Posted on 02/02/2015 4:32:31 AM PST by rootin tootin
When it became obvious a couple of years ago that Obamacare would accelerate health care inflation, the law’s boosters began claiming that cost control was never its primary goal. PPACA’s promoters had previously promised that it would reduce annual health care expenses by $2,500 per family while improving access and quality of care. But the facts forced them to abandon that pledge and adopt a safer party line. As expressed by the New York Times, the new story goes thus: “At its most basic level, the Affordable Care Act was intended to reduce the number of Americans without health insurance.”
A new survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation may cause Obamacare partisans to regret retreating to that position. According to the KFF study, 53 percent of ACA eligible adults who remain uninsured cited cost as the main reason: “When asked why they lacked insurance coverage, more than half of adults who appear to be eligible for assistance volunteered that coverage was too expensive.” That’s right. A law that will cost $2 trillion over the next decade is unable to fulfill the one promise “reform’s” advocates still admit to making on its behalf. Obamacare’s last claim to legitimacy has vanished.
(Excerpt) Read more at spectator.org ...
And so it starts.
You can only delay the reality for so long
However, we Americans have been feeling the bite of reality for 6 years.
If the Republicans don’t have the stomach to pass a law repealing Obamacare, how about a law to at least require some transparency so its costs and effectiveness can be evaluated? I.e.:
1) How many people actually signed up and paid for the entire year? How many signed up but either never paid for the policy or dropped it?
2) How many people who signed up were previously insured?
3) How many people lost their existing insurance?
4) What is the average cost (before subsidies) of a privately purchased policy, pre and post Obamacare?
5) How many of the newly enrolled went on Medicare, not a private policy?
6) How citizens lost their medical insurance due to their job being converted from full time to part time?
7) What percentage of people on Obamacare are subsidized and what is the average subsidy?
8) What is the actual total cost of Obamacare to the taxpayer per year?
9) What is the average cost per newly insured of Obamacare to the taxpayer (i.e. the total cost of the program divided by the actual number of previously uninsured who are now insured). I suspect the answer to that question will be astounding and will be many time the cost of the government actually buying the uninsured a policy under the old system.
Inquiring taxpayers want to know. Why aren’t the Congressional Republicans interested in understanding, and communicating, the real picture?
Expecting a federal takeover of health care to reduce costs or deliver better care or reduce the number of unisured is comparable to following a horse expecting that he will drop gold nuggets behind him rather than road apples. It is still astounding to me that so many Americans were silly enough to think it was a good idea.
As commenter “Pete Patriot” said,
“For many of these uninsured, it is a choice of having insurance with a ridiculous deductible or being able to pay for the healthcare they need. Say a person is paying about $4,000 a year on doctor’s visits, tests, and medications. She might very well have to pay $7,000 a year for the cheapest plan and have a $6,000 deductible.
For someone in the dead zone who gets no subsidy but can’t really afford insurance, the obvious choice is to go without insurance and pay the fine.
Whether or not the uninsured person chooses to buy insurance or pay the fine, she will have less money to pay for healthcare. That makes sense.”
Two summers ago I traveled to Cali, Colombia where my brother & sister in law reside (she’s Colombian).
While there I had three scheduled appointments with a cardiologist for an echocardiogram and such, my yearly checkup with an oncologist (cancer survivor) and a visit to an eye doctor for two pair of prescription reading glasses. Total cost for the week - $561 US.
Colombia has no welfare gimmeedat class of parasites. No billboards with lawyers calling for the public to sue somebody. Everybody works and it’s sink or swim. If you get hurt or sick you get taken care of. Everyone gets a fee taken out of their wages/salary - my brother said it’s equivalent to $100 per month US.
For minor cuts, bruises illnesses one goes to a neighborhood clinic for triage and/or treatment. You cannot just go to an emergency room with your 7 welfare babies who have a cold - they’ll throw you out.
Their system has worked due to the absence of a permanent welfare class, the lack of an over abundance of lawyers and the hands off policy of a non-meddling political structure.
Why buy insurance, even subsidized insurance, when you can go to the emergency room for free?
The Republicans are all for Obamacare that’s why they won’t repeal it. They may have a few bogus votes but Bohner & McConnell will kill any real attempt to repeal it. The GOPe wants Obamacare that’s why they pushed Myth as the nominee so as to take Obamacare off the table in the 2012 election.
We here at the GOPe want open borders for unrestricted immigration,more visas for foreign tech workers, keep Obama care in place,cut corporate taxes,and shelter income for the elite. We plan to reach across the aisle to make deals,give the Obama administration everything they want with token opposition,and make sure government manages the masses securing the dominate position of the new aristocracy.
We will shut down any conservatives and make sure those small government,2nd amendment,and anti abortion rubes are shuffled to the sidelines. We would like to thank the yokels for giving us both houses of Congress but the Republican Party is a top down organization so we’ll take it from here. You just keep sending your checks and come out to vote in November and let the people who know best run things. We know our base voter is ignorant and prone to religious superstition so we’ll pat you on the head every two years and tell you we’ll try to represent you and then go back to getting things done in Washington for the people who really matter and trust us it ain’t you.
As John Gruber has candidly stated, Obama shrewdly exploits lack of transparency along with the economic illiteracy and stupidity of the American voter.
I am surprised that so many bought his lies, but, in truth, the reality is that ObamaCare was rammed down the throats of the America people in the middle of the night using parliamentary trickery and dictatorial pressure with no broad support from the American people.
Its just as well I was lovingly informed that I don’t qualify for tax subsidies or cost-sharing reductions... because I already qualify for Medicaid!
but but but it was supposed to be free
The primary goal of Obamacare was to punish those who previously were responsible enough to pay for their own insurance.
Obama said it was supposed to reduce health care costs by 3000% and we would all get a $2500 raise.
A lot of people don’t understand supply and demand economics. I’d note tho that a lot of the Progs I argue with, online and elsewhere have now transitions from “you’re wrong and you’re heartless” to ... silence ... when confronted with the realities of Obamacare as exposed though it’s implementation and impacts.
Recall that Obamacare never had, has never had, the support of the American public. As you point out it was rammed in through procedural trickery, taking advantage of a once-in-generations opportunity afforded by a supermajority Senate. But now that it’s in, it’s MUCH easier to defend, politically. The Democrats just dig in and hunker down, knowing that the chances of conditions permissive to Republicans getting rid of it (unified GOP control of Congress and White House, the willingness of Big Health to part with the mandates) are unlikely to occur.
And Obama just laughs at us.
Are ‘Rat operatives spreading a messsage that says O’care is a failure due to provisions insisted upon by congressional Republicans? Like Pilate, they’re washing their hands of it.
By that irrational standard, Obamacare is marginally successful. It used to be that only a few people lacked access to medical care and millions lacked medical insurance. Under Obamacare, millions lack medical care (they have insurance, but can't find a doctor who takes Obamacare) and slightly fewer people than before lack medical insurance. Liberals actually consider this a success, even though fewer people actually receive needed medical care. At least they have someone else paying for their birth control, and that's what matters.
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