By Jeffrey Dorfman
We have finally (almost, sort of) reached the end of Obamacare signups. The White House is claiming over seven million people have signed up with several million more now on the Medicaid rolls. Democrats are desperate to find a success somewhere in the Obamacare narrative, so reaching seven million is the story of the moment. However, as bad as the open enrollment period and its infamous healthcare.gov website was, the real problems are about to begin. Now people are going to try to use their new insurance.
The problems that will create the next headlines will come in three main flavors: lack of access to doctors, failures of the system to verify coverage and pay claims, and the incredibly high deductibles and copays on many of the exchange insurance policies.
Insurance companies believed that people shopping for health insurance on the government exchanges were very price sensitive so that low prices were needed to attract buyers. Thus, the insurers only signed up doctors and hospitals willing to agree to low reimbursement rates to their exchange-offered plans. That means that many of the plans, especially the silver and bronze ones, come with much more limited networks than Americans are used to...
Finally, there is the enormous problem of deductibles and co-pays. Depending on the level of coverage selected and the amount of subsidy a family is receiving, the out-of-pocket expenses can vary significantly. Still, many people are going to find that they have a deductible as high as $6,000 and are expected to pay 40 percent of the cost of their treatment as a co-pay.
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Extending this argument...
ReplyDeleteIt is my belief that the enrollment numbers (bogus as they likely are) the administration is putting forward, particularly with regard to the younger demographic, will decline rapidly over the next year, not increase.
Whatever PR bull they might have bought into in order to convince them to sign up, the reality of the monthly premiums and the thousands in deductibles that most will have no hope of paying, will cause large numbers to simply stop paying the premiums.
This will also have a longer term effect as word spreads through the younger demographic that Obamacare is simply a big screw. No amount of begging, bribing, and cajoling will be able to overcome the 27 year-old coming off of her parents' policy whose 28 year-old friend advises, "Fuck that, it's just a big screw job..."
Will we ever actually see evidence this? Maybe anecdotally, but likely not. We have no idea how many have paid their premiums now. How will we get any of these other numbers? Also, given the buried provisions in the law that limit losses for the insurance carriers, we are likely to see premiums increase at a lower rate than would otherwise be warranted. The taxpayers will take it in the rear by not only subsidizing premiums, but also by backstopping the losses for the insurance industry.
Where we will see the visible manifestations of the implosion; however, will be the Medicaid expansion. With an explosion of patients and a shrinking base of doctors (due to below cost reimbursement rates), we will be inundated with the visible stories of hardship in finding doctors to service the expanded Medicaid base. Look for legislation within the year to require all doctors to accept Medicaid patients or risk losing their licenses. This will only accelerate the exodus of those doctors nearing retirement age from the system.
IMHO...
I can just imagine the outrage all these idiots will experience once their little utopian statist bubbles have been burst. But will they learn anything from it? Well of course not. Why should they? Their rationalization hamster will just go full bore insisting, "We need MORE government to correct the problem!".
ReplyDeleteIsn't it amazing how every person who knows that gasoline is flammable would NEVER pour gasoline on already blazing fire since they know it would only make the problem worse yet these very same morons will INSIST that the answer to every fucking problem is MORE government? And this despite the government is ALWAYS endlessly growing!