A Staunch Republican Tries Obamacare ... And Discovers That It's Actually Pretty Awesome
One mystery of the government shutdown is why Republicans are so apoplectic about the Affordable Care Act, a piece of legislation that aims to make health insurance more affordable for millions of Americans.
One theory is that the Republican leadership is scared that Obamacare actually won't be as bad as they have been saying it will be — that, in fact, Americans (including Republican constituents) will quite like it.
If Americans like Obamacare, the theory goes, this will be a big blow to the Republicans' big sales pitch over the past 30 years, which is that more government is always bad. (This despite the popularity of Medicare, Social Security, and other programs that even many Republicans support.) And this, in turn, the theory goes, will be a big blow to the Republican Party.
Well, it seems at least one Republican is pleasantly surprised by the reality of Obamacare.
Sy Mukherjee of ThinkProgress caught up with Butch Matthews, a 61-year old former small business owner from Little Rock, Arkansas. Matthews, a diehard Republican, was skeptical of Obamacare. But the new law has already allowed him to buy insurance that is both much better, and much cheaper, than the astronomically expensive pre-Obamacare plan he was clinging to from Blue Cross Blue Shield.
Matthews' old Blue Cross plan cost $1,069 a month and had a $10,000 deductible.
The plan he just bought on the Arkansas state exchange has a $0 premium (after the government subsidy he gets because of his low income level) and only a $750 deductible. It's also a "Silver" plan, which has much better benefits than the vastly more expensive "Bronze" plan he ditched.
What Blodget fails to mention is that the advantage Matthews is getting is because his subsidy is the result of government taxing others to provide Matthews the subsidy. Further, Blodget fails to note that perfectly healthy youth are being coerced into joining Obamacare to create distortions that favor the elderly. Obamacare is a big socialist program that will favor some at the expense of others who don't want anything to do with Obamacare but are forced to participate, when it comes down to it, at the barrel of a gun. And this is just the sign up process!
Basic economics teaches us that bureaucratic programs are inefficient and lead to poor quality, shortages and long lines. In the years, down the road, when Obamacare wreaks its havoc on the US healthcare system, don't expect Blodget to concede his error about viewing Obamacare as "pretty awesome." No doubt, he will be calling for more controls on the medical system, including controls on physicians, which will result in more healthcare problems and a disincentive for the best and the brightest to enter the medical sector.
We are in the very early stages of a major disaster promoted by insiders that will benefit and promoted by pathological altruists, who prefer distorted happy talk over reality.
ObamaCare is in essence, a Ponzi scheme set up exactly like Social Security. Once you run out of "other people's money" (from the young) the system will collapse.
ReplyDeleteSo in other words, the headline should read
ReplyDelete"Guy getting subsidies likes getting subsidies."
Wow, what news.
- So, he used two programs (Medicare and S.S.) that are essentially bankrupt to promote Obamacare.
ReplyDelete- Ignores the fact that it's already subsidized, and the reason why it's so expensive.
- Skips over the fact that they're going to raise taxes on the insurance companies that are participating. These companies are nothing but tax collectors. The state wins either way. They'll get your money through the companies because businesses need to make their bottom line either way. It's easier for businesses to make bottom line while being taxed heavily when competition and customer choices are eliminated, hence heavy regulations. Or, they'll get your money through the penalty/fee/tax whatever (thank you Roberts) you want to call it, which they will later raise.
- Skips over the fact that, like Medicare, Obamacare is less expensive to the major voting bloc. It's the same ploy as Medicare, but with more of a direct and heavier tax. Again, they're economically aborting the coming generations.
- He ignores the fact that politicians sell Obamacare as insurance not healthcare.
There's so much irony to this. People from the liberal-left that decry "the rich get richer and poor get poorer" scenario, which is true, are only advocating for just that. As for the conservative-right, they decry Obamacare, but didn't they know this was the end result of a progressive programs such as Medicare and Social Security?
This, all because we're paranoid of each other and not of the one entity that is taking advantage of us being paranoid of each other. Government thrives when we're paranoid of each other; they create paranoia among us. ie. Doctors may be a bad guy that doesn't care what happens to us; all they want is money so we need the government to step in to subject us to insurance (not healthcare).
With all that said, the truth, as of now, despite the mad dash to the website, people aren't buying into it. This has the overseers of Obamacare worried. That's why the IRS chief is threatening us with the tax penalty or revoking our refund if we don't buy into their altruistic - it's good for you - scheme. Really, whether the liberal-left realizes it or not, whether people are lazy, too stupid to work the website, or just don't want it, the market is overbearing their altruism. The free market is force that not even the strongest government in history can override. It's a system that fights against tyranny, and the more the state fights against it, the worse consequences will be.
I am always amazed at how shallow and uncaring the "free $h1t" army really is. I guess subsidies just appear like magic and one should not question how or where the money comes from to fund them. Never mind that since we are already running a deficit its pretty easy to determine that they will come from our children and their children. Using the typical logic of your so called "compassionate" progressive, I guess they hate children or at least don't mind exploiting them, since after all they can't vote.
ReplyDeleteOne purpose of insurance is to protect assets that have taken a long time and much energy to accumulate. If you are low imcome with zero assets, you have little need of insurance. Nobody will bother to sue someone with no assets. This makes negotiating much easier. For young people,however, catastrophic coverage makes sense because creditors can attach any future assets. But premiums for catastrophic coverage of young people wouldn't be near $1000 per month unless extenuating circumstances were involved like extreme sports etc.
ReplyDeleteThe fact of someone being young has no relevance to the way premiums are now calculated as the insurance companies can no longer base pricing on such things like age or heath. This is why those backing the ACA are so desperate for young people to sign up. They're the ones that are suppose to make it all possible. LOL
DeleteThe plans on the exchange suck too and are too expensive. Out here in CA in 2010 when I was a temp for my company, I bought a PPO plan individually with a $1000 deducitble, a 25% coinsurnance, and a premium of just over $100 a month.
ReplyDeleteI looked at the bronze plans on cover california, and for $164 a month preimum, it'sa $5000 deductible, a $60 copay for PCP visits with a limit of 3 per year. The only thing that makes the better plans affordable for some is precisley what Bob said, because they get to use other people's money to help purchase it.
The bent the cost curve down so far that it went backwards and went right up their asses.
ObamaCare: Paying more for less.
I wouldnt be surprised if Butch Matthews turned out to be yet another Obama plant. A phony "diehard Republican". This wouldnt be the first time the Obama people pulled out of their hats a "lifelong Republican" who would express opinions in favor of Obama and whatever legislation Obama favors. Only to have it turn out later that the "lifelong Republican" was a phony. I mean, thinkprogress discovered this guy? And how was he able to access the new obamacare system when everybody else cannot? And where is the evidence that he is a Republican to begin with? And even IF he is actually a registered Republican, I would still doubt the "diehard" part.
ReplyDelete