s not enough money in the pot ???”
Grandma will go to India. The entire trip and operation will cost less than her out of pocket. And, they have as high a success rate. There will be much more medical touristing.
But, but his adminstration made all those sluty/stupid advertisements to lure heavy drinkers and promiscuos young people to sign up to get free birthcontrol (partay!) and a backup plan if they get hurt falling down drunk at the next kegger!
The subsidy for someone in their 20’s making 29,000 annually is only $110.00 per year. With this subsidy included, the minimum bronze plan will cost $156/month.
http://kff.org/interactive/subsidy-calculator/
I am in my twenties. Before the Obamacare mandate, my insurance cost $65.00/month. I recently received a letter indicating that my private insurance will increase to $254.00/month (http://s13.postimg.org/ovfe315k7/IMG_1211).
If i made 29k per year, my healthcare options would be as follows: keep my current insurance for $254/month or switch to the obamacare bronze plan for $156/month. Both options are more than double what I paid before, despite the fact that I am never sick. But at least I will now have obstetrician coverage.
Wait until the kids start getting those nasty IRS letters trekking them to pay the Obamacare fine.
trekking = telling
“don’t worry O-Care will cover those soothing drugs that you need to calm down and space out, providing of course that you have met you $25,000 deductible.”
Thanks for the encouragement, RetiredTexasVet. Consider yourself invited to my next BAR barbecue chicken shot-out.
PS: BYOB & ammo
Depending on if his state enables him to have access to it.
“so if grandma needs a hip replacement does she still get one if theres not enough money in the pot ???”
Once Sebelius gets her regulations written and the death panels staffed grandma won’t get a hip replacement whether or not there’s money in the pot. Within 10 years the progressives will
1) Move the age for drawing social security to 70.
2) Determine that after age 70 there will be no life extending measures taken by hospitals nor will surgery be authorized to relieve pain or discomfort when pain relievers can be purchased at the local drug store.
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